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 Mount Vernon Trail at Roosevelt Island. The Custis Trail, along with the Mount Vernon Trail, the W&OD Trail, and the Four Mile Run Trail, make up the Arlington Loop.
About the Route
The trail can be difficult for the aerobically challenged—it's hills are quite a workout and more so if you are traveling east to west. The Custis Trail parallels I-66, but concrete barriers keep the traffic noise down. In places, the trail is narrow and has a few blind curves, so cyclists should take them slowly to avoid colliding with the many runners and walkers they'll encounter.
The trail leaves off in the north from Rosslyn at the intersection of Lee Highway and Lynn Street and follows a wide sidewalk up the hill as it heads west. Beyond the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel, the trail turns to asphalt and becomes narrower; the uphill climb is a grunt. The trail then crosses over I-66 and follows it to where the Custis Trail hooks up with the W&OD Trail. From here, you can also cross the W&OD to the Four Mile Run Trail. Linking all these trails together provides more than 70 miles of non-motorized corridor.
Connections
At Roosevelt Island, trail users can connect with the Mount Vernon Trail.
Near I-66, trail users can connect with the Four Mile Run Trail.
At the four-mile marker, trail users can connect with the W&OD Railroad Regional Park Trail.
The Custis Trail is part of the Arlington Loop.
The Custis Trail runs between the W&OD Trail and Lee Highway (Rosslyn).
Public parking is available in Rosslyn, and free parking is available at the Roosevelt Island parking lot off the George Washington Parkway (access only heading N/W bound). Trail users can also park at Bon Air Memorial Park in Arlington.
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
I have used this trail a few times to commute from the Arlington, VA area into the district. It is convenient but could use a repaving. The paved path is bumpy (It looks like tree roots grew to create the wavy in the path). The first time I rode it I was pulling my dog and the wavy ness of the trail actually broke the bike rack connecting the dog trailer from the bumps. 3 years later from when by rack broke, the path has only gotten more wavy.
This trail is also hilly so you will get a workout. Going from Ballston to DC it was more downhill and rather easy, coming back the hills were somewhat steep. A good workout but not overly difficult.
On a side note: If you are visiting DC, I strongly suggest using the bike trails in DC, around DC, and all the trails in the surrounding areas. Every Smithsonian has bike racks to lock up your bike while visiting the museums. It is a great way to see the monuments, museums, and the mall without miles of walking. Today I first went to Library of Congress (to do some research), then to National African American Museum, and to the Native American Museum. I rode about a mile between the two museums which was much easier than walking.
Started at bon air rose garden and connected to the Curtis. Immediate under the highway you turn back east and hit a “hill”. I found myself vacillating between 22mph down hills to 4mph struggling up. Lol. The route runs along the interstate and goes up and down for the first 3-4miles and then dumps into Dc. Where you have a few cross streets to navigate and then runs along the river. It’s all paved, wide enough to pass, not too many blind corners, and despite the up and down, it was a decent little unexpected workout.
I just moved to Arlington and needed a place to practice riding my OneWheel. The trail provided a perfect venue for this. It runs along i66 so it is not particularly tranquil, but it certainly is convenient.
I rode this from the W&OD over to the Mt. Vernon Trail as part of a "loop" ride on a warmer than normal February day. This paved trail offers some challenging hills in the 4 mile ride that pretty much parallels I-66.
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