Mount Vernon Trail (Virginia) Weather Forecast & Planning Guide

Mount Vernon Trail, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax Counties, VA, 18.79 miles

Trail Facts

Hall of Fame

Inducted 2026 by Rails to Trails Conservancy

Length19 mi

Elevation4 to 73 ft

Grade0.2% average

Shade cover36%

Primary surfaceAsphalt

Secondary surfaceBoardwalk, Concrete

Activities

E-bikingBikingWalkingRunningHikingBirdingFishingKayakingand more

Connects To

Custis TrailFour Mile Run TrailWoodrow Wilson Bridge TrailPotomac Heritage TrailRock Creek Park Trail

Managed By

National Park Service, George Washington Memorial Parkway

Trivia

Fort Hunt Park was P.O. Box 1142, a secret interrogation center where 3,451 Axis prisoners were processed between 1942 and July 1945; the work stayed classified until the 1990s.
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve covers about 485 acres, and nearly 300 bird species have been recorded there.
The Netherlands Carillon beside the trail near Arlington has 50 bronze bells, a gift from the Dutch people for American aid after World War II.
Jones Point Lighthouse was built in 1855, and the 1791 south cornerstone of the District of Columbia still sits in the seawall beside it.
The first section of the trail, opened in April 1972, was a 6 foot wide compacted gravel path that cost $27,000 to build.
The 1973 extension to Mount Vernon was surfaced with compacted fly ash from the PEPCO power plant in Alexandria.
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail volunteers removed 1,000 trail bumps and fixed 161 potholes in 2024 and 2025, earning the trail the Public Lands Alliance Trail of the Year award in 2026.
Rails to Trails Conservancy named the Mount Vernon Trail its 2026 Hall of Fame Trail in August 2026 after it took 58 percent of the public vote over the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail and the Historic Battlefield Trail.

About This Trail

The Mount Vernon Trail is an 18.8 mile paved path along the Virginia bank of the tidal Potomac River, from Theodore Roosevelt Island opposite Georgetown south to George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. It runs beside the George Washington Memorial Parkway, passing Gravelly Point under the airport approach, Jones Point, the Dyke Marsh boardwalks, and Fort Hunt Park. The riding is flat river-level pavement with wooden bridges through the marshes, a few blocks of city streets in Old Town, and one real climb at the end up to the estate gates. Expect company: this is one of the busiest trails in the Washington region, and the 2026 Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame Trail.

RailTrailWx TIPS

Mount Vernon Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

This is a tidal river trail, and the low spots flood on high tides: north of Memorial Bridge, around Daingerfield Island, and between Jones Point and Belle Haven Park. Strong sustained winds, nor'easters, and tropical systems push the Potomac up over the pavement, so after any of those check conditions before committing to the southern half.
Ninety percent of the route is flat open river bank with 38 percent of the trail having no tree canopy at all, so there is little shelter from sun or wind; carry water in summer and use the freeze resistant fountains at the parks.
Portions of the trail run through marshy areas, so expect relative humidities to be very high in those regions.
The trail runs north to south along the river for about 60 percent of its length, so a north or south wind is a headwind or tailwind for most of the ride rather than a crosswind.
The grade is rail flat at 1.1 percent sustained or less for 18 miles, then the final approach to Mount Vernon climbs about 60 feet to the estate; riders heading south finish uphill.
In winter, seepage ice forms on the pavement between Memorial Bridge and Bridge 30A and between Bridge 17 and the Old Stone Bridge, and the wooden bridge decks through the marshes get slippery when wet.
Expect crowds: the trail sees up to 80,000 visitors a month, the speed limit is 15 mph, and riders are asked to ride single file and pass on the left with a bell or voice.
Through Old Town Alexandria the trail leaves the parkway and runs on city streets and brick waterfront sidewalks with traffic, so plan a slower pace for that mile.

-Cory

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Climate

Excellent biking days per month, 2011-2025 climatology

History

The Mount Vernon Trail is technically not a rail trail. It follows the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a National Park Service road along the Potomac shore between Washington and Mount Vernon. The trail began as a protest. In April 1970 Alexandria activist Ellen Pickering and her friend Barbara Lynch led a group of women on bicycles from City Hall to the city dump to press for riverside trails. The Park Service backed the idea but had little money, so volunteers picked up shovels. The first section, a 6 foot wide compacted gravel path from Memorial Bridge and the Lady Bird Trail to Slaters Lane in Alexandria, opened on April 15, 1972. On April 21, 1973 the Park Service extended it 7.5 miles south from the Beltway to Mount Vernon, surfacing the new section with compacted fly ash from the PEPCO plant. That first full season drew roughly 4,000 riders a week. Paving followed in stages from 1978 to 1980. On December 7, 1988 the trail reached its present northern end at Theodore Roosevelt Island. The Park Service still owns and maintains the trail, and since 2018 the volunteer Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail have taken on much of the routine upkeep. In 2023 and 2024 the Park Service rebuilt bridges 23 and 24 through Dyke Marsh, widening them from 10 to 14 feet. In August 2026 Rails to Trails Conservancy named it the 2026 Hall of Fame Trail.

Trailheads

Theodore Roosevelt IslandMILE 0Directions
Arlington CemeteryMILE 1.2Directions
Gravelly PointMILE 3.8Directions
Daingerfield IslandMILE 6.6Directions
Jones Point ParkMILE 9.6Directions
Belle Haven ParkMILE 11.2Directions
Fort Hunt ParkMILE 15.9Directions
Riverside ParkMILE 17.5Directions

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RailTrailWx TIPS

Mount Vernon Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

This is a tidal river trail, and the low spots flood on high tides: north of Memorial Bridge, around Daingerfield Island, and between Jones Point and Belle Haven Park. Strong sustained winds, nor'easters, and tropical systems push the Potomac up over the pavement, so after any of those check conditions before committing to the southern half.

Ninety percent of the route is flat open river bank with 38 percent of the trail having no tree canopy at all, so there is little shelter from sun or wind; carry water in summer and use the freeze resistant fountains at the parks.

Portions of the trail run through marshy areas, so expect relative humidities to be very high in those regions.

The trail runs north to south along the river for about 60 percent of its length, so a north or south wind is a headwind or tailwind for most of the ride rather than a crosswind.

The grade is rail flat at 1.1 percent sustained or less for 18 miles, then the final approach to Mount Vernon climbs about 60 feet to the estate; riders heading south finish uphill.

In winter, seepage ice forms on the pavement between Memorial Bridge and Bridge 30A and between Bridge 17 and the Old Stone Bridge, and the wooden bridge decks through the marshes get slippery when wet.

Expect crowds: the trail sees up to 80,000 visitors a month, the speed limit is 15 mph, and riders are asked to ride single file and pass on the left with a bell or voice.

Through Old Town Alexandria the trail leaves the parkway and runs on city streets and brick waterfront sidewalks with traffic, so plan a slower pace for that mile.

-Cory