Hidden Hiking/Biking Trails

We live in Northern Virginia.  If there is no traffic, we could get to DC in about 15 minutes.  It’s a densely populated place.  We’re known for our traffic.  The highway that we live 1 mile from has 14 lanes.  Whaaat?  Yes.  14.  Anyway…  The point of me talking about the highway is to point out that bordering the highway is a bunch of mountain biking trails.  Cool!  Now, I’m not a mountain biker.  I’m way too wimpy.  But, my husband (who is a fun lover) loves to take our boys hiking on those trails on the weekend.  I usually stay home and try to recuperate the house from crazy boy land.

However, whenever I go it’s always so much fun.  On this cold wintery day we hiked 2 miles.  We just meander around the biking trails that have been created and maintained by avid bikers.  It’s fun to see the bikers jump the man-made log stacks. 

At the end of today’s hike, we walked to the pedestrian walkway/overpass over the highway.  It’s pretty intimidating to be this high up over all of the cars whizzing past, and it’s also fun to put the coolness of where we just hiked into perspective:  We live 1 mile from the Capital Beltway, but we can bike and hike for miles and miles in a wooded area!  What’s even better is that we don’t even need to leave our neighborhood to get there.  (Can you tell that I grew up in an even more urban area?  Not a lot of woods in Quincy, MA.)

The last picture is of my favorite running spot:  The Cross County Trail.  It’s 40 miles from Great Falls, Virginia, to Occoquan, VA.  I don’t think I’ve even covered half of it yet.  (It’s easy just to stay close to home!)

So there you have it.  My neighborhood is the best.  I had no idea that we would be moving into a place that was so easily accessible to woods, and trails, and even ponds to skate on during cold snaps.  But my husband did.  Good job, honey!