Best Trails near Arlington County, Virginia

Did this trail after a big snow storm. Hiked from Cherrydale area, through Potomac Overlook Park, and from there to Roosevelt Island. A nice remote hike in the middle of the city.

I'm a big fan of this trail for biking. It's relatively level, well maintained and not terribly trafficked. There are a few crossings, but cars tend to stop for you, even when they have the right of way.

This is a nice relatively flat paved trail. W & OD is well maintained and safe (patrolled by Park Police) and free of automotive traffic accept for street crossings at which I found motorists to be courteous. The trail is perfect for long distance training rides.

Fun trail between Key Bridge and Chain Bridge. It is overgrown and as you approach Chain Bridge it is very poorly marked. Does remind me of the Billy Goat Trail at times. Lots of rocks and creeks to cross. Beautiful views. We walked back to Key Bridge on the tow path.

The trail is not maintained, overgrown vegetation in most of the trail areas where you can barely walk through it. The trail ends short about 3 miles due to fallen tree and now way to get to the other side unless you kayak through the waters. At the end I returned to my vehicle door crow barred at the top/failed attempt to break in my vehicle in the main parking lot. A lot of runners, kayaking, bikers. Seemed safe, just never know

A few slower spots crossing the stream but for the majority you can run without too much technical stuff

Perfect hike for kids.

I really enjoyed hiking this trail. You definitely need to watch your step as you cross the run. I look forward to returning soon.

Today was the hottest day of the year thus far at 85 degrees. The Martha Custis Trail is 100% paved, which means convection and radiant heat coming up from the pavement, while solar heat from the sun beams down — it’s like being in an oven. I haven’t adapted to running in hot weather this year yet. So, I knew that this run was going to suck.

I started out at about 11 am, and what was planned to be a trail running activity turned into a day hike activity, fairly quickly. The heat was just too much trying to maintain a 10K pace. I ended up jogging and taking breaks often, the whole distance. Other than that the trail was great! Just beware of the many bikers. I ended up completing a total distance of 14 miles at 735 feet elevation gain, when you converge my two recordings.

I plan to start these runs earlier, like 15 minutes before the break of dawn or thereabout. The aim is better quality outings. I’ll bag this one and look to do better next time out.

One of the best local trails in Arlington.

Easy peasy

This is a really great trail (usually) but is harder to hike in the fall when there are a lot of leaves on the ground and built up in the water. It also rained overnight this time so many of the rocks are underwater. It’s a nice challenge if you have waterproof shoes, time, and patience, but also no longer a short hike. I still had fun crossing the run a few times but I didn’t have time to complete the whole trail this time.

we enjoyed this trail very much. definitely return.

Great trail. Just be warned that between Key Bridge and Chain Bridge up river a couple of miles there are some very challenging sections climbing over rocks on an extremely narrow trail. Almost as challenging as the steepest section of Billy Goat Trail. This is just before the waterfall. There is also about half a mile of walking along the GW Parkway, a quarter mile of which is literally on the shoulder. Good views even there. Great views elsewhere. One last warning. Do not fall into the river! People drown every year falling in near this trail.

Love it! Just difficult to get there if you live near Alexandria.

Great trail! Plenty of hills plus a bunch of side trails if you're feeling adventurous. There are a lot of stream crossings so you'll have to be creative if you don't want to get your feet wet. In my opinion this was more easy than moderate and the only challenge was climbing over a couple fallen trees. My only complaint is that the trail was barely marked at all and it was a little tricky to follow due to all of the side trails. I kept having to pull up my phone to make sure I didn't get lost. It was fun anyway though, and I will definitely be back.

Lovely wooded trail with stream. However, not well marked.

So much fun!! Tons of options to leave the trail and make your hike more exciting

Very overgrown, especially at the western part of the trail

Very fun

This is a short, but moderately difficult trail. It includes multiple water crossings over a shallow to deep stream (depending on the time of year and recent rainfall). When I went, there were also several large downed trees that made crossing a little more difficult, but not dangerous. There are beautiful, small cascades all throughout the stream and the trail is very dog-friendly.

Not a pretty trail. It runs parallel to a semi-industrial area (body shops, boutique manufacturing, auto repair, etc.). The other side of the trail has community gardens and duplex housing. The trail is paved, and in good repair. I wouldn't do this one again.

great trail, plenty of traditional climbing potential about 2 -3 miles in

There were nice parts, but why put a trail next to an interstate?

Way too urban!

one of my faves!

Perfect for a quick ride to lunch at Carlisle Grill in Shirlington

Nice shade and stream of water