Find the top rated walking trails in Fairfax, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Holmes Run Trail offers a scenic pathway through the heart of a busy residential area in Alexandria and adjoining Fairfax County, both suburbs of Washington, D.C. The trail, which is divided into...
The West Ox Road Sidepath is a short paved trail along the west side of West Ox Road. The trail extends from the Oak Hill area of Fairfax County to southeastern Chantilly (near Fair Oaks Mall in...
The 11-mile BWI Trail was primarily designed for area commuters; however, the trail also makes for a great recreation venue. Despite being close to BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport, much of the trail is...
The Rappahannock River Heritage Trail offers a pleasant, paved route in the center of Fredericksburg with beautiful views of the Rappahannock River. Part of the trail winds through Old Mill Park,...
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Maryland's Indian Creek Trail is one of the shorter components of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, but it serves as a vital link between the town of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, and scenic Lake...
The Northeast Branch Trail follows the levee along theyou guessed itNortheast Branch of the Anacostia River from the Lake Artemesia Natural Area to Baltimore Avenue/US 1 (south of Hyattsville). The...
The Burke Lake Loop Trail offers a nearly 5-mile route for a pleasant walk or bike, while enjoying the beautiful scenery around Burke Lake in Fairfax. Since the Burke Lake Loop Trail is within Burke...
The #8 Streetcar Path runs just a short distance (0.33 mile) along part of the route of the former streetcar system that once ran between Catonsville and Ellicott City. The streetcar operated from...
The Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail provides a safe pathway for students, from kindergartners to doctoral candidates, to walk and bike to school in College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville. The...
The first thing you may notice about the Trolley Line #9 Trail is the boardwalk that curves between the bluffs of massive rock. The granite was hand cut in the 1890s when the electric streetcar rails...
The Lake Mercer Loop Trail wraps around Lake Mercer in Fairfax and is slightly over five miles in length. From the Lake Mercer Loop Trail you can hop on to the South Run Trail, or the Burke Lake Loop...
Black Hill Trail offers a wooded trek with gentle inclines through Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The trail is primarily paved, though a short section in...
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Maryland is home to two Paint Branch Trails, this one in Montgomery County and another farther south in Prince George's County. This Paint Branch Trail offers a well-shaded, paved pathway...
The Town of Brentwood is tucked between Mt Rainier & Hyattsville in Prince George's County, Maryland. This short stretch of paved trail sits on the crest of a levee along the south bank of the...
Opened in 2009, the short Lord Fairfax Community College Connector Trail extends from the parking lot of the junior college to its temporary endpoint in a scenic wildlife area. Eventually, an extended...
The Stringfellow Road Sidepath runs for three miles through Chantilly and Centreville in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The asphalt and concrete trail connects multiple neighborhoods to various...
The 3-mile separated multi-use path along Middletown Road allows for safe recreation and transportation along the western side of Waldorf, Maryland. The trail begins just south of State Route 228 and...
In Northern Virginia's suburban community of Springfield, Lake Accotink Park provides a wilderness escape amid the city surroundings. The 500-acre park features picnic areas, miniature golf, an...
The Custis Trail is a popular urban route that links Virginia's D.C. suburbs with the District itself, connecting to both the W&OD Railroad Regional Park Trail at the latter's 4-mile marker and the...
The 11-mile Capital Crescent Trail follows the former route of the Georgetown Branch rail line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. It begins in Silver Spring, Maryland, east of the Rock Creek Trestle,...
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Prince George's County's Paint Branch Trail (not to be confused with Montgomery County's Paint Branch Trail farther north) runs for 3.5 miles between Lake Artemesia and Cherry Hill Neighborhood Park...
The 11-mile Capital Crescent Trail follows the former route of the Georgetown Branch rail line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. It begins in Silver Spring, Maryland, east of the Rock Creek Trestle,...
Although it parallels Eisenhower Avenue, this paved pathway is not without its charms. On its west end, Alexandria's Eisenhower Avenue Trail begins in Hensley Park, which offers plentiful parking and...
CLOSED UNTIL AUGUST 2022 FOR UPGRADING. The Mount Airy Rail-Trail will one day span nearly 4 miles across the town of Mount Airy and through a scenic, wooded area. The first completed section of the...
The Anacostia Tributary Trail System includes a number of trails linked together and managed by the National Park Service. The trail include: the Anacostia River Trail, the Northwest Branch Trail, the...
The Henson Creek Trail is located in the southwestern portion of Prince George's County, Maryland, and connects the growing District of Columbia suburbs of Fort Washington and Oxon Hill with the...
Washington, D.C.'s Fort Circle Park Hiker-Biker Trail links some of the District's dozens of Civil War era forts (now national parks) that were built to defend the city from attack by the southern...
The Grist Mill Trail at Patapsco Valley State Park course for 2.5 miles through the heavily wooded park between Ilchester Road and Lost Lake. The trail is gentle and wheelchair accessible. It passes...
The Mary Washington Hospital Trail runs along the southeast border of the hospital center, proving a pleasant stroll or gentle bike ride for hospital visitors and patients.
The Burke Lake Loop Trail offers a nearly 5-mile route for a pleasant walk or bike, while enjoying the beautiful scenery around Burke Lake in Fairfax. Since the Burke Lake Loop Trail is within Burke...
The Northeast Branch Trail follows the levee along theyou guessed itNortheast Branch of the Anacostia River from the Lake Artemesia Natural Area to Baltimore Avenue/US 1 (south of Hyattsville). The...
The Sudley Manor Drive Trail runs parallel to the southern 4.5 miles of its namesake road in western Prince William County. The trail services a number of the surrounding communities, such as Bristow...
This short sidepath parallels Herndon Parkway on the eastern edge of Herndon in Northern Virginia. Much of the trail is the width of a standard sidewalk, and it includes crosswalks and curb-cuts at...
The MacArthur Boulevard Bike Path follows the winding road through the communities of Bethesda and Potomac, just north of Washington, DC. Along the way, the path passes shops in Cabin John and Glen...
The John Overstreet Connector is a 1.5-mile trail segment that links the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail and BWI Trail. The shortbut vitaltrail is named after Overstreet, a retiree from Glen Burnie,...
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
Maryland's Indian Creek Trail is one of the shorter components of the Anacostia Tributary Trail System, but it serves as a vital link between the town of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, and scenic Lake...
The Lake Mercer Loop Trail wraps around Lake Mercer in Fairfax and is slightly over five miles in length. From the Lake Mercer Loop Trail you can hop on to the South Run Trail, or the Burke Lake Loop...
The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail provides a superb link between Alexandria, VA, and Maryland's National Harbor over the Potomac River. This well-used trail crosses on the up-river side of the bridge...
Closure Notice: Beginning March 31, 2021, DDOT and the NPS will be working on a construction project that will impact much of the southern segment of the trail (between M Street and Broad Branch Road...
The Four Mile Run Trail traverses the Four Mile Run stream valley and has many twists and turns, not to mention steep sections (mercifully short). The trail more or less parallels the popular W&OD...
The Catonsville Short Line Trail follows a segment of the former Catonsville Short Line Railroad, which ran from Charlestown to Catonsville. As of 2018, the trail runs between Shady Nook Avenue and...
Burke VRE Trail lies within Pohick Stream Valley Park and provides an important commuting and recreational corridor, connecting a shopping center, residential neighborhoods, and a Virginia Railway...
The 3-mile separated multi-use path along Middletown Road allows for safe recreation and transportation along the western side of Waldorf, Maryland. The trail begins just south of State Route 228 and...
The separated multi-use Rosewick Road Sidepath provides a direct link for both recreation and transportation between the southern Maryland communities of St. Charles and La Plata. The path runs...
Following the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Metropolitan Branch rail line, the Met Branch Trail is a busy urban rail-with-trail that shares a corridor with Metro's Red Line, MARC commuter...
The Patuxent Branch Trail is part of a 20-mile trail system over and around the rolling hills of Howard County that follows a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad line along the Patuxent River. The...
The first thing you may notice about the Trolley Line #9 Trail is the boardwalk that curves between the bluffs of massive rock. The granite was hand cut in the 1890s when the electric streetcar rails...
The Vesper Trail, which opened in 2019, serves as a short but important connector between Tysons and northern Vienna. The pathway spans 0.4 miles between the Spring Hill Metro Station (on the Silver...
The Mary Washington Hospital Trail runs along the southeast border of the hospital center, proving a pleasant stroll or gentle bike ride for hospital visitors and patients.
The Klingle Valley Trail spans just shy of a mile in a leafy, residential area of northwest Washington, DC. The trail opened in June 2017 and is accessible to the neighborhoods of Cleveland Park,...
The Rappahannock Canal Walk follows the old towpath along the disused canal just northwest of downtown Fredericksburg. The path follows a winding course past old suburban back yards and through a...
Although it parallels Eisenhower Avenue, this paved pathway is not without its charms. On its west end, Alexandria's Eisenhower Avenue Trail begins in Hensley Park, which offers plentiful parking and...
Black Hill Trail offers a wooded trek with gentle inclines through Black Hill Regional Park in Boyds, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. The trail is primarily paved, though a short section in...
Annapolis' Poplar Trail runs for nearly 1 mile on a section of the old Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis right-of-way in the heart of Maryland's capital city. Although short, the trail is a vital part...
Providing an important urban link between the Crystal City area of Arlington and the western edge of historical Alexandria, the Potomac Yard Trail is a huge boon to the area for commuting as well as...
The West Campus Access Road Trail, the newest rail-trail in Washington, D.C., travels through the sprawling former campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital, now set to become the new home of the Department...
Rocky Run Stream Valley Trail is part of the countywide trail system. This trail runs from the Fairfax County Parkway to Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. The distance along the trail from the Parkway to the...
The Stringfellow Road Sidepath runs for three miles through Chantilly and Centreville in Northern Virginia's Fairfax County. The asphalt and concrete trail connects multiple neighborhoods to various...
The 11-mile Capital Crescent Trail follows the former route of the Georgetown Branch rail line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. It begins in Silver Spring, Maryland, east of the Rock Creek Trestle,...
Avoid my mistake! Please read the reviews before you try this trail, which depending on what section you are on is a mixed bag of paved, single tracks, rocks, gravels, dirt, and exposed tree roots at . My number 1 complaint would be poorly marked sign. Sometimes the trail is just lost with no signs at all. I had to back track many places to find the signs. Even the signs are tiny with arrows in burgundy, not very visible. Why not bright red, yellow, or orange? Section in Fairfax City going south, starting at Jermantown Road is paved and the most beautiful once you get off the road at Pickett Road into the trail all the way to Springfield. Passing this point is Pohick, which I haven't got a chance to explore yet. Reading the reviews, I would expect as rough as the north section, which I tried over the weekend from W&OD entrance, passing through Reston, Vienna, and finally connects at Jermantown Road in Fairfax. To survive this section you need a hybrid bike at least, if not gravel or mountain bike. You are pretty much in the woods, following Difficult Run. Don't get hurt! Uber would not be able to find you in the woods. There are exposed tree roots, rocks, gravels, down trees, mud, and single track. Sometimes there is no bridge to cross the streams, no stepping stones either, so you would have to carry your bike skipping from rock to rock. I got fooled the previous weekend when I tried from Springfield to Fairfax and would expect the same in the north section. I have yet to explore the last northern section from W&OD to Great Falls and the southern most, from Pohick to the Occoquan. Now reading the reviews, I would expect as rough as the Reston section. Don't let the mileage mislead you. If you are in the rough sections, allow plenty of time as you don't want to get stuck in the woods in the dark. Notwithstanding the rough and poor signage, this trail is overall beautiful, wooded, nature bound with plenty to see. Enjoy!
Found ourselves with nothing to do and came upon this ride. Easy to follow trail to you get around the city then signage lacking. Photo is when you come they a horse farm where you could take a break on the bench and watch the horses. Opportunity along the way to sit up high and have view of airport or beginning/end sit and watch the planes come over. We enjoyed it!
We did from Cumberland to DC then from DC back to Cumberland! August 2021 hot as hades in the high 90’s and thunderstorms! Had a blast! Camped the entire way except for 1 day at motel lol needed a shower! Awesome experience with a huge tunnel that we had to walk our bikes through like a mile ! Rode all over the DC area and visited many places ! DC is very bike friendly!
Was not really impressed with this trail, in need of a lot of repairs. Asphalt raised up causing large bumps messing up your bike, old boardwalks with loose boards and splintered wood. Sadly I have to compare it to a “ Park” anywhere! Only able to see the Washington monument from a distance
They allow ebikes as long as one observes the speed limits and rides courteously. Being able to ride to the Mall in DC and back is great exercise too. Path users are courteous and the Pedego Ebike Rental Shop is great when you have guests who want to join you. Bethesda food is a nice reward after the ride too. A favorite trail!
Es un sendero poco transitado, con tramos muy hermosos. Disfrute muchísimos caminarlo.
Tranquilo y sencillo para caminar. El estar junto al río hace muy grata la caminata o paseo en bici.
I live only blocks from this trail and I've been riding it sporadically for over 30 years. But each year, I ride it less often (maybe twice a summer?) and I get more and more frustrated by it. Only yards from the wide Potomac River most of the way, with inspiring views of the DC monuments, a string of lovely parks, and winding wooden boardwalks through the marshes, it really is stunning. The large number of pedestrians, joggers and other bikers on it at any given time is testament to its popularity. But therein lies the danger for bikers, especially: between tourists and others who have no idea of trail courtesy or safety, most rides include lots of screeching halts, unheeded calls of "ON YOUR LEFT!" and frightening encounters around blind turns. Then there are the untold number of root heaves that rattle bike and bones. These are the worst I've seen on any trail in America and make for white-knuckled and jarring rides. This 15-mile trail is so popular and pretty, it should have been widened and repaved by the National Park Service a decade ago. Bikers and walkers alike should be sadly wary of this national treasure.
Parked only to find a trail closed sign and some construction equipment on it. This is the center street end. The park end was blocked due to a long line of cars for a recycle event.
Starting at the south end, it's really quite a nice ride -- a paved surface in fairly reasonable shape, well-marked with a red centerline to help you find your way, winding through a mix of suburban and wooded areas as you make your way upstream.
But between NH Ave and the Beltway the paving ends quite suddenly. Despite the markings on the map, the paving does NOT pick back up again. If you have a pretty serious mountain bike with aggressive tires -- and an interest in wearing yourself out -- you might be able to keep going.
The map says this is a 7 mile trip. That may well be the case for the pavement, but the map then shows the trail goes on up to Wheaton and Layhill. The written description notes it's closed to bikes, but the map seems to suggest otherwise.
Maybe this trail should be broken into two parts to avoid confusion for folks like me! The hiking part is pretty rugged but quite beautiful . . .
The Baltimore and Annapolis Trail plus the BWI Trail are two distinct trails that connect at the northwestern trailhead of the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail via the John Overstreet Connector. So, back and forth to Annapolis is about 28 miles, then the loop around the Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshal airport is another 10.5 miles.
We headed southeast on the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail, first alongside a runway (the parking lot is actually called the Thomas A. Dixon Observation Park) and then into the woods. For the next mile or so, we zigzagged through the forest until we came to a road sign that required us to stop and read it carefully. After crossing a highway bridge, we rode for the next 13 miles through a variety of settings.
There were many picturesque parts of the gently rolling trail: split-rail wooden fences along mowed grass aprons and large “mounds” of vine-covered trees. In many areas, the trail ran along the edges of well-kept neighborhoods where there were frequent, but not busy, intersections. Almost imperceptibly, the trail declined towards Annapolis – a fact we were only made aware of as we climbed back towards BWI. At about the 10-mile mark, we saw many bikers and runners stopped at a popular trailside coffee shop in Severna Park. This is the most convenient place to fill up on water or snacks. Next to it was an enormous pile of discarded bikes behind Pedal Pushers bike store.
After a few more miles of the quiet, mostly shaded trail, we reached the Annapolis trailhead then turned around. Thirteen or so miles later, we arrived back at the Observation Park and forced ourselves to do the BWI loop. Surprisingly, the BWI trail was NOT a tour of parking lots, airport hangars and shade-less runways. It was actually pretty in many spots and had an interesting array of vistas ranging from forests, to horse pastures, to overlooks of the airport, to neighborhoods, to highways. This is a very popular loop and one local biker told us that there were too many pedestrians to ride on the weekends.
Ireland’s most famous brewery has its only US brewery near BWI and it is both massive and a ton of fun.
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