A section of the Mount Vernon Trail just north of Old Town will be closed for five to six weeks, starting this Friday.
During that time, contractors with the National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration project will conduct shoreline embankment repair work. The project will shut down the trail between north of E. Abingdon Drive and 3rd Street, and trail users will be redirected to an alternate trail on E. Abingdon Drive.
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.
The National Park Service is seeking input on a proposal to redesign intersections, add new trail connections and expand waterfront access in Old Town North, among other changes.
The agency is planning a slate of future upgrades along the GW Parkway, Mount Vernon Trail and Potomac waterfront, aiming to make the areas “safer, more accessible, and more enjoyable for everyone,” according to a press release. Plans include trail bridge replacement, new bike lanes and crosswalks and “improved views” of the waterfront.
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.
It’s been a busy week in Alexandria! Here’s our recap of the most-read stories.
This week’s top story is on an Inova Alexandria Hospital employee getting fired after allegedly stealing a patient’s credit cards from a room at the hospital and using them at a nearby store.
A woman is safe after allegedly being abducted and assaulted by a naked man along the Mount Vernon Trail in Old Town North earlier this month.
“The suspect pinned both of her forearms down and she fought to break free,” police said a recently released search warrant affidavit. “(The victim) said she realized the suspect was fully naked when he was on top of her and she saw his penis. (The victim) tried to push him away specifically with her right hand to the suspect’s left arm. (The victim) said she yelled and the suspect covered her mouth with his hand. The suspect told her, ‘Do you want to die?'”
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail is a volunteer group that’s worked tirelessly to maintain and improve one of the region’s most beautiful trails and the National Park Service (NPS) recently recognized the group for those efforts.
The group took home the National Park Service Impact Award: Team Category in the NPS’ Excellence in Volunteerism Awards.
Plans to narrow the George Washington Parkway and widen the Mount Vernon Trail cleared another hurdle this week.
The changes could be coming to the Mount Vernon Trail just south of Alexandria. The National Park Service issued a Finding of No Significant Impact for an Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating the impacts of the proposed changes, according to a release.
The Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail is rallying support to get a section of roadway into Old Town North converted into a bike lane.
The plan would be to take the right lane of East Abingdon Drive — which runs parallel to the George Washington Memorial Parkway — and convert it into a two-way buffered cycletrack connected to the Mount Vernon Trail, Patch first reported.
Anyone who has traveled along the Mount Vernon Trail can tell you the kudzu near the old GenOn power plant is so thick it nearly swallows the trail. Now, Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail are fighting back.
The group is organizing a pushback to the kudzu invasion on Saturday, Aug. 19 from 9-11 a.m. The group is meeting on the trail near 1198 N. Fairfax Street.
The City of Alexandria could be prioritizing the Mount Vernon Trail at crossings where, currently, trail users are expected to stop for car traffic.
At a Traffic and Parking Board meeting last week, civil engineer Dan Scolese presented plans to change the stop signs from making pedestrians and cyclists stop for street traffic to having cars stop for trail users.
