This is W&OD Trail: Shirlington!

The W&OD is a 100-foot-wide corridor known as the skinniest park in Virginia and also one of its longest, with 45 miles of paved multi-use trail for walking, running, cycling, skating, and more. Built on the roadbed of the former Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, it runs through the urban heartland and countryside of Northern Virginia between Shirlington in Arlington County and Purcellville in Loudoun County. The first section opened in Falls Church and was dedicated in 1974 by then-mayor Harold Miller, and the trail was completed in 1988. Along the paved trail are an additional 32 miles of adjacent gravel equestrian trail for horseback riding over hills and through shallow streams. The railroad on which the trail was built began as the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad, considered vital after its inception in 1847 for carrying commerce inland from the Alexandria seaport to Loudoun County. Although that line of commerce never fully developed, the route later linked places that are now key economic sites in Northern Virginia, including Arlington, Falls Church, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Leesburg, and Purcellville. The route also offers uncommon views as it crosses the Capital Beltway, crosses Route 66 in two places, crosses Route 7 near Leesburg, and passes beside a Luckstone Quarry between Leesburg and Purcellville.

Arlington, Virginia · United States