By marty1342 on May 18, 2010
This trail is a very nice ride. It has terriffic views of the Potomac River. There are a number of picture stops. It is a mild challenge, a little hilly. Visiting Mount Vernon makes the ride worth it. I would recommend the trail, just not on a weekend. On Saturdays and Sundays the trail is busy with walkers, joggers and families, some with pets along. This sharing should not present a challenge to riders just sightseeing. However, the Lance wannabes make the ride or walk dangerous. The overall etiquette of the DC area riders is poor to non-existent. Only one in ten would announce their presence when overtaking you. A near head-on collision really increased the heart rate. While allowing for some walkers to pass each other before my wife and I could safely pass them, (single file) a rider came around a bend and out of a tree lined protion of the trail speeding directly at all of us. The walkers scattered, leaving me to face him head-on. I went left, he swerved onto the grassy area. The walkers converged to him, telling him that he was travelling too fast.
There were numerous brush-bys from other speeding riders that made the overall experience a little uncomfortable.
By somerdayd on September 14, 2009
I recently rode the trail from washington to mt. vernon and back. The first few miles out of washington were ok. The spot at the end of the runway by the airport was pretty neat. When I got to Alexandria, I found the trail confusing and poorly marked. I rode through town and picked up the trail south of town. From there on I found the trail not your average rail trail level. There was an especially steep hill at the end of trail up to Mt.Vernon. Also you have to be paying attention, the trail is narrow and there were plenty of Lance wannabes
By sbridge221 on July 05, 2009
We spent two days riding the Mount Vernon trail. We were staying in Alexandria and rode the northern part the first day. The trail is well marked and easy to follow. The views along the river are beautiful. Unfortunately, I am a recreational rider and I was in fear for my life for most of the northern portion of this trail. There are many twists and turns which would have been fun except the trail was very crowded and the Lance Armstrong wanna-be's were weaving in and out so quickly you had to be on guard at all times. It was hard to enjoy the trail and views because you had to constantly be concerned about meeting someone head on or someone passing you. We saw a pretty serious accident with someone being taken away on a body board with neck brace and bloody face. The second day started out much better with fewer people on the southern end of the trail. Again the views were beautiful along the Potomac River and the trail was very well marked and well kept. The problem I had on the southern end was there are several serious hills to climb! We had already purchased tickets for Mount Vernon and I really wanted to be there for the 4th of July. If not, I probably would have turned around and not finished the trail to Mount Vernon. The last mile is all up hill. But that's ok - when the hill gets too steep, get off and walk that bike for a while. There is no shame in that! The trip back to Alexandria was much easier and enjoyable. Even though the hills were tough on the southern end I enjoyed the ride more because the trail wasn't as crowded. Overall it was a great ride with beautiful scenery.