Mount Vernon Trail's 50th Anniversary Celebration Planned

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Mount Vernon Trail, an 18.5-mile multi-use trail connecting areas of Arlington and Alexandria along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, is turning 50.

On Saturday, Friends of Mount Vernon Trail and local officials will celebrate the trail's 50-year anniversary from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Daingerfield Island, 1 Marina Drive, Alexandria, VA. Speakers will include Judd Isbell, president of the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail; Charles Cuvelier, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway; Katie Cristol, Arlington County Board chair; Sarah Bagley Alexandria City Council member; and Dan Storck, Mount Vernon district Supervisor in Fairfax County. Participating organizations will include Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, BikeArlington, WalkArlington, Capital Bikeshare, Go Alex, East Coast Greenway, Capital Trails Coalition, Friends of Dyke Marsh, George Washington Memorial Parkway (National Park Service), and Rosslyn Business Improvement District.

Residents are asked to register for this free event. The Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail will have giveaways and work demos, while National Park Service will showcase its Junior Ranger program and Mobile Visitors Center.

The Mount Vernon Trail offers 18.5 miles for walking, running, and cycling between Theodore Roosevelt Island and George Washington's Mount Vernon, but the trail wasn't always that long. The first 4.5-mile part of the trail from Belle Haven Park to Memorial Bridge opened on April 15, 1972, according to the Friends of Mount Vernon Trail.

The effort to open a trail along the George Washington Memorial Parkway was spearheaded by Ellen Pickering and Barbara Lynch. In 1971, as support grew for a trail to support bicyclists, the two Alexandria women worked to get over 700 signatures in support of a trail. The National Park Service agreed to provide materials if the women could organize volunteers to do the work. The rest was history.

As popularity of the trail grew, new segments were added. A 7.5-mile extension from Belle Haven Park to Mount Vernon was completed in 1973, and a paved section from Alexandria Avenue to Waynewood Avenue was created in 1978. Two years later, the trail was connected to Four Mile Run Trail. In 1988, the trail was extended from Memorial Bridge to Roosevelt Island, adding a connection to the Custis Trail. Other connections and improvements were added over the years, including around Reagan National Airport.

On Tuesday, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a board matter recognizing the Mount Vernon Trail's 50-year anniversary. In the board matter presentation, Storck called the trail a "central artery for the Mount Vernon District."

Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail regularly holds cleanup events to maintain the trail. For more information about the volunteer group, visit mountvernontrail.org.