From The Trailhead - January 2021

Winter is upon us here in Dahlgren, Virginia, and the temperatures sure are chilly! So far in 2021, I think we’ve only gotten below 20 degrees once or twice at night. Generally, the day provides us temperatures in the 40s, which is a great forecast for the trail. With pleasant weather and increased free time around the holidays, we have seen increased use of the trail (and we are so excited about it)! Earlier this week I had the pleasure of chatting with some walkers on the western end of the trail. They had gone to Comorn Road parking area around trail mile marker 4, which is turning into a popular trailhead. They found the lot packed! So, they instead came to the trailhead at Bloomsbury Road which hosts plenty of free parking. Many trail users are also brining their dogs along for the journey; we are always happy to see canine friends, as long as they are on a leash.
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We want to encourage and support all the increased trail use that we have been seeing. The Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail Board of Directors is currently in discussions with neighboring land owners at Comorn Road and Owens Road about buying small parcels which would allow us to expand our parking facilities. If those acquisitions come to fruition, we’ll use some recently awarded grant funds to do the necessary work to turn the parcels into graded and graveled parking areas.

Planning continues for several upcoming races that will occur on the trail; we are delighted to work with our partners at Arsenal Events and the Sheetz2Sheetz Run to provide fun and safe opportunities for the local trail runners and walkers, as well as give back to those in need within our community. For more information about upcoming races, please read further into this monthly newsletter, and check out the event page on our website, here.

Lastly, we are proud to welcome two new members to our board. Jim Buckley, a Marine Corps retiree, has been an avid trail volunteer for years and is most welcome addition to our leadership. Champe Burnley is the immediate past president of the Virginia Bicycling Federation and a frequent citizen lobbyist for cycling interests in the Virginia legislature. We’re glad to have them both and thank them for their willingness to serve.

This is the start of a fresh year, full of new initiatives and projects, and days well spent on the beautiful Dahlgren Trail. I hope to see you out there soon!