Explore the best rated trails in Ft Hunt, VA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Anacostia River Trail and Meadowlark Connector Trail . With more than 118 trails covering 4639 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.
I frequently ride the Cross Island Trail. You can extend your ride starting at the Royal Farms. Continue on Sadler Rd when it ends make a left on Chester River Beach Rd then right on VFW Ave. At the Quality Inn make a left onto Winchester Creek Rd. Then right onto Hissey Rd and then left back onto Winchester Creek Road. Stop at Nesbit Rd. The roads are not busy and will add 4 more miles to your round trip.
Easy walk on an asphalt trail. Almost all in trees. 1.4 miles or so up, 1.4 miles back. Easy parking at both ends.
I biked from Pittsburgh to DC (GAP and C&O trails combined) 9/8 thru 9/14/24. This review is for the C&O only. Weather – excellent. Scenery- beautiful. Accommodations – very good. Trail surfaces –highly variable from narrow dirt paths laced with muddy holes to relatively smooth, hardpacked dirt to loose gravel (better for a pickup truck than a bicycle!). From 10 miles south of Great Falls into DC the trail/road was especially rough. I was riding an Off-road bike with 40 MM wide tires and momentarily lost front tire stability in MANY spots due to loose gravel (especially on the sloped paths leading into & out of lock areas). My biggest safety concern were the numerous concrete bridges over creeks & culverts that had ZERO guard rails, warning signs or even yellow paint. The bridge widths were narrower than the trail requiring the biker to NOTICE and move more to the center for safety. If a biker went off the side of any of these bridges, I’d expect serious injuries or worse. The worst safety hazard was at Lock 38. Approaching the lock from the southwest side, the (main) trail leads right across the top of the lock wall- that is 3 to 4 ft wide with only an outer rail – very dangerous. The drop off to the grassy floor below was about 7-9 feet straight down. I was in a group of riders that suddenly saw this “tightrope” situation and jammed on their brakes. (Nobody realized we should have diverted onto a narrow, unmarked path that led downward through the lock.) Fortunately, everyone stopped safely; walked their bikes down a slope and on to the safe path through the bottom of the lock. A simple, cheap sign could prevent the near-miss accidents at this spot.
I’m really disappointed that this National Park hasn’t (at least) marked these safety hazards. Considering all the hazards and the rough gravel, I think this C&O Towpath trail merits 2 stars.
We started in Akron and rode about 18 miles north. Loved it!!!
I recently walked virtually every foot of the 40+ mile long Jerry Connolly Cross County trail, in both directions. This includes the part of the route which is not a trail at all, but a 2-mile long sidewalk along a busy road. I would start by driving to a starting point and walk about 5000 steps in one direction, stopping at a convenient point where I could park my truck nearby. Then, I walked back along the same trail. Most of the southern part of the trail, from the Occoquan river to Arlington Blvd is paved in asphalt. Almost all of the northern part, from the Oakmont rec center to Great Falls park is a rough trail. This part would be quite muddy after a rain. Most of the trail parallels a stream, from Difficult Run in the north, to Accotink Creek in the middle, to Pohick Creek in the south. Trail markers range from excellent in some parts to hardly noticeable in other parts. Having Google Maps on a phone app was super helpful at times when I accidently veered from the trail, or was at a point with a fork in the trail. There are several signs along the way with a map of the trail in the near vicinity. These were necessary and helpful when the trail came to an apparent end and the resumption point was several yards away. Almost all of the trail is an easy walk with just a few steep-ish ascents and descents. Most of the trail is really quite pretty. Overall, a very fulfilling experience for me.
We were on Kent Island for a wedding, and we took a stroll from the Hyatt Hotel in the direction away from the Bay Bridge. The trail runs alongside the busy road for a mile or so, then there’s a short stretch in a pleasant piney woods, and then back to the busy road. The trail is well maintained and the surface is good, and the part in the woods was pretty nice. But for most of our 3.5 mile walk (total, there and back) it was like walking beside a busy road. If I did this again, I’d try to access the trail at a place where you would have a nicer experience.
This trail is perfect for beginners. And has a nice mixture of Terrain, heights and splits to keep it interesting. You will be tired but not exhausted if you walk the entire trail and back. Would recommend.
We started off at Mt. Vernon and the trail was easy to follow for about 3-4 miles right at the connection to Washington and Old Dominion trail. However past that, it was not easy to navigate as there are a lot of forks and parks that the trail passes, also there are some sketchy under bridge passes that are slippery and also very narrow concrete paths over streams. This makes trail fun, but you have to be cautious.
The description on TrailLink is a bit outdated, as the trail continues past Bluemont junction and past the intersection with Custis trail. Four miles runs alongside W & OD trail for a few miles, past the custis spur. It may even run further than that, but we turned around at that point to go back to Mt. Vernon. On AllTrails, this is labeled as 15 miles out and back.
I'd give it 5 stars but so many people let their dogs off-leash here. It's a true nuisance. They are extremely rude when asked politely to leash their dogs. There is a great deal of wildlife around - beaver and muskrats in the creek, tiny spotted fawns in the spring, barred owls, foxes, hawks. People allow their dogs to chase them and to foul the paths and bushes. There seems to be no authority to stop it. Looks for the water snakes basking under the bridge over the creek and the pileated woodpeckers nesting in the dead trees!
Great trail. Not too crowded. Lots of shade. We biked the loop with our six-year-old who rides a fixed gear bike. A few hills on the south side were a bit steep, so we did some walking, but the north side was much easier. Definitely going back.
The best part of the WOD is west of Leesburg, through Paeonian Springs into tunnels of trees, past farmland, ending at a fabulous barbecue place in Purcellville. Stunning in fall foliage.
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