Anacostia Riverwalk trail passable to Bladensburg

I decided this afternoon to head as far up the trail on the E side of the Anacostia River as I could, and lo and behold it was open to Bladensburg. Fun!

Notes for anyone who might want to try it:

The paving has just been completed (you can smell the tar and the equipment is still parked nearby) in the section from the Kenilworth Park playing fields through to the Aquatic Gardens. Also, there are two places where you have to portage over gravel:

• The trail has a gap just N of Benning Rd where there’s a marsh that hasn’t been bridged yet. When you reach Benning Rd from the S, go up to the intersection of Anacostia Ave and Benning, cross Benning, and go N on Anacostia Ave. At the end of the straight section, before the road curves to the right, there’s a gravel access road to the left. Portage (due west) over the gravel about 20 meters, and get back on to the paved trail.
• After passing the Kenilworth playing fields, there is a gravel path to your left. Go (due north) about 40 meters along that to recover the trail.

There are also a couple of barriers across the path that you have to go around or over, and some places where crud on the surface made me glad to be on 28mm tires (wouldn’t have felt comfortable on 23s). In other words, the trail is not quite ready for prime time. Grand opening is this fall. I imagine crews will still be out on it through the summer so anyone heading there during work hours needs to be really careful. But I have to say, it’s a beautiful trail! I really enjoyed it. Kudos to everyone who’s worked so hard for so long to make this a reality.

John

PS I made it a loop by crossing the Anacostia at Bladensburg, going a short distance S on the trail on that side, popping out onto Rt 1 at Ft Lincoln, then Eastern Ave over to the Monroe St bike route and following Monroe to the Met Branch Trail. A great outcome from deciding to play hooky this afternoon,