The new ramp to the Crystal City Connector to the Mount Vernon Trail opened this week. The ramp was constructed as part of the redevelopment of the Crystal City Waterpark.
The new ramp is slightly wider, has a gentler slope and improved sightlines. The concrete surface also contains a lane divider markings as well as slow and yield markings where the ramp will connect to a new VRE platform entrance. Bicycle markings provide a visual indicator on the ramp of the presence of people riding bikes in an area that has high bike and pedestrian use. Construction is still ongoing in the park, which will open later this year new facilities including a trail head facility with restrooms.
Trail users may recall that the old ramp was made of brick pavers and included a sharp curve on a steep grade.
The Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail needs your help to continue improving the trail. Sign up for a volunteer trail improvement event or Donate to Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail to help us purchase tools and supplies.
My Vernon Trail seems so inaccessible for walkers: Enter at Crystal City and exit where? Mt Vernon? Where do walkers get back west of the tracks south of CC??
There’s a few somewhat indirect routes south of the Crystal City Connector. We’ve used to the access trail to the airport and walked on Warehouse Road to cross back into Crystal City on Airport Access Road. We’ve also walked across the grass from the trail to reach Airport Access Road into Crystal City. South of there, taking Four Mile Run Trail gives you the option of taking the switchback which puts you on Crystal Drive or the new ramp that puts you on the east side of Route 1 or the older ramp that puts you on the west side of Route 1. There’s also the option of exiting Four Mile Run Trail at Eads Street although that section of trail is temporarily closed due to the Dominion substation project.
The proposed CC2DCA bridge concept includes a direct connection to the Mount Vernon Trail with a nice bridge to Crystal City.