Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park - Trail Route

Trail Route

The W&OD Trail begins near the Nauck neighborhood in the Shirlington section of Arlington County, close to the boundary between the County and the City of Alexandria. The trail ends in Purcellville in western Loudoun County. Its route largely parallels the routes of the Potomac River and Virginia State Route 7 (VA Route 7).

The trail connects at its origin to the paved Four Mile Run Trail, which travels eastward through Arlington along a stream embankment to meet the Mount Vernon Trail at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, near the Potomac River. The start of the trail is also accessible from the Shirlington exit (Exit 6) of Interstate 395 (I-395) (the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway).

The trail parallels the more curving and hilly Four Mile Run Trail throughout its route in Arlington. Although they coincide in several locations, the two trails generally travel on opposite sides of the Run. There are no restrooms and few water fountains alongside the W&OD Trail in the County. Restrooms and additional water fountains are available near ball fields and picnic areas along the Four Mile Run Trail.

The W&OD trailhead (Mile 0) is at the intersection of South Shirlington Road and South Four Mile Run Drive. The trail starts in the Atlantic Coastal Plain at the trail's lowest elevation 141 feet (43 m) above sea level.

The trail climbs 195 feet (59 m) in 5.9 miles (9.5 km) while traveling northwest through Arlington County. While in Arlington, the trail ascends through the Atlantic Seaboard fall line while climbing upstream in the valley of Four Mile Run. The trail crosses the Run seven times in the valley on bridges whose abutments were constructed before the Civil War by the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad, a predecessor of the W&OD Railroad.

After crossing Columbia Pike (VA Route 244), the trail enters a steeply-sloped woodland that covers both sides of the valley. Near the end of the woodland, the trail intersects the Bluemont Junction Trail, a paved rail trail that travels to Ballston on the bed of a former W&OD Railroad branch that once ran to Rosslyn and Georgetown. 0.6 miles (1.0 km) past that intersection, the W&OD Trail meets the Custis Trail, which travels along I-66 (the Custis Memorial Parkway) between East Falls Church and Rosslyn and which provides access to Washington, D.C. After joining at their intersection, the W&OD and Custis Trails share the same path as they travel northwest near an I-66 soundwall for most of their remaining courses in Arlington.

After leaving the fall line, the W&OD Trail enters the Piedmont plateau region near the west corner of the County. The trail continues to climb in the Piedmont while traveling northwest through Falls Church and Fairfax County. The trail reaches an elevation of 450 feet (140 m) at its crossing of I-66 in Fairfax County. When it reaches this point, the trail has risen 309 feet (94 m) while traveling 8.4 miles (13.5 km).

After crossing I-495 (the Capital Beltway) and passing Dunn Loring, the trail begins a long descent as it travels through Vienna. After leaving Vienna, the trail continues to descend until it reaches Difficult Run (Mile 14.3), where its elevation of 240 feet (73 m) is only about 100 feet (30 m) higher than is the elevation at the trail's origin.

After the trail crosses Difficult Run, it ascends and descends between additional streams (including Sugarland Run, Broad Run, Beaverdam Run, Goose Creek, Sycolin Creek and Tuscarora Creek) as it travels further northwest in the Piedmont through or near Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Ashburn and Leesburg. When crossing Tuscarora Creek in Leesburg, the trail's elevation of 273 feet (83 m) is 63 feet (19 m) lower than the highest elevation that it reached in Arlington.

After crossing Tuscarora Creek, the trail climbs 337 feet (103 m) northwest in 6.3 miles (10.1 km) to reach its highest elevation (610 feet (190 m)) when crossing a bridge carrying VA Route 9 (Charles Town Pike) over VA Route 7 near the saddle point of Clarks Gap in Catoctin Mountain. 0.3 miles (0.48 km) before this crossing, the trail travels under an old stone arch that formerly carried VA Route 7 over the W&OD Railroad.

The trail then turns west, descends through Paeonian Springs to Hamilton Station and climbs to reach Purcellville. When the trail terminates in Purcellville, its elevation is 564 feet (172 m) above sea level.