The Mount Vernon Trail (MVT) is a long shared use path that travels along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Northern Virginia between Rosslyn and George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The trail connects the easternmost portions of Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County, and travels mostly on dedicated trail with a small portion on city streets. As part of U.S. Bike Route 1, the Potomac Heritage Trail and the East Coast Greenway, the MVT opened in April 1972 as a gravel path and was subsequently expanded and paved.
The MVT is part of the much larger mid-Atlantic Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
History
Separate bridle and footpaths were included in the 1890 and 1930 plans for the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, as the George Washington Parkway was called before opening. Provisions for such paths were included in the construction of key bridges, such as the Boundary Channel Bridge on south Columbia Island and some short paths were built before 1970 in busier areas, but none of these were suitable for long bike rides.
One early path was built in 1940 between the Arlington Memorial Bridge and the Navy – Merchant Marine Memorial. That path was eventually connected to the George Mason Memorial Bridge. In 1969, that path was paved and renamed the Lady Bird Trail, in honor of Lady Bird Johnson.
Before construction of the Mount Vernon Trail, cyclists frequently rode on the parkway. On Sundays, one lane would be roped off for the exclusive use of cyclists. In fact in 1971, cyclists held a "bike-in" along the parkway. Because the route was so popular, and because the addition of concrete barriers in some places would create space, the National Park Service, after being lobbied by local civic groups led by Ellen Pickering and Barbara Lynch, decided in 1971 to build a full trail along the side of the parkway. The trail idea was not new as the Park Service had been seeking money for a trail to Gravelly Point as far back as 1967.
The Mount Vernon Trail was originally built by the Park Service in two phases. The first section, a compacted gravel path from the Mason Bridge and the existing Lady Bird Trail to Slaters Lane in Alexandria was opened on April 15, 1972. On April 21, 1973, it was extended 7.5 miles south from I-495 to Mount Vernon with a surface of compacted fly ash from the PEPCO plant in Alexandria.
The first section was 6 feet wide and cost only $27,000 to build due to the work of numerous volunteers who, after NPS bladed the base, spent every weekend for four months spreading gravel. Because it only went to Alexandria, it was referred to as the Alexandria Bike Trail, not taking on the name Mount Vernon Trail until the second section was completed. The second section was 8 feet wide, cost $135,000 to build and received help from the U.S. Army Engineer Center at Ft. Belvoir which helped to build the timber bridges and boardwalks.
Since the Mount Vernon Trail opened it has been expanded, widened, connected to and improved many times. In 1976, the City of Alexandria acquired a deed from Norfolk Southern to build a section of the trail from Pendleton Street to E. Abingdon Drive. This extension moved the on-road portion through Alexandria from Pitt Street to Union Street.
In 1978, the Park Service built a new, $305,000, 1.8 mile paved section of trail on the west side of the parkway from Alexandria Avenue to Fort Hunt Road, a controversial project that was held up by legal action over safety and environmental concerns by neighbors. Previously the trail in that area had been on-road.
In 1978, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority built a connection from the trail to Washington National Airport's bicycle parking. In 1979, the original section between Alexandria and Memorial Bridge was paved and in 1980 the section south of Fort Hunt and the one between Alexandria and Alexandria Avenue was paved.
In 1980, as part of the construction of seven bridges across Four Mile Run, including bridges for Potomac Yard railroads, Route 1 and the George Washington Parkway, the Army Corps of Engineers built an extension of the Four Mile Run Trail that connected the trail to the Mount Vernon Trail. In 1982, Alexandria built a small section of trail in the area under and near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.