Mount Vernon Trail
National Park Service Trail Within The George Washington Memorial Parkway; Part Of The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Network · Alexandria, Virginia
Eighteen paved miles along the Virginia bank of the Potomac, from Theodore Roosevelt Island opposite Georgetown all the way down to the gates of George Washington's estate, and the spine that holds the whole Washington riverfront together. It is a National Park Service trail rather than a city bike path, which is why it runs through parkland the entire way instead of beside traffic, and why the views are what they are: the Washington Monument and the Capitol across the water, aircraft on final approach at Gravelly Point, the eighteenth-century waterfront of Old Town Alexandria, the tidal freshwater marsh at Dyke Marsh with its herons, and the last few miles through quiet woodland to Mount Vernon. Ride it northbound and you finish facing the monuments; ride it southbound and you finish at Washington's front lawn. It connects to the Custis and Four Mile Run trails at the north end, to the Wilson Bridge and the Maryland network in the middle, and it carries commuters at seven in the morning and families at eleven on a Saturday, which is the source of most of its problems.
George Washington Memorial Parkway, Theodore Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon, Alexandria, Virginia, 22308, United States
Open daily, dawn to dusk, free and ungated; there is no lighting, so bring your own after dark. Trailhead car parks along the George Washington Memorial Parkway close at dark. Sections flood at very high tides and after heavy rain, and rebuilding work closes short stretches from time to time.
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