Pohick Creek

Pohick Creek

With tributaries stretching from near the City of Fairfax to Pohick Bay on the Potomac, Pohick Creek is one of the area=s longer watersheds. The need for housing in the county has intruded upon it, but in some places the need has lead to the building of trails that let=s people see the streams. Several formal and informal trails have been put in various places but unfortunately, none are continuous. One promising result of the housing developments has lead to the closing of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections facility at Lorton. The land of the reformatory has been promised to become transformed into a park.

Getting There

From the Capital Beltway

Take Rte. I-95 south for 3.5 miles and exit at Newington. The Fairfax County Parkway is open east of the intersection, but is not complete to the west as of the time of writing. Heading west off I-95 however, you can turn left (south) at the next intersection onto Alban Rd. Go 1.6 miles on Alban Rd., then turn right on Rolling Rd. After 0.4 miles, turn left on Northumberland Rd. Turn right less than 0.5 miles later into the Saratoga Elementary School parking lot. A trail head is on your right as you enter.

Area Routes

Pohick Creek (2.7 or 2.65 miles, III)

Seeing the rocky creek bed of Pohick Creek is the reason to do this route. The waters splash underneath the overhanging trees. A one mile section of trail along it is paved for the first one-third of a mile and surfaced with bluestone afterwards. It=s cool in the summertime and protected from winds in the winter. Unfortunately its very short. In addition, you must endure some suburban street sidewalks and shoulders on the route to get there. Start from Saratoga Elementary School on the Howard K. Emert Trail; a very short paved path underneath power lines. There=s one short steep hill on that trail. The trail ends at Rolling Road and you must then use the shoulder of it for the next 0.3 miles down to Northumberland Rd. If you want to minimize use of the road, skip the Howard K. Emert Trail to go directly down and up the Northumberland Rd. sidewalks to get to Rolling Rd. Note that there=s a small trail near the bottom of a hill on Northumberland Rd. That trail is yet another route to get to Pohick Creek (not described here). From Northumberland Rd. and Rolling Rd. go downhill (140 ft. vertical) on sidewalks, asphalt walkways, and a short stretch of the road shoulder until you reach the Pohick Creek trail head. When leaving the creek, the route takes the second intersecting paved trail on the right. If you happen to pass it, you can only go 0.25 miles further before the trail intersects the creek at a bridge-less crossing; before a power line intersection.

Nearby and Connecting Zones

South Run District Park

Jackson Miles Abbott Wetlands Refuge/Fort Belvoir

Pohick Bay Regional Park

What to do Afterward

Food and Drink

Chutny Restaurant - 703 569-7700

Aabshaar Sweet & Kabob House - 703 866-1155

Entertainment and Edification

Pohick Bay Regional Park - 703 339-6100

Woodlawn Plantation - George and Martha Washington=s respective nephew and niece=s home - 703 780-4000

Frank Lloyd Wright - Pope-Leighy House - moved next to Woodlawn - 703 780-3264

2.7 Mile Route

L 0.0 from parking lot; take the Howard K. Emert Trail into the trees

R 0.3 Rolling Rd (! use shoulder)

0.6 Northumberland Rd; (use path and sidewalk)

BL 0.75 at swimming pool to stay parallel with Rolling Road

1.0 Alban Rd

BR 1.2 bear right into the townhouses on a walkway before Pohick Rd on the L; the S on Hickory Glen Way

L 1.3 at T; Wadebrook Terr

R 1.35 paved trail head on R before Rolling Rd

R 1.4 at T; gate; Pohick Creek trail

1.6 trail X on R (dirt)

1.7 pavement ends

1.8 trail X on R (paved)

1.9 trail X on R (paved)

R 2.2 trail X on R (paved)

2.35 trail X on R

L 2.4 Godolphin Dr at T

L 2.55 Northumberland Rd

R 2.65 into Saratoga ES parking lot

2.7 Howard K. Emert Trail on R

*2.65 Mile Route

R 0.0 from the parking lot, exit the school entrance

CL 0.05 Northumberland Rd

0.15 Godolphin Dr on R

0.35 trail X on R at bottom of hill

R 0.55 Rolling Rd; (use path and sidewalk; pickup cues at 0.75 mile mark on 2.7 mile route)