Mount Vernon Trail

My second favorite trail in Northern Virginia, the Mount Vernon trail runs just over 17 miles along the Potomac from Mount Vernon to Rosslyn.  Aside from when it bends around national airport, and for a short stretch through the streets of Alexandria, the entire trail is right on the water and gives some great views of the monuments and other sites across the river.  The trail is fully paved, and since it follows the river it is very level except for a short but steep 100' descent/climb at the Mount Vernon end.  I guess that 100' is what constitutes "Mount" Vernon.  Go East Coast.

There's a lot of history along this trail, not only from the views of DC, but also as it goes around Arlington Cemetary, past the Pentagon, through historical Old Town Alexandria, and ends at George Washington's home.  As such, particularly from Rosslyn to the airport (where it is directly across from DC) the trail can be crowded (often with tourists), but usually you can work your way around people to stay at a reasonable pace.  I do not however recommend biking this section of the trail during the Cherry Blossom Festival, as it ends up pretty much packed with pedestrians who aren't paying any attention to anything.

I've biked the entirety of the Mount Vernon trail several times, and gone through shorter sections several more either as a shorter ride or connecting to other trails.  From the Mount Vernon trail, there are paths up to and across all of the bridges across the Potomac from the Key Bridge in Rosslyn down to the Wilson bridge in Alexandria.  The bridges connect to numerous trails in both DC and Maryland.  In Virginia, the end of the Mount Vernon trail in Rosslyn connects to the end of the Custis trail.  The Four Mile Run Trail ends at the Mount Vernon trail in Crystal City, and connects up to the end of the W&OD in Shirlington.  All in all, it's a nice, easy ride with convenient access from many other trails. 

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