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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Mount Vernon Trail is one of three finalists for the Rails to Trails Conservancy's 2026 Trail Hall of Fame, and the winner will be decided by an online public vote that closes Aug. 16.
The trail runs 18.5 miles along the Potomac River from Theodore Roosevelt Island in Arlington to George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, passing through Old Town Alexandria along the way. Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail, the nonprofit that announced the nomination Thursday, says it serves 1.4 million people a year.
It is competing against the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail, which runs 92 miles from Cleveland to New Philadelphia, and the Historic Battlefield Trail, a 10-mile path through Mexican-American War sites in Brownsville, Texas. Voting is open through Aug. 16, and supporters may vote more than once.
The conservancy has run the Hall of Fame since 2007, judging trails on scenic value, use, amenities, historical significance, accessibility, management and community benefit, along with how well they connect to regional trail networks.
Built by hand, starting in 1971
The trail began with a grassroots campaign led by Ellen Pickering and Barbara Lynch, whose organizing produced the first segment — about 4.5 miles — built by volunteers in the early 1970s.
"The trail exists because Ellen Pickering and Barbara Lynch rallied community support and the volunteers that built the first segment of trail by hand in 1971," said Judd Isbell, president of Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail. "From daily commuters to weekend families, tourists, runners, cyclists, and nature lovers, the Mount Vernon Trail belongs to all of us."
It has since become a spine of the region's trail system. The conservancy describes it as a major component of the 469-mile Capital Trails Network and part of the multistate East Coast Greenway, with connections to the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail and the 9/11 Memorial Trail. Planned work would add links to more parks, to dining and retail, and to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail formed in 2018 and organizes volunteers to remove invasive plants, improve trail safety and run educational events.
The conservancy is marking the award this year against its own 40th anniversary and the nation's 250th.
Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail has posted photos, video and shareable messages in a media toolkit.
