Sunday, September 11, 2005

bike trails around washington

Hey..

This has been an awesome sports weekend. Super Saturday with some amazing display of tennis by Agassi, Ginepri, Federer, Hewitt, Pierce and Clijsters. Then was the wonderful Formula One with Kimi and Alonso still continuing their fight for the driver and manufacturer championships at Belgium. And of course, an nailbiting 2 point win of our local team Redskins over the Chicago Bears in the NFL season kickoff...

I also did some good biking over the weekend and I thought I will quickly summarize some of the exciting trails in and around Washington, DC.

The ACCONTIK CREEK TRAIL is located just off the 395/495 junction 20 miles south of Washington, DC. This trail starts from outside Franconia/Springfield metro and goes uptill the Accontik creek along the Fraconia Springfield Parkway. The creek is silent and wonderful and undistrubed with a lovely stream running across. The trail is small and about 5 miles out and back.

The ACCONTIK LAKE TRAIL is a 5 mile loop around the Accontik lake. It is located near the Orange & Alexandria Railroad line. The trail has some steep climbs and gravel path. The lake is located near the Beltway near Braddock Road exit.


The WASHINGTON & OLD DOMINION TRAIL is a 45 mile trail running from Shirlington-Alexandria off 395 to Purceville, 10 miles west of Leesburg. This was originally a Alexandria-Fairfax-Leesburg railroad converted to a biking trail in 1988. You will pass former railroad stations along the way including Bluemont junction, Dunn Loring Station, Vienna station (photo right) etc., At certain places, caboose are placed (photo left) and they add a lovely touch to this trail. The trail is mostly flat and paved. It is full of greenery all the way. The initial 10 miles intersect with local roads and it is better to stop and go. The trail intersects Gallows road and Maple Avenue and the traffic here is heavy. There are not sufficient water fountains however the trail passes through several shops on the way. The trail also is connected with several other trails like Curtis trail, Four Mile Run trail etc.,

The MT.VERNON TRAIL is by far the best trail for beginners in DC area. Starting from near Rosslyn Metro, it is a 19 mile trail to Mt. Vernon - home of George Washington. The trail runs alongwith Potomac river all the way and passes though several points of interest - Ladybird Johnson memorial, Navy memorial, Roosevelt memorial, Gravilly point, Jones point lighthouse, Dyke Marsh, Old Town Alexandria Belle Haven Marina and of course Mt. Vernon. The trail is equipped with several fountains on the way and there are shops (even Starbucks!!) at Old Town. One can get down and wet his feet in the Potomac at certain places. Make sure you carry a camera - the Gravilly point landing zone is a glorius sight. So are the backyard-river of rich old town bungalows and the Jones point. (The photo right is one of the backyards of old town bungalows. People have their kayaks anchored there and use it as if they were getting out and taking a car from their garage. The Wilson bridge is in the background.)

[Thanks to my friends E- for the book on VA trails, Mr & Mrs S- for the hitch and an awesome summer of 2005.]

Chao..

14 comments:

Sunday Thoughts said...

Siva,
Interesting blog!!!
so many places are there in and around DC to visit and enjoy..thanks for the good info.

Ganesh said...

shiva
that explains your absence at Sriks function :)

Rags said...

Siva,

Looks like you had fun hiking...Your words were very picturesque.. Any plans for some hiking during Fall Color season.. Count me in..

Shiva said...

Tharani - welcome.. I will also update later on several other interesting places to look out around the beltway.

Ganesh - Sriks function messup was because we thought that the function was on Sunday !! It was late by the time Arvind called us and told that it was on Saturday :( . Too bad we missed it.

Rags- sure dude. You shd also try biking..it is awesome.

Krish said...

Neenga ellaa attractionukkum nalla trail-er kodukkareenga Shiva :-)

eyeStreet times said...

Super da siva. Very nice.
and rags...biking is exciting.

Rags said...

Seriously...Esh and Siva...If you have any plans for the Fall Colors...count me in...I will try my hand on one American Bike..

eyeStreet times said...

rags..poriki naaye.

Shiva said...

thennavan - thanks..

rags, eshwar - lets plan a fall biking trip. I will checkout places..

and eshwar - no violence ;)

Rags said...

Yes Esh...Rags Paavam...I will make it upto you...

eyeStreet times said...

Rags...anything you say or do will be used against you.

jack said...

shiva,
email mewant to talk to u...

Arvind Srinivasan said...

Biking - yeah, good'ol'days - new to cycling world - new atlas, rain or shine, on the road :-D

Anonymous said...

Yo Shiva,
I called may times, when I was there in DC.You never turned up.But, its really interesting blog.Y don't you guys come to my place, there are lots of place like this.

Prakash