W&OD Trailhead — Attraction in Purcellville

The trail from Vienna onwards going west towards Purcellville is great! A few pointers for new riders or if its your first time in that direction; Spokes is a bike shop a little bit off the trail in Town of Vienna. They are closed on Monday's and Tuesday's. Whole Foods is located right off the trail so you can get drinks or snacks if needed. Reston Town Center is located a little bit off of the trail - you can get food at a good restaurant if you're on a leisure bike ride. Herndon has a bike shop called Green Lizard which is right off the W&OD trailer. Hopefully not but if you find yourself needing bike help, they are great! The trail has a few (not many) water fountains where you can get water from. I say not many because many aren't well maintained. After Town of Leesburg there isn't much available in terms of a gas station etc that is located right off the trail. So if you need too top off water etc. this is your last place. On the way from Leesburg to Purcellville you are forced to take the side of the road with vehicles so be careful...it isn't for long, maybe 0.5 miles or less. One other thing to note is that the trail from here onwards is a little bumpy because of tree roots..so be careful. When you get to Purcellville, which is where the W&OD trail ends, there is a bakery called Sweet Rose Bakeshop. I did this and I would highly recommend that you get a bakery item and/or a drink (Gatorade, coffee, etc). The other benefit of going to this place is that you get to use their clean restroom! Make sure you have good lights on your bike since the trail does not have lights.

Sorry for this lengthy review but I really wish I knew some of these things for my first ride out that way. Have fun...

The Purcellville trailhead marks a milestone for many people especially if you start from mile marker 0 in Shirlington and end up here at mile marker 45. The whole trip roundtrip can be a century bike ride if you do a loop into the mount vernon trail and custis trail. This is a pretty flat trail with paved roads. There are pedestrians, runners, cyclists, people on horseback, dogs, roller skaters all throughout this trail. I have personally completed this trail many times on my bike through the years. I haven't explored purcellville too much myself, but it seems like a nice little town. There is a bakery/cafe right in across the street from here where many people stop by to refuel before...

It's tidy and connects you to old-town, but there is so much wasted potential. The last small stretch of bike path runs past a dumpster and behind a restaurant which is unwelcoming. This is the end of a famous trail and its like they just don't care. There should be flowers everywhere and more shops catered to foot and bike traffic. It could literally be a nice little end-of-the-trail magical find but it's not, at all. Magnolias restaurant is wonderful though and there...