The Custis Trail is a 4-mile, paved bike trail in Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...

 that extends from Key Bridge at Rosslyn

Rosslyn, Virginia

Rosslyn is an unincorporated area in Northern Virginia located in the northeastern corner of Arlington County, Virginia, north of Arlington National Cemetery and directly across the Potomac River from Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Rosslyn encompasses the Arlington neighborhoods of North Rosslyn...

 westward to the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail. It connects at its east end to the Mount Vernon Trail

Mount Vernon Trail

The Mount Vernon Trail is a popular running and bike path in Northern Virginia that follows the west bank of the Potomac River from near Theodore Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon. The northern, urban half is open and has views of Washington, D.C. across the river. The southern below Alexandria is...

, which continues east and south along the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 to Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon (plantation)

Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...

 and at its west end to the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail, which continues northwest to Purcellville, Virginia

Purcellville, Virginia

Purcellville is a town in the Loudoun Valley of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,584 at the 2000 census, but has undergone considerable growth since then. Purcellville is the major population center for western Loudoun and the Loudoun Valley...

.

The Custis Trail was built alongside Interstate 66

Interstate 66

Interstate 66 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. As indicated by its even route number, it runs in an east–west direction. Its western terminus is at Middletown, Virginia, at an intersection with Interstate 81; its eastern terminus is in Washington, D.C., at an...

 (named the Custis Memorial Parkway in Virginia east of the Capital Beltway

Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)

Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...

). The trail opened in the early 1980s at the same time that the highway did. Because the trail directly connects to the Key Bridge into Georgetown

Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...

and to the Mount Vernon Trail, which provides easy access to the other three downtown river crossings, it is a popular bicycle commuter route.

External links

• 2011 Arlington County bike map on the Bike Arlington website (accessed March 25, 2011)