Fairfax County Parkway trail

[Terpfan]

@scoot 115377 wrote:

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.

I suppose it’s all relative. I didn’t mind that stretch of Telegraph too much, but when I rode it this winter, one of the construction trucks had lost a bunch of large baseball sized gravel all over the bike lane. I was lucky that no one was on my left as it was a choice of falling down at 30mph+ (it was that hill going north/east before Jeff Todd Way) or getting hit by a car. But yah, it’s definitely not a residential street and people treat it very similar to how they treat Rt 1.

I sometimes cut through Rose Hill, but I find the actual hill there to be more annoying then if I climb it on the other side by Beacon Hill (the easiest climb of that long ridge from the north is arguably Rt 1, but it’s not fun). But yah, for the purposes of Rt 1 south, agreed the MVT dumps you way out of the way; it’s convenient to just about Mt. Vernon and that’s about it (or those handful of us who live south of Alexandria, yet noth of Mt. Vernon and within 3 miles of the trail).

[thirstyman]

Telegraph Rd with its designated bicycle lane is not too bad, but at some point I hope there will be a more bike-friendly route connecting the FCPT to the Mt Vernon trail, and maybe that will come with the US1 road project. In the meantime the best I’ve found is Newington Rd-Telegraph Rd-Jeff Todd Way-Mt Vernon Hwy.

Just riding the FCPT recently between route 7 and Lorton presented many frustrations for me, including detours with missing or inadequate signage, numerous grade crossings and traffic signals (I lost count at eleventy zillion), root encroachments, crevices, potholes, and debris on the bikeway. I was surprised that the detours only made the route 3 miles longer than if I had biked the whole way on the parkway itself, but of course this is due to the serpentine route the parkway takes. In fact, mapping programs indicate it’s shorter and faster for motorists to take route 7, I495, and I95 than it is to take the parkway the whole way.

[scoot]

Yeah, the major highways are often the gentlest in terms of slope… both because the oldest routes were chosen that way and because modern highways are engineered for convenience. But the drivers? Not so gentle.

@Terpfan 115423 wrote:

I sometimes cut through Rose Hill, but I find the actual hill there to be more annoying then if I climb it on the other side by Beacon Hill (the easiest climb of that long ridge from the north is arguably Rt 1, but it’s not fun).

Do you mean the climb on Belle View / Beacon Hill Road? If I recall correctly, there’s at least one pretty steep stretch in there. Maybe the curve just past the rec center at Fort Hunt?

What’s especially efficient about this route through Franconia is that after you climb about 150 feet up from the Clermont Connector, it is then completely flat for the next six miles. Franconia Road itself isn’t great, but there is a sidewalk and there are very few pedestrians. I’ll either ride fast on Franconia Road if traffic is light (typical in the morning), or slow on the sidewalk if it’s heavy (typical in the afternoon). There are various alternatives (e.g. Castlewellan to Lake Village) that add a bit of time (and a few very small hills) but which avoid that road. I find the initial climb somewhat easier on Glenwood rather than Clermont; I don’t think it exceeds 10% anywhere.

I believe the fastest route may actually be simply Eisenhower to the “trail” alongside Van Dorn. But I prefer to climb in a quiet residential neighborhood rather than on a narrow sidewalk a few feet from oncoming cars flying down that hill under the Beltway.

Any route from Old Town that goes south and east of this one will have ups and downs due to stream crossings and the ridges between them. In particular, Dogue Creek is a valley significantly lower than the surrounding terrain, all the way from TopGolf (on Van Dorn) down to the Potomac River. Beulah straddles the line between the Dogue and Accotink Creek watersheds, so there aren’t any streams to cross.

If you’re going further south, of course, you have to cross Accotink and Pohick creeks before the Occoquan, and there’s a significant ridge between each one of those.

[scoot]

@thirstyman 115448 wrote:

I hope there will be a more bike-friendly route connecting the FCPT to the Mt Vernon trail, and maybe that will come with the US1 road project. In the meantime the best I’ve found is Newington Rd-Telegraph Rd-Jeff Todd Way-Mt Vernon Hwy.

There are only three options for getting to Mount Vernon from the west (i.e. Newington): Route 1 (yikes!), cutting through Fort Belvoir (requires federal ID), and Jeff Todd Way. Otherwise you’d have to go all the way around the north side of Huntley Meadows Park. So you’re not going to improve on that route much, at least until the construction makes Route 1 accessible. There are other ways of getting to Jeff Todd (Franconia-Springfield Parkway east either to Beulah or Hayfield), plus I’d choose Sacramento to Old Mill in order to avoid most of 235, but these are just personal preferences.

This assumes you are trying to reach the southern end of the MVT. If you want to access MVT at Alexandria instead, you can of course follow the route linked above, from F-S Metro station down to Eisenhower Ave.

[thirstyman]

Here are some FCPT detour notes from a recent ride that may help newbies avoid getting lost. The trail generally follows alongside its namesake highway, except for 3 substantial detours that seem to be official if not permanent. Unfortunately all 3 lack adequate signage.
1. Heading from north to south the first detour is about 1.5 miles long and begins about 12.5 miles south of the Cup Leaf Holly Court trailhead. Make a left from the FCPT onto Fair Lakes Parkway, and follow about .6 mi to West Ox Road. Turn right on West Ox Road and follow about .9 mi to the intersection with Lee Highway (route 29). Using the sidewalk on the left side of West Ox Road, cross route 29 and follow straight onto the FCPT.
2. The 2nd detour, also about 1.5 miles long, begins about 4.7 miles further along the trail. Make a left from the FCPT, crossing the Fairfax County Parkway, onto Burke Centre Parkway and follow about .6 mi to Ox Road (route 123). Turn right on Ox Road and follow about .9 mi, crossing over the Fairfax County Parkway, then make a left beside the exit ramp to get back onto the FCPT.
3. The 3rd and most complicated detour is 4.7 miles long and begins 7.4 miles further along the trail. The FCPT overlaps the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail at this point on the left side of the Fairfax County Parkway, but suddenly and without warning the trail seems to end at the parkway intersection with Stream Way. However, though there are no signs, you take a left here and follow straight uphill on the Connolly trail .2 mi passing through a housing complex. You will be on a paved path that ends at Rolling Road. Make a right on Rolling Road for .1 mi, then cross the road and follow straight onto the continuation of the Connolly trail as it runs along the left side of Hunter Village Drive. After about .5 mi, the trail will cross Hunter Village Drive, at which point you follow the path as it veers to the right alongside the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, follow .9 mi, then cross the parkway at the Bonniemill Lane intersection. Make an immediate left onto Hooes Road. Follow about .7 mi on Hooes Road until it dead ends, then continue straight on the trail to Backlick Road. Make a left, then take the pedestrian bridge over I-95 to Loisdale Road. Follow Loisdale Road south for 2 mi, then make a left to get back on the FCPT at Fairfax County Parkway. The FCPT ends 3.4 mi south of this point, roughly .5 mi north of US 1.
Besides these detours there are a few other places where the FCPT wanders for a short distance away from the parkway onto side roads but stays close enough to the highway that you shouldn’t get lost.

[trailrunner]

@thirstyman 118303 wrote:

3. The 3rd and most complicated detour is 4.7 miles long and begins 7.4 miles further along the trail. The FCPT overlaps the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail at this point on the left side of the Fairfax County Parkway, but suddenly and without warning the trail seems to end at the parkway intersection with Stream Way. However, though there are no signs, you take a left here and follow straight uphill on the Connolly trail .2 mi passing through a housing complex. You will be on a paved path that ends at Rolling Road. Make a right on Rolling Road for .1 mi, then cross the road and follow straight onto the continuation of the Connolly trail as it runs along the left side of Hunter Village Drive. After about .5 mi, the trail will cross Hunter Village Drive, at which point you follow the path as it veers to the right alongside the Franconia-Springfield Parkway, follow .9 mi, then cross the parkway at the Bonniemill Lane intersection. Make an immediate left onto Hooes Road. Follow about .7 mi on Hooes Road until it dead ends, then continue straight on the trail to Backlick Road. Make a left, then take the pedestrian bridge over I-95 to Loisdale Road. Follow Loisdale Road south for 2 mi, then make a left to get back on the FCPT at Fairfax County Parkway. The FCPT ends 3.4 mi south of this point, roughly .5 mi north of US 1.

This section is about half of my daily commute.

I’m familiar with this route because I’ve lived near this section for 25 years and have ridden it many times, but to someone who is unfamiliar with the trail, it would be very difficult for them to know where to go, and illustrates how poorly the trail is marked.

[mstone]

@thirstyman 118303 wrote:

Here are some FCPT detour notes from a recent ride that may help newbies avoid getting lost. The trail generally follows alongside its namesake highway, except for 3 substantial detours that seem to be official if not permanent. Unfortunately all 3 lack adequate signage. [/quote]

They are permanent. At least the first two actually do have wayfinding signs now, as of about a year ago. (“Fairfax Co Pkwy Tr” and a bicycle symbol.)
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.86051,-77.378209,3a,29.6y,191.46h,83.66t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sc7Isg9kOd55sre5HjW2A7A!2e0

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