Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail

Published March 2, 2026 at 3:15PM

Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail win the Trail of the Year Award from the Public Lands Alliance (via Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail/Facebook)

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.

Around Town

Volunteers remove 500-pound debris from Mount Vernon Trail during ‘Mega Trash Bash’

By Katie Taranto

Published December 3, 2025 at 1:00PM

Mega Trash Bash volunteers outside Marina Towers (courtesy of Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail)

With teamwork, grit and a reciprocating saw, a group of volunteers in Alexandria successfully removed a piece of debris from the Mount Vernon Trail that they estimate weighed at least 500 pounds.

The Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail discovered the debris, a large sling fender, sitting in the Potomac River’s low tide line near the Marina Towers building at 501 Slaters Lane during the Nov. 15 Mega Trash Bash cleanup.