Explore the best rated trails in Fairfax, VA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Metropolitan Branch Trail and Meadowlark Connector Trail . With more than 116 trails covering 4601 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
As others have said - this trail is very bumpy. Much of the trail still has railroad ties going across it. I did on a touring bike and even deflated the tires partway into the trail. I still called it after 8 miles. Just not much fun. Hope they will improve it a bit sometime because I lived the countryside and overhanging tree branches etc. Really beautiful. Good walking trail or mountain bikes.
Checked it out while we were in the area, and it was nice! Wide/paved walkway. Wasn’t crowded or desolate. Decent amount of activity. Beautiful streams and scenery. Highly recommend!
The trail is great starting at Cumberland. Pretty smooth and scenic. Not very far in there were quite a few detours as the trail was damaged in many places. I wish there had been more amenities along the trail. The last 40 miles into DC were surprisingly bad, with muddy rough conditions and detours. The trip was memorable and challenging and we were proud to raise money for theplummerhome.org for homeless veterans.
We found this trail to be one of the worst trails...simply because once you're off the established paved biking/walking trail (which isn't very long), there's absolutely NO SIGNAGE where the next leg of the trail is. For that matter, there's no signage ANYWHERE that the trail even exists. Finally, the trail starts then has a break, then starts again, another break...etc. I've been riding the W&OD trail for years and that, my friends, is a great cycling trail. The ICC Trail should be revisited by planners.
Day1: DC to Williamsport. Day 2: Williamsport to Cumberland. This was an amazing ride with beautiful fall scenery. Trail was well maintained and easy to navigate. It was mostly hard parked gravel with lots of historical sites and great views. Paw Paw tunnel was open. The trail thru tunnel is uneven and wet. Met some great people along the trail. I’ll definitely ride the trail again in the summer.
We took the Amtrak bike train to DC. Had to switch trains in Philly. Between Harrisburg and Philly we had to remove the front wheel and hang the bike. From Philly to DC they were stored in the baggage car and didn't require tire removal. The ride through DC was fantastic and much easier than we expected. The trail got a little confusing to get out of town but once we did we found the trail in much better condition then we expected. We stayed along the way in a hotel and a lock house. My favorite part was the area around the pawpaw tunnel but the trail was in very poor condition in spots. At one point when I tried to go my rear wheel would just spin and the bike wouldn't move. Very mucky and muddy. I'm sure it all depends on the amount of rain they had recently. It completed the ride from Pittsburgh to DC for me. I had ridden the GAP trail about 6 years prior. The only reason I didn't give it a five star rating is because of the mud in some areas. Overall it was great.
All I wanted to do was get from the Springfield Metro Station to Springfield - by Sydenstricker/Rolling Road. It's really unclear (or at least on both my GPS apps) on how to get back. Bike baths just kept ending and there was no sign (that I could see) indicating an alternate path, I had to weave thru neighborhoods guessing - but again w/no real signs and sometimes it just felt like it kept leading me again and again to the parkway. A few more signs, a bit more clarity. I've never struggled with a path so much and I bike all over MD, DC and VA. I seriously went around in circles around Hooes and Rolling for over 1.5 hours. I finally just biked on the emergency lane on the Parkway to get to Backlick.
This is a good trail with the satisfying distance. Beware, there are quite a few bumps in the pavement that could use some repair work.
This is a well-paved, short trail. Nice for a quick outing.
As said in several of the previous reviews, these are two segmented trails. The southern part of the segmented trail is very nice. Nicely paved trails with pretty views along the way. A few walkers, joggers, and bikers frequent this trail.
The paved path is wide with slope gentle enough for manual wheelchair to navigate. We started at wheelchair-accessible entrance off Westchester Ave, turning back at Oella Ave bakery. Round trip was about 1-1/2 hours. On a hot weekday afternoon in August the path was cool (thanks to tall tree canopy) and quiet (a scattering of runners, bikers, stroller pushers). Love the sense of unspoiled nature and history this well-conceived trail provides.
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