The loop trail around the lake is just under four miles and if you are in shape it is a very fast ride, most of it is quite level with a few hills thrown in. The trail is very well maintained. Don't let the other review scare you, I ride it with my kid in the bike trailer all the time and it's around 20 minutes with the trailer. The first steep hill is indeed a nice quadricep-blaster but you can also go counter-clockwise around the lake and come down this hill if you can't handle it. Unless you are a complete novice you will have no problem with this trail.

There are also nice mountain bike trails on the south side of the lake, continue up past the dam and follow the singletrack up the hill off of the main trail in to a large trail network that will keep you busy for some time. A lot of up and down and some challenging drops/climbs. The loop trail connects you with other trails at Wakefield Park so you can really make a day of it between the two parks. These trails are not dedicated for bikes so be mindful of other trail users of course.

My husband and I were under the wrong impression about this trail and ended up with quite the challenge (in the rain, no less!, and pulling a bike trailer with our 3-year-old on board). The trail starts with about a 60-degree hill for about 100 feet. This part of the trail is paved but after that you can count on lots of dirt and mud and very loose gravel which makes for a slick, skidding surface in the rain. Make sure you have your MTB tires in good condition! The trail also runs at uphill the entire way around the lake in this direction with a few steep, very brief descents (one of them so steep that there is a sign warning bikers to get off their bikes and walk).

There was a short jaunt up a residential street (Danbury Rd, I believe) past a school, and this was the easiest part of the trail even though it was uphill too.

There was no coasting, no relaxing, and I couldn't tell you a single portion of scenery we passed because I was too busy concentrating on powering up inclines on wet, loose stone and staying on my bike! Granted, I only started riding about 6 weeks ago (weekends only) and have been doing paved trails only up to this point.

We made it the entire 3.8 miles around the entire loop and back to the parking lot by the carousel, but it did take us about 40 minutes to accomplish this and my husband had to walk the trailer and his bike up quite a few hills (he has only been riding about a month).

I think this would be a decent challenge for an advanced beginner/intermediate mountain biker and fun day out for someone with more experience and stamina. I was able to conservatively ride the entire loop on my Giant but did have to get off and walk down some steep inclines (at the beginning and end of the street section of the trail). Our son did not enjoy the ride at all as he was bounced around more than a kernel of corn in a hot air popper.

I felt it was a very good challenge for myself, not something I'd do every weekend though. It was too much for my husband (who not only had slicks on his touring bike but was also pulling the trailer). It certainly gave us a lot to talk about afterward though!

"THE PART OF THE LAKE ACCOTINK TRAIL THAT
RUNS FROM ROLLING ROAD DOWN TO THE LAKE
IS ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING PARTS OF THE
ORIGINAL GRADE OF THE ORANGE AND
ALEXANDRIA RAILROAD, BUILT IN 1853. THE
CROSSING OF ACCOTINK CREEK HAS BEEN
REALIGNED TWICE SINCE THEN. THE ORIGINAL
CREEK CROSSING AND THE FIRST REALIGNMENT
ARE GONE FOREVER. THE SECOND REALIGNMENT
IS THE PRESENT RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER THE
CREEK. IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY AS YOU COME
AROUND THE LAST BEND APPROACHING THE LAKE,
YOU CAN VISUALIZE IN YOUR MIND WHERE THE
ORIGINAL CROSSING WAS. AS YOU WALK OR
BIKE DOWN THE GRADE FROM ROLLING ROAD, IT
IS INTERESTING TO LET YOUR MIND IMAGINE
THE DAYS WHEN THE MOST ADVANCED LOCOMOTIVE
WAS THE 4-4-0 ""AMERICAN."" YOU CAN JUST
SEE THE ENGINEER STRUGGLING TO GET HIS
LOAD UP THAT LONG GRADE! ALL IN ALL, A
VERY WORTHY RIDE FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN
RAILROAD HISTORY."