The wife and I bought mountain bikes a few summers back, and have yet to really use them for their intended purpose (instead, we end up riding the C&O Towpath, W&OD trail, etc). We'd like to try actual, honest-to-goodness, non-paved mountain-style biking, but don't know where to start. Given that our technical skills will be lacking, the Frederick County Watershed is probably over our heads, and looking at the singletrack site, it seems like Laurel Hill may be a good place to start for an easy but un-boring ride.

Anyone here ever ridden there? Is it worth driving from Leesburg to Lorton?

We've ridden the "2 creeks" thing off the W&OD, which is far too short and far too uninteresting. We also went to some place off route 29 that was OK, and rode in Reston once, where it was pretty crowded.

Any better suggestions for this weekend?

If you both are looking out of town, there are a million choices.

Close by you may want to try the Third Battle of Winchester Battlefield. There is a decent mix of single track and gravel paths for novices. There are some log features and minor roots, but no rocks like Frederick. They only problem is that you can ride the area out in an hour, but on the other hand it is not that far from Leesburg.

Google it, and you should easily find a map.

Thanks, Keith. In/out of town isn't the top priority, but finding something we can ride and enjoy (and enjoy for more than 10 minutes) is important. Is there anything closer to the 'Burg that you'd suggest?

Laurel Hill is part of the CCT. Here's the link to CCT


The CCT trail has single &double track, as well as some gravel paths.

From Leesburg you can pick up the trail at Colvin Mill on Rt.7 and ride it to Great Falls.

You can also park at the Reston Ice Skating Rink and take the Colts Neck trail to Lake Fairfax where it connects to the CCT. Lots of options.

I would also check out MORE's Website

Not to hijack, but this thread brings back old memories of my days living in Sterling, VA.

The W + OD trail was about 100 ft from our back yard. I used to take my oldest girl on bike rides there.

Thanks for the memories.