New Cross County Trail Signs Honor Gerry Connolly’s Fairfax Legacy

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — New signs unveiled Saturday at Lake Accotink Park in Springfield honor the late Rep. Gerry Connolly and his role in creating the Cross County Trail, a 41.5-mile route connecting Great Falls to Lorton.

Saturday's unveiling brought together Connolly’s family, elected officials and park leaders on National Public Lands Day. U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw and the Connolly family partnered with the Fairfax County Park Authority to develop the signs for the trail, which was named for Connolly in 2014.

Walkinshaw, who served as Connolly’s chief of staff for more than a decade before succeeding him in Congress, said the project held personal meaning after seeing Connolly’s passion for the trail firsthand.

“I'm glad we could do a little bit to make the trail easier for people to find, easier for people to navigate, so hopefully even more people can enjoy it,” Walkinshaw said after the ceremony.

For Connolly’s widow, Smitty, the signs and the trail offer a way to keep his memory present.

“And every time we are on it, Gerry’s alive again,” she said. “It reminds us of commitment to our neighbors, to our community.”

Connecting Paths Across Fairfax County

Before representing Virginia’s 11th District in Congress from 2009 to 2025, Connolly chaired the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. After local trail advocates proposed linking existing paths, he introduced the resolution to create the Cross County Trail, according to the press release announcing the unveiling.

The trail’s development also became part of the Connolly family’s history. His daughter, Caitlin, recalled her father taking her for a walk when she was about 5 or 6. It turned out to be a scouting trip for one of the trail’s connectors.

The route was then weeds, poison ivy and brush. She returned home scratched but without poison ivy — an outcome that thrilled her father, she recalled.

“But it was one of the formative moments for me because I had the opportunity to see this trail in the making with him,” she said.

A Trail Woven Into Family Life

Caitlin Connolly said she and her father later walked the trail together every Thanksgiving. She also used it to train for a marathon and bike to the Fairfax Ice Arena, and she has since introduced it to her husband, who runs there with her.

Braddock District Supervisor Rachna Sizemore-Heizer described a similar connection to the county’s parks and trails. In an interview, she said she trained for marathons on them and visited the marinas with her children.

She said Connolly remained involved in his local community throughout his public service.

“So his vision for building parks and trails and connecting people across the county is what we get to enjoy today,” Sizemore-Heizer said.