From the Trailhead - By Jim Lynch

Summer is coming in hot and we're excited to see lots of visitors on the Dahlgren Trail! We want to make the trail as accessible, beautiful, and enjoyable as it can possibly be – and we’re constantly working to achieve that goal. 
We are pleased to host our trail maintenance team and other community volunteers as they bush-hog, mow, and tree trim our quickly growing trail - and we sincerely thank them for all they do! One trail user recently sent a nice note about her visit to the trail:
“My puppy and I really enjoyed it. So peaceful and beautiful.”
We love notes like this and we hope to see you out there often! Speaking of inspiring notes, we were recently featured in Blue Ridge Outdoors' "Roads Less Traveled Through King George County, VA" spotlight article! We are proud to be part of this community, and we hope you'll enjoy reading the article here.
We're getting ready to host the annual Dahlgren Trail 50K race in a few weeks, which is to be held on August 7th. This is a popular race that draws ultra-marathoners from around the region. This will be the 14th annual running of this race. Many of the runners return year after year. We also have a Half-Marathon that runs concurrently with the 50K for those whose cup of tea is 13.1 miles. This event requires a lot of volunteers and we appreciate everyone who pitches in to contribute to this community event. Id’ like to give a special shout-out to the King George Amateur Radio Organization (KGARO); these guys and gals provide critical safety support to the race, keeping an eye on the runners as they pass check points and making sure all runners are accounted for and safe. The Half Marathon and 50k race is directed and hosted by Arsenal Events; check them out and sign up for the race here! Also, be sure to look into the King George Race Series that features multiple distances and beautiful running trails and locations in our area!
A trail user recently wrote a note asking if we knew what was going on with some tree cutting near the trail crossing on Caledon Road. Dominion Power was clearcutting some space for a new power line crossing and agreed to take the cleared trees to our Bloomsbury Road trailhead where we would put them to good use. There were a lot of very big logs that wound up in our parking lot! We took the smaller ones and cut them into bon-fire sized pieces and stacked them near our fire pit. The bigger ones we cut into stool and bench-sized seats and carried them down the trail to distribute for use. We are proud to provide these resting spots here and there along the trail for folks to sit and rest, read a book, and commune with nature. We sincerely appreciate Dominion's work with us! Thanks to trail maintenance champions for their special effort in this project. Warren Veazey and his sons Dylan and Karl put in some serious work!

​With summer rain, wind, and rapid growth of the plants and tress on the trail, you may see some tall grass, a leaning tree, or other trail maintenance issues. Our trail maintenance team is ready to help! Please let us know if you have suggestions or questions. Click here to contact us! Want to be part of the maintenance crew? Ask us about that too!

We welcome your feedback about the trail and our activities anytime, via this form.