Fairfax County Parkway trail

[Supermau]

I don’t know about a hard copy but I just Google mapped it a couple days back as I wanted to find a route from Alexandria to Burke Lake and of course it worked quite nicely.

[mstone]

@thirstyman 114502 wrote:

Can someone tell me where to find an up-to-date map that identifies bike path segments along the Fairfax County Parkway?[/quote]

Google maps is the most convenient (under the search box in the upper left there should be a “getting around” box which has a “bicycling” option that will put green lines on the bike trails). There’s also a fairfax county bike map which is generally less convenient unless you have a paper copy to keep on the bike for emergencies.

Quote:

Also, does anyone know if plans exist to create a bike path extending continuously from Route 7 to Route 1? Thanks.

route 7 where to route 1 where? that already exists if you don’t add any more qualifiers. (route 1 at four mile run to the four mile run trail to lucky run to leesburg pike)

[thirstyman]

@mstone 114509 wrote:

Google maps is the most convenient (under the search box in the upper left there should be a “getting around” box which has a “bicycling” option that will put green lines on the bike trails). There’s also a fairfax county bike map which is generally less convenient unless you have a paper copy to keep on the bike for emergencies.

route 7 where to route 1 where? that already exists if you don’t add any more qualifiers. (route 1 at four mile run to the four mile run trail to lucky run to leesburg pike)

Thanks for the replies. Google still shows the parkway as #7100 in some parts so wasn’t sure it’s current. Referring to route 7 to route 1 I should have asked if plans exist to complete a continuous trail along the parkway between those two highways. It looks like the only safe way to bike across I95 requires a substantial detour off the parkway.

[mstone]

I don’t know of any plans to extend the trail, and I think it was a conscious decision on VDOTs part to not put a section over the highway & tracks originally. Maybe something to fight for the next time they rebuild the bridge, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

[trailrunner]

I live right off the parkway near Rolling Road in Springfield and have ridden on it since it was opened about 20 years ago. Actually, I used to ride down the middle of the parkway while it was being built.

There is a path along the parkway from Herndon to Lorton, but there are a couple of gaps, such as between 123 and Burke Center Parkway, and there used to be a gap between 29 and 50 in the Fair Lakes and I-66 area, with no signs showing where to go or how to get back on the parkway once you leave. The first-time rider would be lost. When I first started riding on the parkway and I would encounter these gaps, I kept exploring the neighborhood until I figured out a way around the gaps. I also didn’t like some of the crossings and how the the trail would flip from one side to the other, so I eventually just started doing most of my riding on the shoulder.

But the bottom line is that there is nominally a path from the W&OD Herndon to the exit for Fullerton Road and Boudinot Drive in Lorton, which is just to the NW of I-95. With a smartphone or GPS (tools I didn’t have when the parkway first opened), you should be able to find your way without too much problem. Fairfax County has published some trail and bike maps, which you could probably find on their website, which might also help.

As far as extending it to Route 1 – I don’t know of any plans to do that, but it would make my life a lot easier. I commute from my house in Springfield to Fort Belvoir. I live about a half mile from the parkway, and it would be so easy for me to just get on the parkway and take it directly to Route 1 and then enter Fort Belvoir. But as I said, the path ends just NW of I-95, right before a very bike-unfriendly area where the parkway crosses over I-95 and then continues through an industrial area. In this area, there are several on and off ramps, lanes ending and merging, lots of trucks getting on and off the freeway, and lots of car traffic. I’m a pretty brave rider, but that is one intersection I will not ride through, at least on a daily basis. Instead, I have to add about three miles each way to my commute to avoid that intersection and get to Route 1. IMHO, they did a poor job on the parkway path in general, and an especially poor job in this area.

[thirstyman]

@trailrunner 114521 wrote:

I live right off the parkway near Rolling Road in Springfield and have ridden on it since it was opened about 20 years ago. Actually, I used to ride down the middle of the parkway while it was being built.

There is a path along the parkway from Herndon to Lorton, but there are a couple of gaps, such as between 123 and Burke Center Parkway, and there used to be a gap between 29 and 50 in the Fair Lakes and I-66 area, with no signs showing where to go or how to get back on the parkway once you leave. The first-time rider would be lost. When I first started riding on the parkway and I would encounter these gaps, I kept exploring the neighborhood until I figured out a way around the gaps. I also didn’t like some of the crossings and how the the trail would flip from one side to the other, so I eventually just started doing most of my riding on the shoulder.

But the bottom line is that there is nominally a path from the W&OD Herndon to the exit for Fullerton Road and Boudinot Drive in Lorton, which is just to the NW of I-95. With a smartphone or GPS (tools I didn’t have when the parkway first opened), you should be able to find your way without too much problem. Fairfax County has published some trail and bike maps, which you could probably find on their website, which might also help.

As far as extending it to Route 1 – I don’t know of any plans to do that, but it would make my life a lot easier. I commute from my house in Springfield to Fort Belvoir. I live about a half mile from the parkway, and it would be so easy for me to just get on the parkway and take it directly to Route 1 and then enter Fort Belvoir. But as I said, the path ends just NW of I-95, right before a very bike-unfriendly area where the parkway crosses over I-95 and then continues through an industrial area. In this area, there are several on and off ramps, lanes ending and merging, lots of trucks getting on and off the freeway, and lots of car traffic. I’m a pretty brave rider, but that is one intersection I will not ride through, at least on a daily basis. Instead, I have to add about three miles each way to my commute to avoid that intersection and get to Route 1. IMHO, they did a poor job on the parkway path in general, and an especially poor job in this area.

Thanks very much for that detail. Yes, it’s too bad the parkway path was so poorly done. The parts I’ve been on have no mile markers, signage is sparse, and many heavy-traffic crossings are at grade. As you say, it could have been a great commuting route. Also, the US 1 construction project by Ft Belvoir promises to include a bike trail that will extend from route 235 southward past the parkway, and as a result you’ll be able to pedal from Mt Vernon to the parkway and live to tell about it. A truly bikeable and continuous parkway path, in conjunction with the W&OD and Mt Vernon trails, would form a 70-mile bikeway circuit.

[bobco85]

@trailrunner 114521 wrote:

There is a path along the parkway from Herndon to Lorton, but there are a couple of gaps, such as between 123 and Burke Center Parkway, and there used to be a gap between 29 and 50 in the Fair Lakes and I-66 area, with no signs showing where to go or how to get back on the parkway once you leave. The first-time rider would be lost. When I first started riding on the parkway and I would encounter these gaps, I kept exploring the neighborhood until I figured out a way around the gaps. I also didn’t like some of the crossings and how the the trail would flip from one side to the other, so I eventually just started doing most of my riding on the shoulder.

I’ve definitely been there with getting lost on my first couple of trips on the trail. I’ve accessed different parts of the trail (mostly from W&OD or Telegraph), but have only twice biked the entire thing.

@trailrunner 114521 wrote:

As far as extending it to Route 1 – I don’t know of any plans to do that, but it would make my life a lot easier. I commute from my house in Springfield to Fort Belvoir. I live about a half mile from the parkway, and it would be so easy for me to just get on the parkway and take it directly to Route 1 and then enter Fort Belvoir. But as I said, the path ends just NW of I-95, right before a very bike-unfriendly area where the parkway crosses over I-95 and then continues through an industrial area. In this area, there are several on and off ramps, lanes ending and merging, lots of trucks getting on and off the freeway, and lots of car traffic. I’m a pretty brave rider, but that is one intersection I will not ride through, at least on a daily basis. Instead, I have to add about three miles each way to my commute to avoid that intersection and get to Route 1. IMHO, they did a poor job on the parkway path in general, and an especially poor job in this area.

It’s amazing how much the FFX Co Pkwy trail would improve if they put up some signage and/or maps to show how users can continue on the trail especially with the detour to cross I-95. TBH, I was happy when they finally repaved some of it I think a year or so ago (low expectations).

@thirstyman 114522 wrote:

Thanks very much for that detail. Yes, it’s too bad the parkway path was so poorly done. The parts I’ve been on have no mile markers, signage is sparse, and many heavy-traffic crossings are at grade. As you say, it could have been a great commuting route. Also, the US 1 construction project by Ft Belvoir promises to include a bike trail that will extend from route 235 southward past the parkway, and as a result you’ll be able to pedal from Mt Vernon to the parkway and live to tell about it. A truly bikeable and continuous parkway path, in conjunction with the W&OD and Mt Vernon trails, would form a 70-mile bikeway circuit.

In 2014, they did complete a connection (Jeff Todd Way/Mulligan Rd) between route 235 (Mount Vernon Highway) and Telegraph Rd that features an separated path for most of it. You can then use Telegraph Rd to access the FFX Co Pkwy trail. This allows you to at least form part of that circuit as long as you are comfortable riding on Mount Vernon Highway (it can feel a little tight, but there is enough room for cars to pass without buzzing you). It does add 2 big hills, though, so just a warning!

Also, FYI, the intersection of US-1/Mount Vernon Highway/Jeff Todd Way does NOT detect bicycles. You will have to use the pedestrian beg button to cross if there are no cars going straight across (i.e., if the cars in your direction are only turning, only the left turn arrows will turn green, and the cycle will skip you).

[mstone]

They’ve added some signs at the fair lakes detour in the past year, so that’s much better. It is overall a pretty bad trail, but it’s the best VDOT seems capable of and is the best north/south route available in much of the county. I have biked a big chunk of it with one of the kids to camp at Burke lake park, which would be inconceivable on the shoulder.

[Terpfan]

@thirstyman 114522 wrote:

Thanks very much for that detail. Yes, it’s too bad the parkway path was so poorly done. The parts I’ve been on have no mile markers, signage is sparse, and many heavy-traffic crossings are at grade. As you say, it could have been a great commuting route. Also, the US 1 construction project by Ft Belvoir promises to include a bike trail that will extend from route 235 southward past the parkway, and as a result you’ll be able to pedal from Mt Vernon to the parkway and live to tell about it. A truly bikeable and continuous parkway path, in conjunction with the W&OD and Mt Vernon trails, would form a 70-mile bikeway circuit.

You can do it now. You just have to take Jeff Todd Way as indicated by bobco85 (Telegraph to get to it). It’s actually really nice as they just opened it a couple months ago and so the pavement was nice and smooth.

Alternatively, it basically does connect to Rt 1, but south of Ft. Belvoir, or rather the southern gate area (forget the actual name). If you follow the trail until it ends at the southern terminus then you take that road left and it will intersect with Rt 1 at one of Ft. Bevloir’s gates–actually a bike friendly gate with a bike lane. You can then just show any id and they will let you ride through. You can also turn off at Telegraph and there is a bike lane there as well running southbound to Rt 1 (it does not run all the way northbound…trust me, I’ve had some pissed off motorists on that one, but I’m making my point to the County).

The downside to all of this is you kind of have to know these things exist otherwise it’s no fun on Rt 1. I also once tried taking Rt 1 home from there. That’s a fun one. I should do it again just to show how disjointed the whole thing is–you have to be on-road for chunks because the other infrastructure is just bizare (eg, one bridge on Rt 1 has no pedestrian area and a 6 inch shoulder, literally).

[thirstyman]

@Terpfan 115203 wrote:

You can do it now. You just have to take Jeff Todd Way as indicated by bobco85 (Telegraph to get to it). It’s actually really nice as they just opened it a couple months ago and so the pavement was nice and smooth.

Alternatively, it basically does connect to Rt 1, but south of Ft. Belvoir, or rather the southern gate area (forget the actual name). If you follow the trail until it ends at the southern terminus then you take that road left and it will intersect with Rt 1 at one of Ft. Bevloir’s gates–actually a bike friendly gate with a bike lane. You can then just show any id and they will let you ride through. You can also turn off at Telegraph and there is a bike lane there as well running southbound to Rt 1 (it does not run all the way northbound…trust me, I’ve had some pissed off motorists on that one, but I’m making my point to the County).

The downside to all of this is you kind of have to know these things exist otherwise it’s no fun on Rt 1. I also once tried taking Rt 1 home from there. That’s a fun one. I should do it again just to show how disjointed the whole thing is–you have to be on-road for chunks because the other infrastructure is just bizare (eg, one bridge on Rt 1 has no pedestrian area and a 6 inch shoulder, literally).

Thanks. I haven’t tried going through Ft Belvoir off of Route 1, but last week I did find a workable 8.5-mile route from the parkway trail to Mt Vernon Hwy by way of Newington Rd, Telegraph Rd, and Jeff Todd Way. The Telegraph Rd portion is 1.5 miles long with lots of traffic, but has a designated bike lane that some motorists honor. As you mentioned, the new Jeff Todd Way is a smooth ride and has almost no traffic yet. Also last week, armed with apple and google maps and a hard copy county bike map I managed to bike the whole route from W&OD to Mt Vernon in both directions using the Fairfax County Parkway trail wherever possible. Even with the maps I still got lost several times due to the many detours and lack of signage (about 7.5 miles of the 28-mile stretch between the W&OD and Newington Rd departs substantially from the parkway). A circuit ride comprising this parkway trail route + Mt Vernon trail + Custis trail + W&OD back to the parkway trail would be about 73.5 miles.

[scoot]

AFAIK, federal ID (e.g. CAC) is now required to enter Fort Belvoir.

[Terpfan]

@scoot 115261 wrote:

AFAIK, federal ID (e.g. CAC) is now required to enter Fort Belvoir.

Really? That sucks. I suppose that’s what those big digital boards were talking about. I liked it more when I can just roll up and show my driver’s license. The base is quite pleasant to ride on, plus they have Starbucks and all sorts of things on base.

If that’s the case, they really need to be partners in figuring out some way to traverse Rt 1 by pedestrians/cyclists along that stretch. I’ve done it exactly once on my bike and I would not recommend it to anyone. No real shoulders, speeding cars to 60mph, turns, and hills–not a good combo.

[scoot]

I should emphasize my lack of certainty on that. I haven’t tried to access Ft Belvoir without a CAC. I do know that a colleague of mine accidentally left hers in the office one evening and then had to go through an hour-long process at the Tulley Gate visitor center the next morning just to get back to her office. So that seems like a best-case scenario for someone without federal ID.

It may be a similar procedure to what is being discussed in the other thread on changes to the access policy at Fort Myer.

Obviously the best long-term solution would be a safe place to ride in the Route 1 corridor. Better conditions on Telegraph Road would also help to make the new Jeff Todd Way more useful. Have the Telegraph Road bike lanes been extended east of Beulah? I come through that intersection on Beulah often, but I haven’t been on that section of Telegraph in over a year.

[Terpfan]

@scoot 115309 wrote:

I should emphasize my lack of certainty on that. I haven’t tried to access Ft Belvoir without a CAC. I do know that a colleague of mine accidentally left hers in the office one evening and then had to go through an hour-long process at the Tulley Gate visitor center the next morning just to get back to her office. So that seems like a best-case scenario for someone without federal ID.

It may be a similar procedure to what is being discussed in the other thread on changes to the access policy at Fort Myer.

Obviously the best long-term solution would be a safe place to ride in the Route 1 corridor. Better conditions on Telegraph Road would also help to make the new Jeff Todd Way more useful. Have the Telegraph Road bike lanes been extended east of Beulah? I come through that intersection on Beulah often, but I haven’t been on that section of Telegraph in over a year.

They actually built a MUP and there is an on-road lane now along that stretch just past Jeff Toad Way. It ends a couple blocks from Hayfield and goes back to a narrow road there and continues that way all the way to S. Kings Hwy, where randomly a bike lane goes three blocks.

Maybe I’ll ride by and try one day if I head south on my bike. The last time I did it was last year. I know with cars, it’s a definite no-go unless they’re official visitors. I think it was the same for pedestrians. But when I last rode through, they just checked my driver’s license and then were very friendly and told me how to connect through. It would be truly sad if they stopped doing it. The Jeff Todd Way works, but takes you far out of the way if you’re trying to connect down that way. C’est le vie.

[scoot]

It amazes me how different it feels to ride on Telegraph (rather scary) vs. Beulah (mostly pleasant), given that the road designs are essentially the same. I guess it’s a combination of the higher speed limit and the hills. To be clear, since I’m unfamiliar with the part in question, I’m talking about the portion of Telegraph southwest of Beulah here. I imagine the new part is similarly dicey, given the terrain.

Also I have never understood the choice for the US Bike Route 1 designation. If one desires to ride from Alexandria to Lorton, a better route (much quicker, and much safer IMO) is: Eisenhower to Clermont connector, cut through Rose Hill and Franconia, then eventually Beulah to Telegraph. Mount Vernon Trail is okay but it takes you far out of your way, and then you have to ride several miles on high-speed highways with limited or no shoulders. Richmond Hwy through Fort Belvoir is insane (never ridden there and plan to avoid it, at least until the improvements are done), but I’m not fond of Route 235 between Woodlawn and the MVT either.

Granted, the route I use through Rose Hill is entirely residential and involves something like 12 turns plus a bunch of stop signs. So perhaps not worthy of being labeled a bicycle highway. But I’ll choose that over the Fort Belvoir stretch of Route 1 any day.

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