By baja321 in May, 2011
I just hiked the 2 mile section from Alum springs to I-95. This is a very nice section and I hope to see it open to the public soon. A few trees down are easy to get around, but two stream crossings make it a challange to keep your feet dry. One day with a couple of people and a chainsaw could make this a nice hiking trail with very little effort. There is a tunnel under 95 that can be used to continue but waterproof boots are a must unless you want to end up with wet feet. I would love to see this section connect up and contiue through the battlefields. There is a huge amount of potential here and it's great to see so much undeveloped woods in the middle of Fredericksburg.
By garygolden in December, 2010
This trail built along a portion of the old Virginia Central Railway right-of-way which was abandoned in 1938 is a very nice paved path. It is perfect for biking with kids because it isn't very long and is, of course, very level; also, there is a playground and open fields for the kids at the trailhead. It is also great for running or jogging and there are several geocaches hidden along the trail.
But the real beauty of this trail lies in its potential. The Virginia Central ran from downtown Fredericksburg 38 miles west to the town of Orange. It passes through three separate Civil War Battlefields (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Wilderness) each of which is now managed by the National Park Service and has its own network of trails.
If the Virginia Central trail is extended to connect these battlefield parks, it would be a fantastic boon to local users and visitors to the area!