Best route with kids through Arlington

[chris_s]

Pick your poison, Custis hills or Wilson/Fairfax stop lights. Veitch is a little nicer than Quincy, but they’re both fine.

Going back home I definitely recommend the Quincy route because traversing Fairfax Dr >> Clarendon Circle >> Wilson Blvd eastbound is a lot more obnoxious than westbound.

[jrenaut]

I don’t like poison.

Google’s altitude charts made it look like the hills were pretty comparable, but it sounds like that’s not the case?

[Steve]

@jrenaut 89626 wrote:

I don’t like poison.

Google’s altitude charts made it look like the hills were pretty comparable, but it sounds like that’s not the case?

Custis remains pretty hilly from Veitch to Quincy. Here’s my two cents, since I live at the very intersection that are you going to…..

1. I get off at Veitch but take Key -> Highland -> Wilson -> Fairfax -> Quincy or Randolph. Key is better than that stretch of Wilson if you have the kids (it is residential), and Fairfax has bike lanes unlike Wilson from the intersection of Washington heading West.

2. If you feel like hills, or are looking for more trail/less road, then taking Custis to Stafford is actually the safest way. You then take Stafford down to 9th, to Randolph, and to Wilson. Heading to Ballston I prefer this to getting off at Quincy, because there isn’t really a good way to get to the Southbound side of Quincy from the trail.

[bobco85]

The options I normally take are:
Option #1 (usual): Custis >> Quincy – straightforward, has a couple of hills to deal with, main issue will be trail traffic with poor sightlines
Option #2 (sometimes): Custis >> Veitch >> Wilson >> Fairfax >> Quincy – flatter with bike lanes, but Clarendon Circle is a pain and you’ll be riding in the door zone
Option #3 (for variety): Custis >> Veitch >> Key >> 13th >> Quincy – relatively flat compared to the others, mostly quiet low-speed neighborhood route, one annoying hill to climb after crossing Kirkwood

I would recommend Option #1 (Custis >> Quincy) or alternatively Option #3 (Custis >> Veitch >> Key) because dealing with traffic is much easier that way (I live near Ballston and often use Custis >> Quincy). As chris_s noted, Clarendon Circle is a bit of a pain either way if you’re not used to passing through there. Also, I think the sidewalk from the Custis to Veitch is still closed; you’ll have to access Veitch through the path in McCoy Park.

[americancyclo]

I don’t think any of it is as steep as climbing up 15th st. so you’ll be fine, but I would also suggest taking the custis as far in as possible to keep the kiddos away from exhaust.

[dasgeh]

Welcome to my hood. If I were you, I’d take custis , right on Scott which becomes Veitch (it wraps around), right on Key, left on Jackson, right on 13th (there’s a church with a garden on your left just before the turn), quick right and left to go downhill, left on Kirkwood, then right on Fairfax. These are roads I travel weekly and this route is, imho, the best combo of low traffic and less hilly.

[dasgeh]

To what others have suggested: Custis to Stafford adds a hill over custis to quincy. There’s no reason to take the hill up 13th – just take Kirkwood to Fairfax (there’s a little hill there – to avoid that hill you can go south of Clarendon in the neighborhood but you end up adding a bit of distance or braving Clarendon Circle which isnt so bad westbound as you can take the right turn lane to the sidewalk for a few feet to the turn onto fairfax at northside social). Going home I’d take quincy to the Custis. The sightlines on that eastern half of the custis aren’t bad.

[jrenaut]

@americancyclo 89633 wrote:

I don’t think any of it is as steep as climbing up 15th st. so you’ll be fine, but I would also suggest taking the custis as far in as possible to keep the kiddos away from exhaust.

I don’t do 15th with the kids (though I’ve been challenged to show i can do it, so I’ll probably try it at some point).

[Steve]

I think the general opinion on your way home is to take Quincy to the Custis, no doubt. The few extra hills aren’t a big deal when you are going down Rosslyn hill, and Clarendon Circle area going eastbound is much more of a pain than west. So we have agreement!

Coming west into Ballston, I think the answers here pretty much sum it up, it’s just personal preference. Veitch to Key to Fairfax (whether by Wilson or 13th or whatever) is flatter and the Custis to Quincy is trail-ier. I think based upon the fact that you ride in the city with the kids a lot, that you’d feel more than comfortable with the Veitch way, and it’d be an easier ride, but it’s really just personal preference.

[americancyclo]

Two points:

The Veitch, Key, 13th route is the reverse of the traditional Java Shack route, in case you ever feel inclined to meet us VA folks out west for a coffee run.

I feel the need to assert that the pavement quality on Key is not what I would expect of a bike friendly county like Arlington.

[jrenaut]

Ok, thanks, all, for all the advice. I’ll figure something out before the weekend.

And I would be happy to come out to Java Shack sometime, though I think I’ll wait until after camp is over and I’m not putting in all these extra miles on the cargo bike.

[jrenaut]

One small wrong turn on the way out, but our trip to Arlington was a big success. Gorgeous weather on the way home.

Thanks agian for the advice.

[Author]

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