The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park is a linear regional park in Northern Virginia. The park's primary feature is the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Trail (abbreviated as W&OD Trail), an asphalt-surfaced paved rail trail that runs through densely populated urban and suburban communities as well as through rural areas.Description and map of W&OD Trail in NVRPA "Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park" marker at trailhead of W&OD Trail in Shirlington in Arlington County, Virginia. See photographs and description of the marker in In Multiple sources:
Most of the trail travels on top of the rail bed of the former Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, which closed in 1968.History of W&OD Railroad in NVRPA marker at trailhead of W&OD Trail in Shirlington in Arlington County, Virginia: In
Although the park is long, it is only about wide. The rail trail is approximately wide through much of its length and is a shared use path that is suitable for walking, running, cycling, and roller skating.Neville, Section 7, p. 2.
A crushed bluestone–surfaced bridle path travels near the paved trail in the park's most westerly . The path is suitable for horseback riding and mountain biking.
NOVA Parks administers and maintains the park and its trails. NOVA Parks keeps most of the parkland surrounding the trails in a natural state. The park authority has placed alongside the paved trail a series of mile markers and a number of interpretative exhibits that describe the historic and natural features of the park (see Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Stations for locations of historical markers near the W&OD Trail). In NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL PARK AUTHORITY - PRE-FILED DIRECT TESTIMONY OF MR. HAFNER, MR. MCRAY AND MR. SIMMONS, November 30, 2005, Part 1 of 5, page 37 of 59, Case No. PUE-2005-00018, Virginia State Corporation Commission. Obtained in Titles of and links to webpages of many NOVA Parks historical markers along the W&OD Trail are listed in
The headquarters office of the park is near the southwest side of the trail at Smith's Switch Road in Ashburn.Multiple sources:
Coordinates of park headquarters: A park rest stop is adjacent to the trail near the park's headquarters.
Route
The W&OD Trail begins in the Nauck neighborhood near the Shirlington section of Arlington County, close to the boundary between the County and the City of Alexandria.Photographs and description of the area and markers at the W&OD Trail's trailhead: In Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority historical marker at trailhead of W&OD Trail: In In Coordinates of W&OD Trail trailhead: 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 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.Announcement of May 30, 2009, ribbon-cutting ceremony commemorating the completion of a trail extension linking the W&OD Trail at its origin with the Four Mile Run Trail: 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).Coordinates of W&OD Trail trailhead: 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 Trail's 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: above sea level.W&OD Trail locations, distances and elevations in detailed maps of portions of the W&OD Trail accessed from .
The trail climbs in 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 244), the trail enters a steeply-sloped woodland that covers both sides of the valley. The trail crosses under Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Route 50) while within the woodland.
Near the end of the woodland, the trail intersects the Bluemont Junction Trail, a long paved rail trail that travels to Ballston on the bed of a former W&OD Railroad branch that once ran to Rosslyn and Georgetown. past that intersection, the W&OD Trail intersects the Custis Trail, a long paved shared use path that travels along Interstate 66 (I-66) (the Custis Memorial Parkway) to Rosslyn and which provides access to Washington, D.C. and the northern end of the Mount Vernon Trail.
After crossing its intersection with the Custis Trail, the W&OD Trail travels northwest near an I-66 soundwall for most of its remaining course in Arlington. After crossing under North Sycamore Street next to Four Mile Run, the W&OD Trail crosses over the Run and passes the East Falls Church station on Washington Metro's Orange and Silver Lines.
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 the City of Falls Church and Fairfax County.
The trail reaches an elevation of at its crossing of I-66 in Fairfax County. When it reaches this point, the trail has risen while traveling .
After crossing over I-495 (the Capital Beltway) on a trail bridge 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 Mile 14, where its elevation of is only higher than is its elevation at the trail's origin.
After the trail crosses Difficult Run (Mile 14.3), 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. While traveling through Reston, the trail crosses Wiehle Avenue (VA 828), northeast of the Wiehle–Reston East station on Washington Metro's Silver Line.Multiple sources:
When crossing Tuscarora Creek in Leesburg, the trail's elevation of is only higher than the highest elevation that it reached in Arlington. After crossing that stream, the trail climbs northwest in to reach its highest elevation () while traveling on a bridge carrying VA 9 (Charles Town Pike) over VA 7 near the saddle point of Clarke's Gap in Catoctin Mountain.U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of Clarks Gap from website of TopoQuest . Accessed October 8, 2009. before this crossing, the trail travels under an old stone arch that formerly carried VA 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 above sea level.
Trail features Feature JurisdictionJurisdictions from Distance fromTrailheadDistances in detailed maps of portions of trail accessed from Trail ElevationHeight above sea level in feet at listed feature or at the nearest 0.5 mileage marker in detailed maps of portions of trail accessed from Coordinates Four Mile Run Trail-W&OD Trail Connector City of Alexandria