Hey there, i'll be movin down to Arlington, VA on 1/4 and will live right off the 4-mile run trail. I'd like to be able to bike commute more than drive and I'll be working in Tysons Corner, as well as playing rugby in northern DC.
So i'm curious about the conditions of the trails?

I'm from Boston so I'm not unfamiliar with ridin around in the snowy/slushy/semi-plowed streets, but being that it doesnt snow as often in NOVA i'd imagine there's more ice than i'm used to.

Can anyone weigh in with some wisdom?


(i'll be cross-posting this in the winter and ne regional threads)

I live further out west off the WO&D trail. It is not cleared of snow/ice. When we do get snow it get's packed into a very uneven surface. Even with studded tires on my cross bike it's not possible to use the trail.

Supposed to be a fairly normal winter, so maybe a half dozen snow storms...figure only three of those will really affect the trails, so just call in sick those days and your set!

In all seriousness, take some time to familiarize yourself with the roads and trails before you start commuting to Tyson's...there's little to know bike infrastructure out that way and it's a traffic nightmare. I have no hesitation about riding pretty much anywhere in DC (I live in Capitol Hill), but Tyson's would scare the bejeebus out of me. But I think the best route for you would be W&OD to Gallows road, which has a shoulder/bike lane for at least a portion of the way into Tyson's...but I don't spend much time out there, so others may know better.

thanks for the input, the google street views do show that it's pretty gnarly with traffic, and i doubt the metro station that's being put in is helping. guess i can't really know until the weather happens and i give it a go!

Welcome to DC (or technically, NoVA!). A few area sites where you can get local info on the commute:
Washington Area Bike Forum: https://bikearlingtonforum.com/forum.php
WABA: https://www.waba.org/
FABB: https://www.fabb-bikes.org/index.html
BikeWashingtonDC Yahoo Group: https://groups.yahoo.com/group/BikeWashingtonDC

There are some low traffic blogs, facebook sites, and I think a twitter feed for W&OD conditions.

Metro does not allow bikes during rush hour. Folders are OK at all times and all the local bus routes have bike racks so you could take a bus. W&OD is not plowed but FABB reported the Parks authority bought a plow so maybe... Last winter, they did run a plow down the trail to scrape it down to where the sun would melt the rest. Although many sections are well-shaded and take forever to clear. Also, the road crossings will be blocked by snow walls from road plows. Many many drivers are clueless about winter driving, so you'll see a lot of school and government closings. Last winter was rough, but we've had winters where I never needed to shovel my walk.

My commute last winter was shorter and able to use local side streets that were usually plowed, studded tires took care of the rest. One storm in particular - I made it home in just a few minutes more than normal. Icy roads kept coworkers on the road for hours. I have a longer route/destination that doesn't use much if any of the W&OD now, so I may not be as determined a snow rider as I was last winter.

Oh - Capitol Weather Gang (a blog at washingtonpost.com) is a great site for decent weather info & discussions. Good luck!

I ride the MVT from Key Bridge to Old Town Alexandria year round. You'll want studded tires since the ice tends to stay around for days after it snows.

Bike Washington is a good resource. https://bikewashington.org/

ks1g and alan, those sites look like they'll be very useful, especially that bikearlington one, so thank you! itll probably come down to driving potential road routes to see if theyre safe if the paths are unmanageable over a 14mi commute.

i've been flirting with the idea of studded tires, now i just have to figure out which bike would be able to accommodate them and if that bike is capable of winter commuting. ive considered drilling holes in the exceptionally broad dropouts of my monocog 29er to be able to put in a rear rack, but that's a whole other beast.

A few inches of snow can ruin the W&OD until it gets warm enough to melt. Freeze / thaw after runners have made tracks turn it into a bumpy ice that is extremely difficult to navigate.

There are road alternatives. Check various side roads, and plan on crossing the beltway on Oak Street, then you can follow Gallows into Tysons. Try to avoid Route 7. And when you ride, you'll smile while your coworkers complain about the traffic.

You're welcome! Arlington County has an excellent bicycle route map on line. Fairfax County's map/system isn't as good but it does exist - check the FABB site for info. If the trails are clear, 4 Mile Run to W&OD to Gallows, then north on the Gallows Rd side path (I would try to avoid riding the roadway itself dues to traffic volume, speed, and driver ineptitude!) will get you into the Tysons area. Various routes once you are in the area depending on where you need to go (a side road crosses Rt 7 at Kidwell and another at Westpark Drive crosses Chain Bridge/Rt 123 if you're in the offices in the NW quadrant of Tysons). Or multi-mode and use one of the buses on Gallows Rd to avoid the heaviest traffic. Westmorland St and Great Falls Rd work better for people heading into the northern section closer to McLean. Rt 7, 123, 495, and Dulles Toll Rd/267 form choke points & bottlenecks that have been difficult to cross on a bike or walking. The current construction (Beltway widening and HOT lanes, Metro extension) has made it worse; that should clear up in about a year or so. You can see some of it on Google Maps/Earth.

Like ArtM said - after a snow/ice storm & cold snap, the snow is quickly packed down, rutted, and freezes solid. Because of shade and the orientation of the trail, icy spots can linger for weeks! Not fun to ride on and very hazardous on skinny tires (don't ask)! 700x35mm studded tires have worked OK for me although I found plowed/treated side streets a better alternative out in the Herndon/Reston area. A friend with more gumption (also a better bike handler and heals quicker than I do!) had good results with wider MTB tires and low pressure. We sometimes get extremly slick black ice conditions (more than my studded tires could handle) although those conditions usually don't last long. We're far enough north to get serious winter weather and far enough south to get more ice and lots of denial that a season called winter exists! OTOH, you will have a much longer riding season than you had in Boston - I started a new commute to Chantilly in March and checking my log, I did not see any weather-related drive days in March 2011.

Yeah, when it snows, the trail isn't clear for along time. If you want to commute, figure out some alternate rountes using the roads. Arlington has lots of side streets that can get you there.

Side streets are an option for the W&OD, but getting from Key Bridge to Old Town on the MVT doesn't have good alternatives. Route 1 through Crystal City and the airport are usually cleared, but getting around Arlington National Cemetery is difficult without riding on some busy roads. I just stick with the MVT, and if the snow is really deep, drive to work for a day or two.

I rode all winter last year, from Fairfax/Vienna to DC, using a variety of routes and modes, including the W&OD, the Custis Trail, the Capital Crescent Trail, and the Tow Path. As far as I can tell, the trails are not cleared, though I think Falls Church City might have done something, as that section seemed to be better, overall (but it could just have been sunlight). Conditions are hit or miss, though, as DC winter is quite variable. If it warms up quickly after a storm, you can get substantial melting in short order. OTOH, last winter the ice seemed to linger for weeks. The W&OD is a rail trail, so the hills are pretty gentle. Less so on Custis and perhaps 4 Mile (I have less experience there).

I rode all winter on 700x37c Continental Country Rides, and wasn't smart enough to reduce pressure. I took one very low speed spill, had a couple of close calls, spent some time with one or both feet steadying as I slid down hills, and generally just soldiered on. I did start using alternate transportation more often the day or two after a storm, until I knew we had some warmer weather, though - it was NOT pleasant.

You don't specify where in 'tysons' you'll be working -- there a lots of places that folks speak of as 'tysons' -- for this purpose, I'm assuming you work somewhere very close to the intersection of rtes. 123 and 7 within close proximity to Tysons Corner Center, or the Galleria (International Drive, Westpark Drive, etc...). Tysons Traffic can be quite daunting, and would not be my first choice. I considered taking a job there (off international) and was glad I had another option, as I wasn't sure how I'd be able to keep riding to work safely. I was planning to give it a go, though, and I do NOT think it is impossible.

I've ridden parts of gallows towards tysons, and honestly, it isn't that bad -- routes 7 and 123 are much worse. I saw a guy biking on 123 past international drive the other evening, and I have to admit I thought he was crazy. As others have mentioned, riding in downtown DC is MUCH more pleasant, as is most of Arlington.

On Gallows, in the morning, I would not be reluctant to ride the street there, and you have the option of the trail along the side. I would be concerned, however, about crossing each one of the many entry/exit points -- I find this a MUCH larger hazard than the mostly straight moving traffic. I would expect to hop up and down, street to side trail pretty regularly, as I became accustomed to the specific hazards of the route.

If you were actually going to Tysons Corner center, or one of the surrounding offices, or going to 'tysons 2' area, then I'd recommend turning on Gallows Branch to Kidwell/Towers Crescent, which heads to 'Ring Road' into the mall; Ring Road has a stupid little stub of a bike lane but it doesn't go around much of the mall, However, it is a slower moving area, and it's a relatively easy way to cross rt 7 and 123 via Westpark Drive.

Now, having said all this, I'm not as sure this would be good in the evening going home - one advantage in the morning is that you don't have shopping traffic. But in the evening you have the double whammy of folks commuting home and shoppers/diners heading to the tysons area as a destination. I would second the folks who advocate for maybe finding a bus from your workplace to a point near the W&OD trailhead at Gallows.

I commute from west to east on the W&OD into Tysons. If you are willing to possibly lengthen your commute a little, then I would continue west on the path past Gallows, through Vienna, and get off on Clarks Crossing. From there, you can continue into Tysons through mostly neigborhood streets, which are much safer and less traveled than Gallows Rd. It is a less direct route obviously coming from Arlington, but you can minimize your time in the Tysons traffic. Whether this would make sense depends on what part of Tysons you will be working. If you are near the Mall or Galleria, this route would take you in through the "back door" into Tysons and you would only be in true Tysons traffic for about 1.5 to 2.0 miles. And depending on the time of morning/evening, part of that 2 mile stretch could have light traffic and you would not see the worst of it. Even at its worst, this stretch is not as bad as Gallows. In all, this alternate route would add about 6 miles to your commute each way.

I usually take the side-path on Gallows when leaving Tysons toward Oak St, because I don't want to have to cross Gallows twice. On the way in towards Tysons I'll usually ride in the roadway.

Another way in that avoids Gallows is to exit the trail in Vienna by the old white railroad whatever-it-was just behind the Navy Fed. Credit Union. There's a very short gravel trail that takes you over to Electric Ave. It's rideable on a road bike. You can then take Woodford to Old Courthouse and go through various streets or parking lots to get to Rt 7.