Has the Capital Crescent Trail been reopened after the June 29 storm?

[Certifried]

The status page I looked at a bit ago has it listed as closed, no idea how accurate or timely that is

[MCL1981]

Use the Little Falls Trail as a detour. It parallels the closed section. Runs from Mass Ave to just north of the tunnel. The rest of the trail, including the detour, is passable and open.

[jopamora]

From the CCT report page

Trail Open!
From J.A., July 5, 7:49 am

Trail open from bethesda to georgetown. Three areas where downed trees make it one lane, but none come up suddenly. a little littered with debris (sawdust, leaves), but overall quite passable. kudos to all who made it so.

I’ll find out if the Georgetown Branch connector is open tomorrow. There were a bunch of trees blocking the trail by the Jones Bridge Rd crossing after the storm.

[jordash]

Yes, the trail is fine. There were a number of trees blocking the paths but those were cleared up earlier in the week. The only things left are some low-hanging branches and some piles on the paths, but you won’t need to dismount.

[SilverSpring]

I rode from Silver Spring to downtown DC on the Crescent today and the first bit was not easy going. There are big trees, debris, and a few wires across the Georgetown Branch from the Silver Spring trailhead until just past the Country Club. I almost knocked myself out on low-lying tree (and then remembered just how short I am) and had heart palpitations on seeing the downed wires (which are marked with pink ribbons, presumably to warn trail users and add a cheerful bit of color). The oddest part was past Jones Bridge Road where the chain link fence on both sides was collapsed onto the trail for about 50 meters or so…like a Marsden mat covering a lot of shattered wood on top of gravel). The whole bit was passable, but did require some dismounting and I could not go my usual zephyr-like (i.e., 12+ mph) speed. From Bethesda on, the folks who did the clean up did a wonderful job…users of all modes were out and about.

[jopamora]

@SilverSpring 24717 wrote:

I rode from Silver Spring to downtown DC on the Crescent today and the first bit was not easy going. There are big trees, debris, and a few wires across the Georgetown Branch from the Silver Spring trailhead until just past the Country Club. I almost knocked myself out on low-lying tree (and then remembered just how short I am) and had heart palpitations on seeing the downed wires (which are marked with pink ribbons, presumably to warn trail users and add a cheerful bit of color). The oddest part was past Jones Bridge Road where the chain link fence on both sides was collapsed onto the trail for about 50 meters or so…like a Marsden mat covering a lot of shattered wood on top of gravel). The whole bit was passable, but did require some dismounting and I could not go my usual zephyr-like (i.e., 12+ mph) speed. From Bethesda on, the folks who did the clean up did a wonderful job…users of all modes were out and about.

Really glad I decided to go through DC this morning then.

[jopamora]

@SilverSpring 24717 wrote:

I rode from Silver Spring to downtown DC on the Crescent today and the first bit was not easy going. There are big trees, debris, and a few wires across the Georgetown Branch from the Silver Spring trailhead until just past the Country Club. I almost knocked myself out on low-lying tree (and then remembered just how short I am) and had heart palpitations on seeing the downed wires (which are marked with pink ribbons, presumably to warn trail users and add a cheerful bit of color). The oddest part was past Jones Bridge Road where the chain link fence on both sides was collapsed onto the trail for about 50 meters or so…like a Marsden mat covering a lot of shattered wood on top of gravel). The whole bit was passable, but did require some dismounting and I could not go my usual zephyr-like (i.e., 12+ mph) speed. From Bethesda on, the folks who did the clean up did a wonderful job…users of all modes were out and about.

Pretty much still like this the whole way from Bethesda. There is one tree blocking the trail after City Bikes heading North, but there is a space to ride past it on the far left. Then after that you get to ride on the fence.

Take it slow and ride safe.

[creadinger]

I got really tired of dealing with all the mud, ice, downtrees, etc… on the Georgetown Branch trail after a couple of years commuting on it, so I figured out my own road route between downtowns. I also figured that IF they ever decide to build the Purple line, the GB trail would likely be closed for a while anyway.

Anyway, my route was a mile farther and hillier but it was more fun in the end.

[SilverSpring]

@creadinger 24993 wrote:

I got really tired of dealing with all the mud, ice, downtrees, etc… on the Georgetown Branch trail after a couple of years commuting on it, so I figured out my own road route between downtowns. I also figured that IF they ever decide to build the Purple line, the GB trail would likely be closed for a while anyway.

Anyway, my route was a mile farther and hillier but it was more fun in the end.

Creadinger,

What was your route? I know a couple of folks have developed Silver Spring-Bethesda alternates, but I can’t quite visualize them.

[creadinger]

Here’s my old route. It’s hillier, longer and has many more turns, stop signs and major road crossings than the GB trail, but you do not have to deal with the dust and dirt of the trail, or the ice rink quality ice that develops on it and seems to last until May. And it’s more fun!

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/112665099/

I went up Woodbine for a while before I found Rollingwood, but there isn’t much difference between them. Once you’ve been riding up Grubb Rd and Rollingwood for a couple of weeks, other hills that you thought were tough before will now seem meek in comparison to your enormous legs. On the other hand, because of the commute I developed an enormous lunch appetite and with the infinite lunch offerings in Bethesda…. let’s just say I didn’t lose any weight.

[Author]

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