Keep The Light On For Us, George

"Keep The Light On For Us, GEORGE!"

By Glenn Oster

This is a tale about a rewarding bicycle ride out to George Washington’s estate on the Potomac. Probably, as far back as fifty years ago, I drove the George Washington Memorial Parkway to tour Mount Vernon and saw people alongside, bicycling on what appeared to be a paved trail. I thought, "What a way to experience this great area." That thought lay dormant - for a long time wouldn’t you say. Within that period of inattention, more specifically, in 1973, the National Park Service expanded the trail to an 18.5 mile paved route that extends from Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon.

On Friday evening, July 9, 2004, we drove from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Renton, Virginia area and set up in the campground at Lake Fairfax Park. That place is a recreational story unto itself. Conveniently, I found abundant information on the Internet about the trails that we would be taking, i.e., the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, known locally as the "W&OD" or "The Wab", the Martha Custis Trail and the Mount Vernon Trail. Ideally, I’d have liked to ride the trails out and back over a three day period, but we wanted to travel in one vehicle and two days it had to be. Better two days than not at all. So, in the morning we were on our way to locate our starting point.

Our plan for Saturday was to start at Vienna Depot, ride the W&OD south eight miles to about its four mile marker, take the Custis Trail from that point east to the Mount Vernon Trail and the latter south to Mount Vernon. We would then retrace our steps and make a 62 mile round trip out of the ride. (An easier approach, of course, would have been to take two vehicles, spot one at Vienna Depot, drive the other to Mount Vernon and only ride one direction.) On Sunday, the plan was to start again at Vienna Depot, ride north 35 miles to the W&OD’s western terminus at Purcellville, Virginia and return to Vienna Depot. But time wouldn’t permit a 70 mile round trip; so, a volunteer elected to ride part way, return to the vehicle and drive to the end point, enabling a one direction second day. Worked out great.

True to our plan, we started on the W&OD at the depot in Vienna, Virginia. State Route 123 goes directly over the trail, and its access point is within a block north. Parking is available, but the trail is popular, and you might have to scramble to find somewhere to tether your steed. The trail is paved with smooth asphalt and essentially level. There are mile markers along the way and most of it is tree-lined and shady. We made good time and had no difficulty finding the Custis Trail. It is not a rail trail and was built to serve as a four mile connector between the W&OD and the Mount Vernon Trails. To me, it seemed quite hilly for that part of the country, but we were going downhill. (We’d worry about the climb back when the time came.)

When we connected to what I perceived to be the northern end of the Mount Vernon Trail, there was a large parking lot and an obvious paved bike trail leading from it in the right direction, south, that is. Disconcertingly, there was no sign telling us that we were either still on the Custis Trail or had reached the Mount Vernon Trail. However, we soon came to an access point for Roosevelt Island, that we now know to be the official northern terminus of the Mount Vernon Trail. From that point on there was plenty of evidence that we were on the trail.

Riding it was a distinct pleasure. Sure, it was heavily used by walkers, baby carriages, in-line skaters and, incidentally, bicyclists and you didn’t want to ride fast. Nonetheless, it was great cruising along the Potomac River and viewing our nation’s capitol in the morning sunlight. We went under the Arlington Memorial Bridge and could see the Lincoln Memorial at the far end and the roof of the Jefferson Monument farther south; moreover, the Washington Monument continues to hold its head high in the sky. I savored it! There are all sorts of sightseeing side trips that you can make as you proceed, but we felt that a sixty-two mile day was enough for us, and we stuck to the trail. There were parks along the way with picnic tables and benches and various places where you could leave the trail for toilet facilities. Moreover, at one point the trail goes on a board walk through an attractive wetland called Dyke Marsh Preserve. Also, they recently built an impressive viaduct over a major thruway at Reagan National Airport that made the trail easier and safer to ride. Clearly, this is an important trail to the people in this locale.

Mostly, the trail surface is in good shape, but there are sections where the tree roots are causing bumps in the asphalt. Just go slower and it’s no great problem. When the trail reaches Alexandria, you are routed out onto streets. For us, it was a boon, because we had not carried a lunch and there are few obvious places for getting food. We stopped at a small restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch. We had soup and scrumptious sandwiches on pita bread, an Armenian flatbread that I’ve never tasted before. Super. The restaurant is a tiny, order at the counter, type of place, but we liked it so well that on our return trip we stopped again and had large cones of Italian ice cream called gelato. Surely will make a repeat visit the next time I do the trail.

The last half mile or so up to Mount Vernon is a bit of a climb, not much compared with Pennsylvania hills, but enough to get our attention. We had toured Mount Vernon before and the hundreds of cars in the parking lot told us that it would be crowded. No need to get into that; so, after a short rest and a bit of hydration, we began retracing our steps.

I always like to try something different and we did. The map showed a bike trail, called the Four Mile Creek Trail that connects the W&OD and Mount Vernon Trails. It appeared to be the hypotenuse of a right triangle and should cut the return trip’s distance a bit - might even be less hilly that the Custis Trail. To make a long story short, don’t take that route unless you really know the area. Once off the bike trail and onto streets, signage was most inadequate. We lost the route in the area of Shirlington and, despite lots of helpful directions from locals, had a difficult time finding the southern terminus of the W&OD. However, once back on the W&OD the final 12 miles went well.

Riding the W&OD the next day was no problem at all. There are fewer total trail users on the northern section, but the power riders were most evident. They ride in groups of four to six at incredible speeds. How they avoid accidents with other trail users is an enigma to me. The trail ends at a refurbished depot that you can’t see from the trail. It’s immediately to the left uphill on the intersecting street. Very pleasant place with amenities including a reportedly nice restaurant.

If you like bike trails and want a ride that is more interesting than most, give these trails a try. They are definitely worth the effort.

Now, if you are interested in doing this ride or if you just dig details, here are a few bones on which to gnaw.

Lake Fairfax Park has an incredible water park, called the "Swimmin’ Hole," a carousel, an 18 acre recreational lake (boat rentals) and a campground. The park can be reached from Exit 47A of the I- 495 Beltway and following Virginia Route 7 west about seven miles to Baron - Cameron Avenue. Turn left to the second left onto Lake Fairfax Drive which leads directly into the park. Read more about the park at http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/parks/lakefront.htm or phone the campground at (703) 757-9242 between the hours of 8:00 a.m and 8:00 p.m..

You can get more information about the W&OD by accessing http://bikewashington.org/trails/wad/wad.htm Click on the Mileage Chart link if you want to break it into segments to ride.

The Martha Custis Trail description is at http://bikewashington.org/trails/wad/custis.htm

Mount Vernon Trail information can be had at http://bikewashington.org/trails/vernon/vernon.htm .The National Park Service publishes an excellent map of the Mount Vernon Trail. I obtained a copy at a kiosk by the trail, but presumably one can be had by mail via Mount Vernon Trail, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Turkey Run Park, Mc Lean, VA 22101, by phoning (703) 289-2500 or online at www.nps.gov/gwmp/mvt.html .

For more information on each Web Page or Trail click on its name.

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