Motel recommendation along/near C and O?

[Bilsko]

@Freerojo 44369 wrote:

Hi, wife and I are entertaining the idea of travelling to DC in the first half of September and want to leave the car at the motel as much as we can. We would like suggestions of inexpensive but decent accommodations that would allow us to avoid as much as possible any street/auto interaction. Something along the C and O maybe 5,6,7 miles out maybe? We are experienced cyclist but for this trip we are going to use our mountain bikes. Suggestions welcomed. Thank you.

If I’m understanding correctly, you’re coming to DC, looking for accomodations near a local trail where you can stay, leave the car and then get into the City on the trails by bike.

There aren’t many options along the C&O close to DC (there are cabins -lockhouses- that you can reserve *on* the Canal but they are very sparse and intended for people who would otherwise be camping).

You may have better luck finding a place that is near the Custis Trail (the end of which is only about 5-6 miles from Georgetown) or the W&OD trail – which extends from Washington all the way out to Purcelville, VA. There are a number of hotels/inns further out along the trail, but then you’d have to ride 20+ miles in to the city.

There may also be some good options in Old Town Alexandria – from there you can get on to the Mt. Vernon Trail and be at the Monuments in DC within about 15-20 minutes (about 5-7 miles)

[Steve]

Also, if you are just looking for a spot that you can bike into the city from, Crystal City has a lot of hotels and easy access to the Mount Vernon Trail, basically cutting the trip into the city in half.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I don’t know if this fits your idea of inexpensive, but there is an Econolodge right on the W&OD trail, about 7 miles from downtown. I stayed there when I initially came out for a job interview and it was decent enough and reasonably priced. It’s also a short walk to the East Falls Church Metro station, so you’d have that as a backup. There’s also been a lot of development in the area around there, so there’s a bike shop (Tri360) a bookstore, plenty of restaurants, etc…

http://goo.gl/maps/9aIVn

[baiskeli]

@Freerojo 44369 wrote:

Hi, wife and I are entertaining the idea of travelling to DC in the first half of September and want to leave the car at the motel as much as we can. We would like suggestions of inexpensive but decent accommodations that would allow us to avoid as much as possible any street/auto interaction. Something along the C and O maybe 5,6,7 miles out maybe? We are experienced cyclist but for this trip we are going to use our mountain bikes. Suggestions welcomed. Thank you.

What kind of riding do you want to do? You want to ride into DC? How many miles from DC would be best for you?

You could stay near the Custis or W&OD trails, as suggested. The W&OD goes way out into the country, but it’s closer to hotels.

Another option is staying in Bethesda, MD. You could take the Capital Crescent trail to Georgetown and then go to either DC or catch the C&O.

A hotel near the C&O will be hard to find. The canal runs along the river, which thankfully is mostly parkland along its banks, with few towns or hotels nearby.

[baiskeli]

@TwoWheelsDC 44378 wrote:

I don’t know if this fits your idea of inexpensive, but there is an Econolodge right on the W&OD trail, about 7 miles from downtown. I stayed there when I initially came out for a job interview and it was decent enough and reasonably priced. It’s also a short walk to the East Falls Church Metro station, so you’d have that as a backup. There’s also been a lot of development in the area around there, so there’s a bike shop (Tri360) a bookstore, plenty of restaurants, etc…

http://goo.gl/maps/9aIVn

Good call – you can’t get closer to the trail than that.

[dasgeh]

@Freerojo 44369 wrote:

accommodations that would allow us to avoid as much as possible any street/auto interaction

Just a note: biking around DC is great, but if you want to see DC stuff (as opposed to just going for some rides), you’re going to be on the street and around cars. Generally, drivers know how to interact with bikes (enough), at least in Arlington and DC. But you’re not going to be able to do a lot without biking on the street. (Trips to the Zoo and Mount Vernon, not withstanding). Is your issue that you don’t want to bike on the street near the motel? I wouldn’t worry about it within Arlington, and there are motels and hotels littered around Arlington. E.g. Virginia Inn (which is close to where the Custis Trail goes under I66 and then S-curves up to cross over Lee Hwy – I have no idea what the place is like, but I pass it daily on my commute.

Oh, and I’d note that the Custis Trail is very hilly. People do it every day on mountain bikes, but I wouldn’t want you to plan on riding it on a MTB without knowing that.

[Freerojo]

This Econolodge is just the setup I have been looking for and the Metro Station nearby makes this a no brainer, thank you. I get that you can’t take bikes on the Metro at rush hour but what is the prevailing attitude when you do bring bikes aboard? Just curious.

[baiskeli]

@Freerojo 44391 wrote:

This Econolodge is just the setup I have been looking for and the Metro Station nearby makes this a no brainer, thank you. I get that you can’t take bikes on the Metro at rush hour but what is the prevailing attitude when you do bring bikes aboard? Just curious.

Should be no problem. Just make sure the bikes are clean.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@baiskeli 44392 wrote:

Should be no problem. Just make sure the bikes are clean.

You’re also supposed to use the elevator to get into the station and not bring your bike through the center doors on the train, or sit with your bike in the center area of the train.

[jhr]

@Freerojo 44391 wrote:

This Econolodge is just the setup I have been looking for and the Metro Station nearby makes this a no brainer, thank you. I get that you can’t take bikes on the Metro at rush hour but what is the prevailing attitude when you do bring bikes aboard? Just curious.

You won’t get crap for bringing bikes on the trains but it is somewhat inconvenient. As TwoWheelsDC has indicated you have to take the elevators but you should realize that it is often hard to find the elevators (if the station isn’t on ground level you will need to find an elevator outside the station but it can be somewhat difficult since stations often have multiple entrances but not all will have elevators, for example), the elevators are extremely slow, and you will usually have to take a second elevator to get from the level of the ticket gates to the actual trains. It’s not that bad, really, but it will add an extra set of confusing details if you already aren’t used to the train system and it does add some time to each trip.

The bus system may be somewhat more confusing if you aren’t used to it, but all the WMATA buses and many of the other local buses have two-bike racks on the front, plus they don’t have rush hour restrictions, so buses can actually be much more convenient if you need to transport you bikes.

I’ll second the recommendation for Crystal City. It will be much more convenient and there are a bunch of hotels right near the Mount Vernon Trail: http://goo.gl/maps/sr4YL (hopefully this link will work?) which will put you really close to a lot of the sights on a really nice bike route.

[Author]

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