From the Trailhead - By Jim Lynch

Welcome to the Dahlgren Trail October News!

Fall is coming in strong on the Dahlgren Trail! We have really have enjoyed some great events on the trail this past month, including the annual Big WOW and the King George Fall Festival 5K and 1 Mile races. A special shoutout to the King George Middle School Running Club, the “Running Warriors” and their sponsor, the KGHS DECA team and Mrs. Dee Strauss, their faculty sponsor, for their support at the Fall Festival races.

Speaking of the Big WOW, this was the last event to be sponsored at the national level by the Wilsons Disease Association. We have years and years worth of gratitude to express to Constantin Langa, his wife Nichole, and the many other family members and friends who have made this event possible!

Parking improvements are also a focus of ours in this season. Our improvement of the Indiantown Road trailhead is completed; we owe a huge thanks to the Community Foundation for funding this project, as well as Potomac Paving for their great work. The parking area now features a paved entrance and new gravel spread and sloped for better drainage and has more parking spaces. We are still working on a gravel laydown area near Owens, which is comprised of a small parcel at the junction of the trail and Owens Drive, which was donated to us by Roger Williams. Many thanks to Roger! And thanks to the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region for their financial support of this project!

Warren Veazey and Sailor (the Veazey family Great Pyranees) installed a new boardwalk across the persistent muddy spot near mile marker 2.0. This project was made possible by a grant from the Keep Virginia Beautiful 30 x 30 Annual Grant Program. The boards are set so that a work vehicle can drive over them, but our main focus is making that area of the trail more accessible for wheelchairs; accessibility is a big objective for the trail.

Planning is underway for the 2022 King George Race Series. There will be some changes in store for the 50K and HHH Half Marathon in August. We’re planning to start and finish these races at the town of Dahlgren retail/commercial area, instead of the previous starting line at the Bloomsbury Trailhead. Also, we’re hoping to include a 5th event in the series: a ten-miler encompassing the trails at Caledon State Park and the Dahlgren Trail.

Fall is a great time of year to be out, and a nice natural surface path under the trees that are changing color is an unbeatable experience. We hope to see you out there soon! ​