W&OD Trail, 21293 Smiths Switch Rd, Ashburn, VA (2022)

Comments

Purcellville daffodil.

Just posted Saturday morning in RBC Members Only: If you are riding the WOD today be careful on the sharp turns on the underpass below route 7 near Leesburg. There is a lot of fine sand there and I went down this morning. Scraped knees and side of face but bike is okay😉

Did anyone loss a single Airpod on the trail?

If so reach out

What to speak up about a new trail in Loudoun? Check this out.

When they say "the W&OD is for everyone", that DOES have its limitations! 🤣

Is there a high quality image of the W&OD railroad logo out there? I'd love a W&OD patch for my engineer's cap but haven't been able to find one.

Hey, I hope to ride the trail once things warm up a little & am looking for camp site suggestions, preferably one near the middle that I can use as a base camp with the idea of doing 2 out and backs from there, one in each direction. Please & thank you.

For what it’s worth - as of today, Monday - the trail between roughly mm31 to the HWY 7 tunnel is AWFULLY ICY DANGEROUS. I was coming from Smith’s Switch going West. The trail was terrific from SmSw to mm31. I’m sorry I didn’t take photos.

NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert discusses park #innovation in an authored piece for Connection Newspapers. The W&OD Trail dual trail design we unveiled in 2021 with NOVA Parks and City of Falls Church Government will soon be the national model for busy urban trails. 🚲🚶
👇
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2022/jan/19/parks-innovation/ #tbt

Can anyone update on trail conditions from Arlington to Reston? I am wondering if I can resume my bike commute from Bethesda to Reston. I am also curious about the Custis Trail from Key Bridge to the W&OD.

Sunday morning rainbow over the W&OD Trail near mm 23.

Credit to my wife Alice Levy Burns for this pic of the bridge near Glencarlyn park earlier this week

45 miles of paved trail, in Northern Virginia, for walking,running, bicycling and skating and 32 miles of adjacent gravel trail for horseback riding.

Operating as usual

03/21/2022

Did you know we have a Friends Group? We meet every second Tuesday (virtually) at 7:00 pm. https://www.wodfriends.org/

The Friends Group helps trail staff with purchasing additional equipment, offsetting costs of bathrooms, educational resources, and much more.

We have an opening on the board for a secretary to help keep track of the minutes. If anyone is interested please reach out by direct message or shoot us an email. [email protected]

Everyone have a great day!

03/21/2022

Many thanks to the Friends of the W&OD Trail and our neighbors in Arlington who helped clean up the trail in Shirlington this past weekend!

Missed this clean-up? Come help celebrate National Trails Day on April 23rd. More info here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrate-trails-day-cleanup-on-the-wod-with-bike-walkarlington-tickets-301435390367

03/16/2022

Just East of Belmont Blvd the trail will be closed for a max 15 minutes at a time this week as Dominion preps for a major wire pull later next month. The gravel trail remains open currently.

03/16/2022

Wiehle Pedestrian Bridge Project

The relocation of AT&T's line, one of the nine utility facilities to be relocated, will begin on the week of March 21, 2022.

To maintain an uninterrupted pedestrian and bike traffic during the utility relocation:

*Trail users will be detoured to the adjacent gravel or paved trail during the utility relocation activity.
*Appropriate traffic control signs will be installed for the closure of sidewalk along Wiehle Avenue.
*Signs will be installed in advance of the closure to direct the pedestrian and bike traffic to use the existing crosswalk at south of Sunset Hills Rd, the crosswalk at Sunset Hills Road/Wiehle Avenue intersection and the crosswalk at Roger Bacon Drive/Isaac Newton Square South intersection.

Want more information? See below!

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/transportation/projects/wiehle-wod-trail

03/15/2022

Muskrats under the trail bridge west of Harrison St in Leesburg!
(photos by Elizabeth Ransom)

03/07/2022

The W&OD Trail is currently hiring!

Please see the links below for available positions and job descriptions...

https://www.novaparks.com/employment?p=job/oimCgfwg&nl=1

https://www.novaparks.com/employment?p=job/oo4Oifwi&nl=1

02/28/2022

This past Saturday, NOVA Parks unveiled a new interpretative sign in front of the historic caboose on the W&OD Trail in Herndon.

In this video, our distinguished guests, Chairman Jeff McKay, Chairman of Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano, and Karen Campblin, President of Fairfax Chapter of the NAACP took turns reading the text on the sign.

02/28/2022

New sign at Herndon Caboose Park remembers racial segregation on the railroad | WTOP News

New sign at Herndon Caboose Park remembers racial segregation on the railroad.

Herndon Caboose Park, a popular railroad site along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, has unveiled an historical placard Saturday that describes Virginia’s segregated past on the railroad.
WTOP News
For the complete story please visit: http://ow.ly/tpPb50I667N

New sign at Herndon Caboose Park remembers racial segregation on the railroad | WTOP News Herndon Caboose Park, a popular railroad site along the W&OD Trail, has unveiled a historical placard Saturday that describes Virginia’s segregated past on the railroad.

02/28/2022

Photos from Chairman Jeff McKay's post

02/24/2022

Over the next month, Dominion Energy contractors will be pulling new underground cables between Sandburg St and Adahi Rd near Vienna; please be alert while travelling this section of trail.

02/23/2022

Photos from Chair Phyllis J. Randall's post

02/22/2022

Unveiling the Jim Crow interpretive signs in Arlington and Leesburg this past weekend...

02/22/2022

W&OD Rail Line Markers Unveiled in Arlington's Bluemont Park

W&OD Rail Line Markers Unveiled in Arlington's Bluemont Park

News4’s Derrick Ward reported on the interpretative signs that tell the history of how Jim Crow laws impacted passengers on the once heavily traveled train route.

View the story: http://ow.ly/yUP250I16gx

W&OD Rail Line Markers Unveiled in Arlington's Bluemont Park News4’s Derrick Ward reports on the interactive signs that tell the history of how Jim Crow laws impacted passengers on the once heavily traveled train route.

02/17/2022

NOVA Parks to unveil signs about Jim Crow laws on W&OD Railway Trail

NOVA Parks will unveil on Saturday a new interpretive sign about how Jim Crow laws affected passengers taking the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) train line in the 1900s, according to a Feb. 14 release.

For the complete story please visit: http://ow.ly/HCaE50HXWhT

NOVA Parks to unveil signs about Jim Crow laws on W&OD Railway Trail NOVA Parks will unveil on Saturday a new interpretive sign about how Jim Crow laws affected passengers taking the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) train line in the 1900s, according

02/15/2022

New historic marker at Bluemont Junction Park speaks to impact of Jim Crow laws

A new interpretive sign is being installed near Bluemont Junction Park to explain how Jim Crow laws impacted passengers riding the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) train line.

The sign is being installed by NOVA Parks and will be outside of the retired train caboose along what is now the W&OD trail. The historic marker is a few minutes walk from Bluemont Junction Park’s parking lot at 601 N. Manchester Street.

For more information please visit: http://ow.ly/IRMp50HVGws

New historic marker at Bluemont Junction Park speaks to impact of Jim Crow laws A new interpretive sign is being installed near Bluemont Junction Park to explain how Jim Crow laws impacted passengers riding the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) train line.

02/08/2022

Then and Now: The Hunter Mill shelter, pre-1912 (courtesy of Bob Robb), and an aerial view of the intersection, taken sometime between 1941 and 1951.

https://www.facebook.com/109007997609931/posts/461299909047403/

02/03/2022

18K Dominion Energy Customers Were Without Electricity To Downed Power Line

https://patch.com/virginia/herndon/w-od-trail-closed-herndon-due-downed-power-line

18K Dominion Energy Customers Were Without Electricity To Downed Power Line Dominion Energy is on the scene of a downed power line on the W&OD Trail in Herndon.

02/03/2022

The re-decking of the bridge east of Wilson Blvd in Arlington is completed!

01/28/2022

Seems fitting with snow in the air that we share this picture today! Anyone have a guess what city/town this is in?

Photo-Paul Dolkos

01/20/2022

What words do you associate with “parks?” Maybe you thought of words like trees, trails, picnic-bench, and nature? What about innovation?

This year, NOVA Parks, the City of Falls Church, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority opened a new section of the trail that has two separate lanes, one for pedestrians and one for cyclists. This will soon be the national model for busy urban trails. Many low-impact building techniques were used or pioneered with this project.

Read the full article by Paul Gilbert, Executive Director of NOVA Parks at: http://ow.ly/i0VA50HyR6X

01/17/2022

Luck Stone Quarry

01/17/2022

Staff out checking for storm damage! If you see issues please direct message us or email [email protected]!

01/12/2022

Almost complete! This is a bridge in Arlington getting a facelift! Hoping to be done tomorrow.

01/12/2022

We have many areas of the trail that are still ice covered. Please use caution when walking and biking! This pic is just east of Vienna.

01/10/2022

Photos of Falls Church in snow, some 50 years ago.

These images sent to us by Paul McCray, former Manager of the W&OD Trail, more of whose posts can be found at https://www.facebook.com/novahistoryremembered/ .