Even if you don’t have a horse, the bridal trail at the Virginia State Arboretum and Blandy Experimental Farm is a nice place for a hike or trail run. Here’s a pdf trail map.

Blandy Farm Bridal Trail Marker

Getting There: Directions

Jim Barnett Park in Winchester has a one mile figure-8 paved fitness trail. The trail is accessible from the Winchester Green Circle Wilkins Lake/Shawnee Springs section. While the Winchester Green Circle trail leaves the Shenandoah University Campus and crosses South Pleasant Valley Road, you can cross Hollingsworth Drive and access the Jim Barnett Trail by following a short dirt path from the corner of the gravel parking lot located at the intersection of Hollingsworth and Pleasant Valley. The trail features a series of short hills as it cuts up and down the side of a hill and passes by an osage orange tree.

Jim Barnett Fitness Trail

Optimist Area in Jim Barnett Park

Not far west of Martinsburg, WV, there’s a scenic park called Poor House Farm Park. Named for its former purpose of housing the poor, it is now the home of ball fields and cross country style trails. If you visit during the fall, you can find cross country course markings to follow. Anytime of the year, it is fun to explore the maze of trails. Beyond the pond, the trails climb up the hill through the frisbee golf course and reach an orchard at the back of the park.

Poor House Farm Pond

View from Poor House Farm Park

I wrote earlier about a one mile section of the Winchester Green Circle along the Abrams Creek Wetlands Preserve.

Winchester Green Circle and Shawnee Springs Trail

Another one mile section exists farther east starting at Shenandoah University, running past Wilkins Lake where you can see burning bushes and mallard ducks. This section continues along sidewalks before returning to paved trail past the Shawnee Springs Area. If you like trail running or hiking, you can make a loop using the Winchester Green Circle and the Shawnee Springs Trail. The approximately half mile Shawnee Springs Trail intersects the Winchester Green Circle Trail in two locations and passes through fields and woods. In the wooded section, the trail passes by some old foundations.

Winchester Green Circle Trail

Shawnee Springs Trail Sign

Directions – Getting There

1. Take Exit 313 from I-81
2. Follow Rte 50 East
3. Make a Right off of Millwood Drive (Rte 50) onto University Drive
4. Free Short Term Parking is available along University Drive by the tennis courts

The Future of the Winchester Green Circle

What’s next for the Winchester Green Circle Trail? The plans are ambitious so trail users are anxious to find out next steps for the Winchester Green Circle Trail project. I don’t have any news to report other than when I ran the Winchester Green Circle 5k recently, someone from the Winchester Green Circle group announced that they would have some news to share soon.

As reported by the Northern Virginia Daily, a 0.9 mile segment of the William E. Carson Trail is now open in Front Royal, Virginia. The segment will eventually be part of a nearly three mile loop trail.

William E. Carson Trail

The multi-use (hiking, biking) gravel trail begins with a gentle segment between the Front Royal County Club golf course and Shenandoah River with views of the river, including a steep cliff on the opposite side of the Shenandoah. The trail then leaves the golf course and cuts into the woods, ending with a very steep climb underneath some power lines. There is another very nice view of the river from above (see picture of view below).

View of the Shenandoah River from the Carson Trail

Directions to the William E. Carson Trail

• From I-66, take exit 6
• Turn onto Rte 340 North
• Turn right onto Country Club Road towards Riverton Commons Shopping Center (pass Capital One Bank, Roy Rodger’s, Lowe’s, etc.).
• Proceed straight through the traffic circle to continue beyond the shopping center.
• Follow Country Club Road around past the country club underneath the Norfolk Southern Railway trestle.
• There are some “No Parking” signs at the end of the road, but my unconfirmed interpretation is that the signs apply to the cul de sac and not to the parking lot beyond the cul de sac. A “Trail” sign points people to the beginning of the Carson Trail.

This waterfall is located in Falling Waters, WV. It is the site of two Civil War battles and some say the area is haunted. An unoccupied mill, previously located here, had mysterious lights on at night.

Fall Waters at Falling Waters

Directions

From I-81:

• Take the Spring Mills exit
• Take Rte 901 east
• Turn left on Rte 11 North
• Take a hard right on Encampment Road
• Stop at the historical sign on your left
• A short trail leads to the waterfall.