The National Park Service is upgrading 14 of the water fountains along the Mount Vernon Trail and George Washington Memorial Parkway.
The newly upgraded fountains include new water bottle fillers, an amenity that the park services hopes will encourage more trail users to bring reusable bottles.
A stretch of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in southern Fairfax County is moving toward some major changes, as is the neighboring Mount Vernon Trail.
The National Park Service, which maintains the GW Parkway and much of the Mount Vernon Trail, plans to start “initial design work and planning for key aspects of the project” this year, per a Jan. 26 press release.
Fairfax County will add its voice to the chorus of local governments touting the presence and benefits of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.
The Board of Supervisors authorized staff on Tuesday (Oct. 10) to sign an agreement committing the county to developing, maintaining and promoting its segments of the trail, which spans almost 900 miles from the Allegeny Highlands in western Pennsylvania to the Potomac River’s mouth in Northern Neck.
Fairfax County leaders will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an inaugural bicycle ride and walk tomorrow (Friday) to celebrate the completion of the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway Trail.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck will join the Fairfax County Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services at George Washington’s Gristmill to mark the finishing of the trail.
The George Washington Memorial Parkway and the mostly parallel Mount Vernon Trail could see some substantial changes, with the former being narrowed and the latter being widened.
The plans cover the southern portion of the parkway, covering 15.2 miles from Arlington Memorial Bridge to Mount Vernon. This area includes the majority of the Mount Vernon Trail, though a portion of the parkway and trail through Alexandria isn’t part of the project.
The National Park Service has completed the first of four planned projects to reconstruct bridges along Mount Vernon Trail.
Park service staff, elected officials and community members celebrated the reopening of Bridge 12 near Fort Hunt Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday (Sept. 24). The occasion coincided with National Public Lands Day, which encourages volunteers to help restore and improve national parks and other public lands.
(Updated at 7:40 p.m.) Why’d the bear cross GW Parkway?
Possibly to find an easy meal or explore its landscape after a winter hibernation, according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
