Alert:
National Trails Day is an annual event to celebrate trails with friends and loved ones, encourage stewardship of community hiking paths and raise awareness. The Fairfax County Park Authority seeks to do just that by providing educational resources and ways to maintain our beautiful trails across the county while bringing our communities together.
Join us at Lake Accotink Park, beginning at 8:30 a.m., for the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the Accotink Creek Crossing followed by a day filled with hiking activities around the 3.9-mile Lake Accotink Trail Loop!
Head out to a park on June 3, National Trails Day. Enjoy a night hike, connect with nature, go on a guided hike with a naturalist, explore technology while hiking or relax with smore’s by the campfire.
Hike with a Naturalist
(8-Adult) Join our park naturalist on a hike and explore wild plants and animals throughout the trails. Learn how to use the iNaturalist app to take pictures of things you find along the way. Smart phones, cameras and binoculars welcome. Each hike will feature a different theme and may include: salamanders, birds and other wildlife, wildflowers, trees and other plants, Nature Photography, Cultural History, or a scenic destination.
Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Lake Fairfax Park $8
Sign Up Now!
Hikes with a Naturalist
(8-Adult) Join our park naturalist on a hike and explore wild plants and animals throughout the trails. Learn how to use the iNaturalist app to take pictures of things you find along the way. Smart phones, cameras and binoculars welcome. Each hike will feature a different theme and may include: salamanders, birds and other wildlife, wildflowers, trees and other plants, Nature Photography, Cultural History, or a scenic destination.
Saturday, June 3, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Lake Accotink Park
Sign Up Now!
Summer Sun Hike and Craft
(4-adult) Hike through the summer woods to learn some useful tips for identifying summer trees. A fun summer-themed craft completes the class. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult.
Saturday, June 3, 2 - 3 p.m., Burke Lake Park $8
Sign Up Now!
Using Technology in Nature
(12-Adult) Learn how to use your phone to enhance your outdoor experiences. Assist in community science and join a bustling community of online scientists and nature enthusiasts.
Saturday, June 3, 4 - 5 p.m., Lake Accotink Park
Sign Up Now!
Bats Class
(7-Adult) Walk the meadows and forest edges to see bats feeding on insects. Use a bat detector to hear echolocation. Learn about our native bats and their habits. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult.
Saturday, June 3, 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., Lake Accotink Park $8
Sign Up Now!
Squirrels enjoying their lunchtime acorns. Beautiful butterflies adding splashes of vibrant colors to scenic trails. Tall trees providing shade and comfort.
Rustling leaves, birds singing, and soft winds skating across your cheek.
There’s something special about the great outdoors, indeed. It’s why people have been hiking since we could walk. Whether they were hunting, exploring or reveling in nature and enjoying the rush of physical activity, hiking has been a staple of our existence for centuries.
The significance of the activity was widely recognized in 1968 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the National Trails System Act, which established national recreation, scenic and historic trails. As the importance of trails grew, the American Hiking Society was established, and in 1993, they launched the first National Trails Day.
This annual event brings participating organizations together during the first week of June to celebrate trails in their communities, encourage the preservation of them and raise awareness. The hosted events provide guidelines and education to keep trails clean, care for them as we should one another, ways to donate and more.
Hundreds of thousands of participants join the events each year. While the events themselves have evolved in light of the pandemic, they are not losing momentum, by any means. In fact, awareness and reach are only growing, as reported by the American Hiking Society.
Although National Trails Day consists of one day, its effects are overarching and long-lasting. It demonstrates the importance and urgency to maintain our trails, especially since the benefits of hiking are plentiful. If this wasn’t obvious before 2020, the pandemic certainly shined a powerful light on it. Hiking was a popular way to get outside and get moving in a safe and socially distant way.
We continue to enjoy this activity as we move forward, and we can find comfort in knowing that we can always rely on a healthy pastime, even when times get tough.
It's only fair that we properly care for these trails that have provided us with so much joy, memories and unique ways of connecting with nature. That’s what National Trails Day is all about!
“Hiking is not escapism; it’s realism. The people who choose to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything; we are returning to where we belong,” said Jennifer Pharr Davis, Appalachian Trail Record Holder.
It’s in our nature to be in nature, and with all the trails available in our backyards, hiking is one of the most convenient—and best—ways to do that. The National Park Service describes numerous physical benefits of hiking, including building stronger muscles and bones, decreasing the risk of certain respiratory problems and improving sense of balance and heart health.
It’s as healthy for our bodies as it is our minds too. A study by Stanford University found that spending quality time outdoors reduces stress, calms anxiety and can lead to a lower risk of depression.
Another benefit of hiking is its ability to strengthen relationships among friends and family, as it’s an activity that anyone and everyone can enjoy. There’s a large number of trails with varying levels of difficulty, but many are perfect for all ages. Hitting the trails with a partner or a group can strengthen bonds, as it provides uninterrupted opportunities to chat and help each other if and when an obstacle presents itself. You might even make a new friend or two along the way.
At its core, hiking offers us peace and solace from an otherwise chaotic world of noise, technology and work. It’s a beautiful way to connect with the earth and those closest to you.
Ready to head out for a hike? Grab your boots, snacks and buddy—your Trail Buddy, that is!
This Fairfax County mobile-friendly map gives you information on paved and unpaved trails to make your hiking life easier.
View a full screen (mobile-friendly) version of Fairfax Trail Buddy.
Trails provide one of the primary means to enjoy the many oases of green in the county, with over 334 miles of trails in the Fairfax County park system alone. While trails are used for a variety of recreational purposes, they also serve the community by providing connectivity as transportation corridors between homes, businesses, schools and parks.
Over 40 miles long, Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail (GCCCT of Fairfax County, Virginia) is a truly unique and magnificent achievement for one American county. The remarkable part of this trail is that it connects the entire county, from one end to the other.
Just as the trail itself connects hill and vale, stream, meadow and urbanized landscapes, its very creation united government agencies with trail enthusiasts, environmentalists, citizen activists and the private sector, which was no small undertaking for bustling Fairfax County.
Enjoy this trail via walking, jogging or biking.
The GCCCT webpage features additional information, web maps and FAQs.
Among the general characteristics that make a trail accessible are firm and stable surfaces, running slopes and segment lengths and cross slopes. The Fairfax County Park Authority has many accessible trails for all to enjoy. Learn more about where these trails are located, how long the trail is and what makes them accessible.
Prefer biking over walking? There are many trails and bike routes throughout Fairfax County that are suitable for all ages and abilities. Grab your helmet and pedal your way through these fun and winding trails.
Want to diversify your trails experience this summer? The Fairfax County park system has trails that exceed expectations. These gems are the perfect ways to add even more excitement to your group hikes or biking adventures.
These trails offer a unique spin on the recreational idea and combine it with a nature observer’s paradise. This park consists of boardwalks, totaling 2 miles. The trail leading up to the observation platform is 0.6 miles, and once there, you can simultaneously catch your breath and revel in the scenic wetlands. Be on the lookout for birds, especially. Huntley Meadows is home to diverse wildlife, including herons, egrets, deer, beavers and more.
Pump tracks are small, looping bicycle trail systems that riders navigate by pumping with their arms and legs, rather than pedaling.
Want to elevate your biking experience? You don’t want to miss the hidden gem of Brookfield Park, which boasts a pump track in Springfield, Virginia. Tucked behind the picnic pavilion and basketball courts, this remarkable trail is perfect for bicyclists of all ages. For more information on this, as well as other bike trails, visit the link below.
Trails continuously need our attention, and we’re always searching for the best ways to maintain and improve them. The Trail Development Strategy Plan is an internal Park Authority document created to examine the issues surrounding trail development, collect and analyze the relevant data concerning trail projects and devise the best process for objectively evaluating and prioritizing trail projects.
Each New Year’s Day, the Fairfax County Park Authority joins America’s state parks and Virginia state parks for First Day Hike programs to get you outside and on the trail. This year thousands of people rang in the New Year throughout the country by taking hikes, and nearly 200 of them submitted photos for the 2022 First Hike Fairfax photo contest. You can check out all First Hike Fairfax 2022 photos below.