arlington/dc area route help ...

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6 Replies Last post: Apr 29, 2005 12:05 PM by babybanana

hoochifyd

15 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

Apr 26, 2005 9:58 AM

arlington/dc area route help

I live in Arlington, close to the Pentagon, and I have been trying to map out a route to get myself downtown, instead of circling the northern arlington neighborhoods. However, I attempted to just see if I could find a route on my own and got way lost...

So does anyone have a map or is familiar with the Pentagon area, that can tell me how to get to a bridge, like say, the Memorial Bridge, that will spit me out somewhere downtown? I live off of Columbia Pike... and whenever I travel down that road towards the Pentagon, I always lose my sense of direction, and can never find trails (I wound up running along side a highway with no running/biking lane!) to get me up to the bridge to cross the Potomac...

Thanks!

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* Carrie *
www.carrie.cc/running[/URL" target="_blank">
www.carrie.cc[/URL" target="_blank">
me@carrie.cc

Guest

1. Apr 27, 2005 1:58 PM

in response to: hoochifyd

Re: arlington/dc area route help

Hey, Carrie...I used to live in that same neighborhood!! (Right off of South Queen Street, near the entrance to 395 off of Columbia Pike) Anyway, I used to run and bike there all the time, but I moved away 6 years ago, so I'm rusty on street names. I asked a friend who still lives in the area, and here's what he said:

The most direct route, which is the one I used to take on my bike all the time, is to go straight down Columbia Pike to the Pentagon, follow the little loop around through the parking lots (although they're doing lots of construction down there now, so you might get detoured, but whatever), and then hop on the trail that runs along 110 and the GW Parkway. That terminates at Memorial Bridge. It's super easy.

If this person is farther south on Columbia Pike, like closer to Bailey's X-Roads, then he/she can pick up Bluemont/Custis Trails over by Four Mile Run Drive. That will eventually loop them around to Roosevelt Bridge, but it's much farther. That's a super-nice trail though. Very pretty with parks.

Also, here's a link to a PDF of an excellent bike map for all of the Arlington trails. Good luck -- let me know how it works out for you!!

www.co.arlington.va.us/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/[/URL" target="_blank"> dot/planning/bike/images/pocket05.pdf

jenfoon

28 posts since
Nov 13, 2003

2. Apr 27, 2005 7:44 PM

in response to: hoochifyd

Re: arlington/dc area route help

The trail ACL is talking about is the Mt Vernon Trail- it is a paved bike trail that runs from Mt Vernon all the way up to the Key Bridge. If you want to end up downtown, you can either head over the 14th Street Bridge or the Memorial Bridge, depending on where you want to end up. Either way you will have the leave the bike path- it is easier to get to the 14th Street Bridge since you don't have to cross any roads. Trying to cross from the trail to go over Memorial Bridge can be tricky during heavy traffic so be careful- I was actually hit once at that very spot.

Heres a basic map of the trail...

http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/mvtmap.html[/URL" target="_blank">

Hope that helps

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KinneyR

2 posts since
Feb 6, 2005

3. Apr 28, 2005 8:35 AM

in response to: hoochifyd

Re: arlington/dc area route help

I invested in the Runner's Guide for the Washington DC area. Don't have the book with me at work right now, but if you type that title in on Amazon...it should come up.

It has great trails/loops in and around the DC area. It gives you the map, how to get there, hills (if any), distance, etc. It has it for MD, VA, and DC.

Guest

4. Apr 28, 2005 10:53 AM

in response to: hoochifyd

Re: arlington/dc area route help

I'm not super-familiar with south arlington (more so with north arlington, fairfax and DC), but I'm 99% certain the W&OD Trail runs alongside Columbia Pike for awhile, between mileposts 0 and 1.5. (0 is near the Shirlington Gateway.) You could follow that trail Northwest for miles and miles through Arlington, Falls Church, Fairfax, etc. It eventually connects to the Four Mile Run and Custis trails between mileposts 3 and 4. Those would take you into other parts of Arlington. www.wodfriends.org[/URL" target="_blank">

You might want to post this in the Training section of the runnersworld.com forum - there are a few Arlington area runners who post regularly there.

also, if you do a search on DCroadrunners.org and find the running routes page, all their routes start at Roosevelt Island or Iwo Jima, but some of the routes might cover your area and give you insights on where to pick up a trail.

good luck, and happy running!

hoochifyd

15 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

5. Apr 29, 2005 8:52 AM

in response to: hoochifyd

Re: arlington/dc area route help

THANK YOU! Those ideas help tremendously! I live basically right across the street from you, acl04... in the apartments off of Scott St on Columbia Pike (Archstone)

I will get the book, and look at the routes... I did manage to find my way from my house to the GW Parkway somehow (after looping a couple times).. and yeah, I got nervous crossing that traffic trying to make it up to the Memorial Bridge. The bike trail goes right underneath it, so I had to get creative on how to find my way up to it

Now that I'm running longer distances, I may just go all the way up to the Key bridge... but coming back, it would help to be able to use Memorial or 14th st...

thanks so much everyone!!