Walk the Washington-Rochambeau NHT

Prince William Forest Park has a segment of the original trail used by the Colonial and French troops marching towards Yorktown in 1781. The Wood 'n Dale Volkssport Club hosts IVV-sanctioned sport trails that pass by this historic location that is part of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail system.

The portion of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail that passes through Prince William Forest Park was used for travel both before and after Washington’s soldiers came through in 1781 during the Revolutionary War. Fifty years later, the telegraph was invented, and the segment of the Washington-Rochambeau trail in Prince William became known as Old Telegraph Road. Running alongside the road was the first major telegraph line that ran from Washington D.C. to New Orleans and let messages travel much more quickly than people! The museum object pictured is a glass insulator that attached the open wire to the telegraph pole and helped insulate the wire from losing electrical current. Both glass and ceramic insulators were used on the line.

Even common objects like telegraph insulators can help connect us to the past and tell us stories about the places we’re familiar with. Please remember to leave items like this in place if you see them in the park, to help make sure we can keep learning and telling those stories in the future!

Put Washington, Lafayette and other heroes on your next letter

Huzzah! The United States Postal Service is now selling “forever” stamps with all the favorite heroes of the Revolutionary War. The portraits include Washington, Lafayette, founding fathers and founding mothers, and Native American allies.

🧭 Last weekend we walked the trail… but do you know the story behind it?

The Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route follows the path of allied American and French forces as they marched toward Yorktown in 1781, a campaign that helped secure American independence.

Places like this help bring that story to life. Along the trail, wayside exhibits and historic sites connect visitors to the people, places, and events that shaped the nation.

Next time you’re on the trail, take a moment to stop and read a wayside, you might be standing where history happened.

Today, the trail spans nine states and Washington, D.C., inviting you to explore history where it happened.

👉 Have you explored a section of the trail yet?

America's Walking Club is seeking opportunities to link these segments together to provide a “national pilgrimage” route as part of .

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐰

Some segments of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route still look much as they did in 1781.

Others have been reshaped by time, cities, and highways.

Yet the trail remains - a living framework connecting parks, historic sites, open spaces, and communities across generations. ✨

𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝙄𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.

Visit our website to learn more -----> https://w3r-us.org

While walkers of the WARO are gathering segment stamps from America's Walking Club they can also collect National Park Service Passport stamps for the historic trail. Right now they are in three locations: Prince William Forest Park, Colonial National Historical Park, and George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

Beginning on April 1, the first segments of the linear WARO will be sanctioned and available to walk. The first segments begin at the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Rosslyn (Arlington), Virginia, at the Potomac River, and go to George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon along the National Park Service’s Mount Vernon Trail.

This segment is sanctioned by America's Walking Club:

Find out more at:

https://my.ava.org/event-view.php?sn=131896

This medal, authorized by the administrator of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail, is given to walkers and cyclists who do a segment of the WARO in all nine states and Washington, D.C.