From the president's desk: Welcome to 'On the Trail'

Welcome to the inaugural issue of On The Trail, the newsletter of the Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail — or the DRHT, respectfully pronounced “dirt.” I hope you enjoy it; let us know what you think.
   
With the advent of warm weather, not to mention the current coronavirus pandemic, lots of folks are getting outdoors to enjoy their favorite local park. The DRHT is one of them. Our parking lots are filling up and we meet bikers and walkers new to the trail every day as well as “regulars” who are out there several times a week.  

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 Warm weather also brings vegetation growth, so our volunteers have been busy with mowing along the trail, not to mention removing the occasional tree that has fallen across the trail. 

We continue to advocate for the DRHT to join nearby Caledon State Park as part of the Virginia State Parks system. The state parks count six rails-to-trails in the system, ours will be the seventh. Two of the trails, Highbridge and New River, are complete parks; the others are trails within a larger park. For trivia buffs, Virginia has 45 rail trails, as described in Virginia Rail Trails: Crossing the Commonwealth by Joe Tennis. 

One of our premier events is the annual 50K and half marathon races the first weekend in August.  We’re hoping that we’ll be able to hold this event, but we’re waiting for a final decision to see if we can meet the governor’s guidelines for outdoor events. Stay tuned! (More trivia: In 2015 the 50K winner, Mike Wardian of Arlington, Va., had the fastest 50K time in the country on an all-dirt course!)
 
See you on the trail! 
​Jim Lynch
President, Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail