Mt Vernon to Prince William Forest

[Rootchopper]

I am not sure what area you are having trouble with. You can take the Mt. Vernon Highway to Fort Belvoir. Show the guard an driver’s license and you can ride across the base to US 1 at Braddock Road. Take Braddock to the FFX County Parkway. This has a side path or you can use the huge paved shoulder. Exit at Telegraph Road. Left on Telegraph which becomes Old Colchester Road at US 1. Follow Old Colchester to US 1 again at the Occoquan River.

After that its car hell

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Rootchopper 38976 wrote:

I am not sure what area you are having trouble with. You can take the Mt. Vernon Highway to Fort Belvoir. Show the guard an driver’s license and you can ride across the base to US 1 at Braddock Road. Take Braddock to the FFX County Parkway. This has a side path or you can use the huge paved shoulder. Exit at Telegraph Road. Left on Telegraph which becomes Old Colchester Road at US 1. Follow Old Colchester to US 1 again at the Occoquan River.

After that its car hell

Which gates are you entering and leaving the base? Where’s Braddock Road at Rt 1? Do you mean Pohick? And if you’re able to ride across the base with just a license, could you ride directly from the housing area on Mt Vernon Hwy, across the southern portion of the base by the hospital, to Old Colchester, skipping FFX Cty Parkway and Telegraph entirely?

[bobco85]

I don’t know how much of a help I will be, but this shows the route I normally take to get from Mount Vernon to Occoquan combined with what I would probably take to get from Occoquan to Prince William Forest: http://goo.gl/maps/dhLfk I’ve had pretty good experiences riding on Lorton Road and Ox Road, but past Occoquan I’m in the dark as to a good route. I have no idea what Minnieville Road is like (it is shown as a preferred bike route in Google Maps), but Spriggs Road and Dumfries Road look feasible for that stretch.

@Rootchopper 38976 wrote:

You can take the Mt. Vernon Highway to Fort Belvoir. Show the guard an driver’s license and you can ride across the base

Are civilians allowed access to Ft. Belvoir? I always pass because the only time I’ve been on military grounds as a cyclist was at the Navy Shipyard where I had to stop at the office and fill out a form to get a pass. If it’s not a hassle, it would save me much stress from taking U.S. 1.

[Rootchopper]

Fort Belvoir was closed to civilians without business on the base for several years after 9-11 but now it’s back to id checks. (They scan the barcode on the back of your driver’s license, btw.) It’s actually a pretty nice place to ride. To exit on the south side you have a choice of two gates. The Braddock Road exit has a long traffic light. Or you can cross US 1 on a bridge within the base and take a left on Kingman. Kingman intersects with the FFX County Parkway.

[Rootchopper]

I should have said Backlick Road not Braddock. It’s a remnant from before the FFX Parkway was built on top of the old Backlick Road.

[mstone]

@Rootchopper 38976 wrote:

I am not sure what area you are having trouble with. You can take the Mt. Vernon Highway to Fort Belvoir. Show the guard an driver’s license and you can ride across the base to US 1 at Braddock Road.

Mostly the Belvoir part, and more that I haven’t been over that way since before 9/11 than that I’m sure I will have trouble. If it’s possible to cut across the base, that does make it pretty easy.

@bobco85 38982 wrote:

I don’t know how much of a help I will be, but this shows the route I normally take to get from Mount Vernon to Occoquan combined with what I would probably take to get from Occoquan to Prince William Forest: http://goo.gl/maps/dhLfk I’ve had pretty good experiences riding on Lorton Road and Ox Road, but past Occoquan I’m in the dark as to a good route. I have no idea what Minnieville Road is like (it is shown as a preferred bike route in Google Maps), but Spriggs Road and Dumfries Road look feasible for that stretch.

That’s pretty close to what I would have picked, and it’s good to have some confirmation from someone who’s actually been there, thank you. I’ve crossed at Ox Road before, but coming from FFX Co Pkwy and western Fairfax.

[Rootchopper]

No can do. The base roads do not go through to Old Colchester. Of course, if you are not afraid of dying, you could ride US 1 from Backick to Old Colchester. I did this once. Won’t do it again.

[bobco85]

@Rootchopper 38989 wrote:

Of course, if you are not afraid of dying, you could ride US 1 from Backick to Old Colchester. I did this once. Won’t do it again.

I hear you on that. I did that stretch of bumpy shoulder that puts you within 2 feet of vehicular traffic (going of course at 60+ mph) at times, and I have never felt so vulnerable as a cyclist as being on that road.

Even though I will never do this route again now that I know I can go through Fort Belvoir (thanks for the info), when I would go on U.S. 1 west between Surveyor and Backlick, I would wait on the side of the road at Constitution Rd to look for the Surveyor intersection light to turn red before making a mad dash down the hill before the main flow of traffic could catch up with me. Going up that hill eastward from Backlick to Surveyor? Praying is all you can do there.

[Rootchopper]

I should mention that there are many, many improvements to the roads in Fort Belvoir, including bike lanes and sharrows and such.

[Cannondale Pete]

There is a back way to get into the park: If you go down Ox Road (Rte. 123) and cross the Occoquan as suggested above, after 1/2 mile turn right onto Old Bridge Road. Old Bridge turns into Prince William Parkway, & from there you have a dedicated bike path or lane. Continue on PW Parkway and turn left onto Hoadly, then left onto Spriggs, then left onto Dumfries Road (Rte 234). About a 1/4 mile you will see a dirt path which is the rear of the park. Just keep riding straight downhill until you get to the paved main road. If you’re on a road bike, be warned that the path leading into the park from that entrance is rocky and rutted in places. Since you can’t pay the bike fee from that entrance, just pay it on the way out. I’ve done this several times, as my mother lives in Triangle and I’m in Lorton.

[ctankcycles]

Poe Rd, while not technically accessible by bike, connects between Pohick and Old Colchester. If you have a cross bike or road bike with something like 28c tires it’s doable if you’re up for a bit of adventure. There’s a little hike-a-bike at the end where it connects to Old Colchester. Just the other week I entered through the pedestrian access (the gate is locked to vehicles) and a soldier was coming the other way in a truck and we exchanged friendly hellos and I went on my way down the road.
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