This page is public.
Most bike trails are an escape from the city. The Mount Vernon Trail runs straight through one. For most of its 18 miles it shadows the George Washington Memorial Parkway along the Virginia bank of the Potomac, across the river from Washington, D.C., and its appeal is not the scenery of the path but what the path strings together: George Washington's home, Spanish–American War gun batteries, a wildlife preserve, Old Town Alexandria, the end of a runway, and an island memorial to a president.
The ride, mile by mile
Starting from the south end, at Mount Vernon:
| Mile | What is there |
|---|---|
| 0 | Mount Vernon Estate — free parking in the east lot; paid entry and guided tours of Washington's mansion, built in 1734 |
| 3.3 | Fort Hunt Park — batteries that defended the Potomac in the Spanish–American War. Battery Sater (1904) held three 3-inch, 15-pound rapid-fire guns that could hit targets 4.5 miles away; Batteries Mount Vernon, Robinson and Porter are here too |
| 5.7–5.9 | the trail joins a residential road for a short stretch; signs show the way |
| 8 | Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve — a short detour; no bikes inside, so lock up at the trailhead |
| 9.3 | under the Capital Beltway (I-495); Jones Point Park, with plenty of parking — a good place to start a half-length ride |
| 9.3–11.6 | Old Town Alexandria — the trail merges with the streets of the historic district; follow the painted bike symbols |
| about 14.7 | Gravelly Point — a boat ramp, bike rental and open fields, and a few hundred feet from the north end of Reagan National Airport's runway 1/19: one of the best plane-watching spots in the country |
| 15.7 | Lady Bird Johnson Park, once Columbia Island — the Navy and Marine Memorial, and the LBJ Memorial Grove |
| 17.5 | the footbridge to Theodore Roosevelt Island |
| 18 | the end of the trail |
Before you go
It is a shared, nine-foot-wide paved path: expect walkers, runners and skaters as well as cyclists, and no motor vehicles other than motorised wheelchairs. Benches, a few fitness stations, pet-friendly water fountains, parking and restrooms are spaced along it and marked on the park's Mount Vernon Trail map — but in the colder months many of the restrooms close and the fountains are turned off.
Ridden end to end without stopping, it is a pleasant 18 miles beside a highway. Ridden with stops, it is a day through three centuries of the country's history, which is the point of it.
Sources
Written from the National Park Service's "Connect with History on the Mount Vernon Trail" (George Washington Memorial Parkway), an abridged version of an article by Saki, a work of the United States government in the public domain.
In these publicationsGeorge Washington Memorial ParkwayChesapeake Bay
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
Comments
