Find the top rated walking trails in Mount Rainier, 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 Bethesda Trolley Trail—also known as the North Bethesda Trail—is a 4-mile path linking Bethesda and North Bethesda, primarily by bridging two major highways. The trail occupies the abandoned...
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...
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 Ox Road Sidepath is a paved trail that runs parallel to Ox Road/State Route 123 in Fairfax County. The trail runs from George Mason University's main Fairfax campus to just south of the former...
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...
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous – it is just over 50% complete. Please refer to the Trail Map for more information on the existing sections of trail, as well as the online...
Central Maryland's WB&A Trail occupies the former Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railway corridor—hence its name—for its entire route. The railroad operated electric commuter trains...
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The Cross County Trail is a multi-use trail that generally follows the various stream valleys in Fairfax County, Virginia. It is officially named the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail in recognition...
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 developing South Shore Trail will one day stretch 14 miles between Annapolis and Odenton. It's also part of the larger East Coast Greenway, a widespread network connecting trails from Maine to...
This paved sidepath runs parallel to Centreville Road/State Route 657, providing a safe route for alternative transportation along the busy suburban roadway in western Fairfax County. The trail runs...
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...
The Cub Run Stream Valley Trail offers a paved route meandering through Cub Run Stream Valley Park in the Northern Virginia suburb of Centreville. Though it's surrounded by residential neighborhoods,...
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...
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...
Located just 18 miles south of our nation's capital, the Indian Head Rail Trail offers a unique natural outdoor experience, seemingly far removed from urban development and its associated chaotic...
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Little Falls Trail is a hike-and-bike pathway in Montgomery County, Maryland. Winding through parks and along creeks, the trail runs parallel to the popular Capital Crescent Trail for part of its...
Running parallel to Beulah Street from Franconia to Fort Belvoir in southeast Fairfax County, the paved Beulah Street Sidepath provides a link to numerous neighborhoods along its route. A parallel...
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...
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...
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 Ox Road Sidepath is a paved trail that runs parallel to Ox Road/State Route 123 in Fairfax County. The trail runs from George Mason University's main Fairfax campus to just south of the former...
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 Strawberry Lake Way Bicycle Path is a 2.2 mile trail that is located between Laurel and Annapolis in Anne Arundel County Maryland. The trail starts at Piney Orchard Elementary School, and ends at...
Southern Maryland's Three Notch Trail is a work-in-progress under the guidance of St. Mary's County and other stakeholders. When complete, the recreational trail will extend 28 miles along an...
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...
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...
Located just 18 miles south of our nation's capital, the Indian Head Rail Trail offers a unique natural outdoor experience, seemingly far removed from urban development and its associated chaotic...
Oxon Run is the name of a tributary of the Potomac River in southeast DC, which lends its name to both the trail system and park in which the trail loop is found. The trail on both sides of the...
The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail is one of the best hiking and biking trails in the Mid-Atlantic region. It allows for nearly 20 miles of flat travel, punctuated by a number of access points and an...
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The Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) is one of suburban Washington, D.C.'s most popular rail-trails. The heavily used trail is frequented by commuters and recreationists alike, and is a...
Baltimore’s Herring Run Trail runs through scenic Herring Run Park, centered on a tributary of the Back River. The winding trail follows Herring Run through a woodlands environment so peaceful you're...
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...
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...
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...
The Savage Mill Trail in Savage Park travels along the rolling Patuxent River through the grounds of an old cotton mill. In the early 1800s, Savage was a major manufacturing center, harnessing power...
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 18-mile Mount Vernon Trail is one of the Washington, D.C. Metro area's most popular trails. Just across the Potomac River from D.C. in Virginia, the trail links Theodore Roosevelt Island Park with...
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...
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...
This 3.45-mile paved trail follows the Magruder Branch creek, beginning at the Damascus Recreational Park on Kings Valley Road. It’s a relatively flat trail for most of its length, barring the steeper...
Tucked in the meandering, wooded hills of the sprawling yet understated multimillion-dollar estates of Great Falls, just outside Washington, D.C., is the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic...
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 trail covers a half mile and is surfaced...
This short rail-with-trail is short but makes some pretty significant connections: it links the King Street and Braddock Road metro stations. It also connects to the Potomac Yard Trail, helping to...
Little Falls Trail is a hike-and-bike pathway in Montgomery County, Maryland. Winding through parks and along creeks, the trail runs parallel to the popular Capital Crescent Trail for part of its...
The Cub Run Stream Valley Trail offers a paved route meandering through Cub Run Stream Valley Park in the Northern Virginia suburb of Centreville. Though it's surrounded by residential neighborhoods,...
The Blake Lane Sidepath runs for 3 miles, linking Oak Marr Park and Recreation Center with neighborhoods, Oakton High School and other parks. Most of the trail is concrete and the width of a standard...
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Rock Creek Trail forms a winding path, at times narrow, through the urban greenway of Rock Creek Regional Park. The trail extends between Needwood Lake northeast of Rockville, MD, and the Washington,...
The Carl Henn Millennium Trail is Rockville's bicycle beltway. The 10-mile trail creates a circle around the city, providing a safe and convenient way to get around town or enjoy a leisurely...
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 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...
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 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 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...
Lake Frank is a 54-acre reservoir located in the heart of Rock Creek Regional Park in Derwood, east of Rockville. The reservoir, together with Lake Needwood was created for flood control and was named...
The Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) is one of suburban Washington, D.C.'s most popular rail-trails. The heavily used trail is frequented by commuters and recreationists alike, and is a...
Running parallel to Beulah Street from Franconia to Fort Belvoir in southeast Fairfax County, the paved Beulah Street Sidepath provides a link to numerous neighborhoods along its route. A parallel...
The Matthew Henson Trail runs along a paved surface (rough in places from tree roots) through a narrow band of forested green space between the Rock Creek Trail just south of Veirs Road and Alderton...
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...
I've ridden this Trail many times, done the whole thing in stages over the years as far North as New Freedom PA. Very enjoyable, but can get VERY busy in the Summer. Traffic lightens up as you go North, peaceful ride once you get out on the Trail away from of the Busier Parking Areas. Avoid the Monkton Lot at all costs....Particularly in the Summer!
Really enjoy this Trail, have ridden it several times. Well laid out, enjoyable, plenty of great spots to eat on Kent Island. Always recommend it to Friends.
Nice Trail, fairly straight & flat, not a lot of elevation change. Some road crossings but they are all well laid out. Considering the Suburban Sprawl in the area it is a pretty peaceful ride, particularly as you go further south. Great Trail for Beginners, ridden it many times....one of the first Trails I ever rode.
I took my bike and started up this trail from its terminus at the Occoquan Marine Park near Lorton, VA. For the 1st mile, it was obvious, a nice paved trail heading inland slightly up hill. After a mile, I encountered a cross-walk. There was NO marker on the other side, but I assumed the trail continued there. It then went into and around the side of the old Lorton Prison, which is now called the Workhouse complex. Within the complex, the trail ... just came to a stop at a parking lot. No signs, no arrows ... no anything. The map which Traillink provides showed no clear detail of where to go next. I asked 3 people, none of whom had any idea. I biked around all the buildings, went out onto the street, found nothing, and got ready to quit. Then, I talked to a biker who said to find the trail, I had to go out onto a main road (Workhouse Rd.), turn right, and I'd eventually find some signs. I biked over a mile, went into another park and biked around, and found nothing. Finally, I saw what looked like the trail, going UNDER the main road through a tunnel. Biked back up Workhouse Rd, eventually found a small branch off the road with a small GT trail sign in the back, followed its paved trail, only to find it dead-ending. Backtracked and discovered I had to branch off the paving onto a dirt trail to keep on the GT trail. Took it for 1/2 mile, came to a fork in the trail, but again, no sign as to which fork to take. I then gave up in disgust, and biked back to my car.
This trail markers are very poor. Fairfax Cty is a major well-maintained municipality. One would think its major cross-county trail would be reasonably marked. Its not. Thoroughly disgusted!!!
As you ride out to Mount Vernon, you feel like you are far away from NoVA/DC. Beautiful views across the river. Just be aware of the many roots that are cracking through the trail - not a smooth ride, but a great trail location.
Asphalt appears to be new. Whole trail was smooth and well maintained.
Most of the recent reviews are spot on. If you are used to crushed limestone or asphalt the bulk of this trail is bumpy and full of exposed rocks, ruts and tree roots. The downside is you have to keep your eyes front and center most of the time. The Paw Paw Tunnel detour is a real challenge. I only had two panniers that were not full and it was a struggle. Can’t imagine how the fully loaded bike packers did it. (But I’ve also not done any mtb, so that could affect how easy/hard it was.) But the amount of history and really cool places to stop and explore make it worth it. Beautiful aqueducts and lock houses as w.landmarks makes up fo me the trail conditions.
***ATTENTION***
The Paw Paw detour due to the tunnel being closed which with talking to the construction crew, will remain closed for another 18 months (Spring ’23) but when reopened, it will have a new riding surface.
The marked detour is not like any other that I have ever experienced on a trail which normally is a divert to local roads until you can rejoin the trail. Eastbound is best described as a mountain bike trail which is narrow in sections and at a 10 to 15 percent grade with exposed roots, rock gardens (rocks vertically embedded in the trail surface) and other obstacles. With a bike loaded down with gear, it is extremely strenuous to make it to the top and over the tunnel. Just pushing your bike up and over East bound is a challenge also.
Westbound is a trail that is a large enough for a vehicle but also has 10 to 15 percent grades but has a loose surface for a majority of it.
From Cumberland to Paw Paw, the trail is need of maintenance as there is numerous hazards to include mud holes that are deep (10” to 12”), segments of large branches and this time of the year with leaves falling, they hide some of the obstacles. You must keep your eyes on the trail and not sightsee for this section of C&O.
Also, confirm your dining options along the trail as even if sites on the internet say they will be open during your visit, you may be disappointed and going hungry due to the lack of staffing.
The rest of the trail is in great condition to DC and be aware as you approach the Capitol and it is on a weekend that there will be plenty of trail traffic as they enjoy this gem in their backyard!
Here's a note I received on 10/5/2021 from the Trail Development Program Manager for the Prince Georges County Department of Parks and Recreation.
Dawn Thomas is the Anne Arundel (AA) County Recreation and Parks point person for the project.
PG Parks is a partner in the project.
The latest news from AA County is that a Pre-Bid meeting was held by the Dept. of Public Works (AAC).
Contractors will be preparing bids for construction in October.
Contractor selection will happen in Nov-Dec. timeframe, and then a contract will need to be signed by the appropriate parties.
Depending on weather and the contractor’s planned schedule for construction activities, work will start in early 2022.
A planned construction schedule won’t be available until early 2022. In general, it will take at least 12 months, however weather will play a huge role in determining the actual timeframe.
My aunt and I took a quick walk on this path. It’s a peaceful walk on a paved path with a burbling creek nearby. A lovely step into nature in the Cleveland Park area.
It was alright - the trail didn’t give much view of the lake itself and also didn’t circumnavigate it. You just kind of end up in a neighborhood. That said it was wide and well maintained and easy to navigate.
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