ARLINGTON, Va. — Recently, while riding along the Mount Vernon Bicycle Trail I decided to take the loop off of the trail before the recently reconstructed Humpback Bridge and see where it took me. The answer — not very far, the trail dead ends in sight of the Boundary Channel Drive ramp (EXIT 10A) off of Interstate 395. Along the way I saw the remains of a very small campfire. After the pavement ends there is a well-worn off road trail. I figured, that despite being on our near the Pentagon, why not and took it. Clearly, many others had, so I saw where it went.

The unpaved, unofficial trail led me to Boundary Channel Drive and sidewalks and other paved trails. A hybrid bike can handle the unpaved portion with intermediate difficulty. It was a small adventure that completes a loop across Boundary Channel and back to the Lyndon B. Johnson Grove which may have supplanted the name Lady Bird Johnson Park or is part of it. The National Park Service mentions the former, not the latter though I always remembered seeing Lady Bird signs and The Post has a page that includes both. It is a bit confusing and some clarity from NPS would be appreciated.

Also, there is a sign prior to the Humpback underpass indicating the trail ends. I don’t know if I missed it the first time or if it is new.