Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, a volunteer group dedicated to trail maintenance and education efforts, was recognized with an award last month for its trail renovation work.
The organization was honored with the “Trail of the Year” award from the Public Lands Alliance at the nonprofit’s conference in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Feb. 23. The group received the award for its partnership with the National Park Service to renovate the George Washington Memorial Parkway’s trail surface and rest areas from 2024 to 2025.
According to the volunteer group, its members helped remove 1,000 trail bumps, fix 161 potholes, replace five outdated bike racks, install bike racks at three new locations, clean and lever pavers at three rest areas and install six new freeze-resistant water fountains with bottle fillers.
About 3,700 volunteers provided more than 8,500 volunteer hours for the renovations.
“We are deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Public Lands Alliance and to continue bringing national attention and resources to the Mount Vernon Trail,” said Judd Isbell, President of the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, on Facebook. “This award reflects the dedication of our volunteers, donors, partners, and supporters who work tirelessly to continue to build a world class trail.”
Along with trail maintenance, Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail removes invasive plants and trash from the trail and hosts community bike rides and walks.
In March and April, the group plans to host invasive plant removal and vegetation trimming volunteer events at several locations, a tulip walk and bike ride, and an Earth Day trash removal near Alexandria’s Marina Towers.
Photos 1-3 via Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail/Facebook.
