This recon took place on Saturday, December 28, 2024. It was just me on this one.
It was a lousy day weatherwise. It was cool and rainy. I didn’t want to hang around the house all day. So I decided to drive to where the future Broad Run Trail will be built in Prince William County, VA. The goal was to see if I could find access points to Broad Run from the various housing developments that border this creek and future trail. So I covered eight possible access points between Hunting Cove CT and Catbird DR. Legend: Green = Yes, one should be able to connect; Yellow = one may be able to connect; Red = one probably won’t be able to connect. Here are the results:
One: Weathersfield DR Cul de sac, 38.754921, -77.585504
This is a cul de sac at the southeastern side of a development. What is weird is that the cul de sac is under a high voltage transmission line. I didn’t see any No Parking signs here. So I think that this may be a viable place to park in order to hike a section of the future Broad Run Trail.
Two: Weathersfield & Bowers Brook DRS, 38.756117, -77.595709
They must have had some issues with people trying to get to Broad Run in this area. I saw a sign saying “No creek access past this point” as well as a sign saying “Private Property, Kingsbrooke Residents Only”. So, I have to conclude that an outsider cannot access Broad Run and the future trail from this area.
Three: Weathersfield & Worthington DRS, 38.757600, -77.595710
There is a drainage pond on Weathersfield just before it intersects Worthington. I could see the creek canyon from the road just behind this drainage pond. There were not any No Parking signs. There was room for two or three vehicles to park here. One would have to hop a waist high wooden fence. So I believe that this could be a possible place to access the future Broad Run Trail and creek.
Four: Chianti Terrace, 38.762041, -77.603311
There was a break between houses here but I couldn’t see where the break led to. It turns out that this gap led to my next destination. I don’t think that this would be a good place to park to access the future Broad Run Trail and creek.
Five: Estate Manor DR, 38.762041, -77.603311
This is a gated gravel road that intersects the previous entry. One can then walk to the next entry and access the future Broad Run Trail and the creek. However, I don’t feel comfortable parking in front of other people’s houses to access trails so I don’t think that this would be a good place to access the future Broad Run Trail and creek.
Six: Enochs DR, 38.761627, -77.604421
This is a spur road leading from a cul de sac. There is a No Parking sign at the end of this spur. I could see the previous two entries from this point. Again, I don’t think that this would be a good place to park and access the future Broad Run Trail and creek.
Seven: Fenestra DR, 38.763501, -77.606642
Google Maps showed a gravel road leadng back behind a group of houses. There appear to be trails leading from this road into the woods. This is the closest point to where I got to on this trail during my 12-18-2024 recon where I actually hiked the trail around the Morris Farm development. From the road today it was inconclusive as to whether one could get to the future Broad Run Trail and creek. This area connects to my final entry below. So this may be a way to connect to Broad Run and the future trail.
Eight: Rollins Ford RD, 38.764726, -77.608754
So I drove out to Rollins Ford RD to the GPS coordinates listed above. There was a bridge that appeared to go over a small creek. However, this creek was not depicted on Google Maps. So this creek probably goes between two housing developments and empties into Broad Run. It would be neat to hike along here and see if I could get to Broad Run. But one can’t park along Rollins Ford RD. I could try to find parking near this bridge. So this may or may not be a way to access the future Broad Run Trail and creek.
Now, why did I perform this exercise today? One reason was that I was bored. The other was that I wanted to find various access and bailout points along this future trail. I want to bushwhack this future trail between Hunting Cove CT and Catbird LA. If there is another person and two vehicles, I now know where we can stage these vehicles to accomplish this. If it ends up being just me bushwhacking this trail, I will know where the bailout points are in case of an emergency. It pays to recon a trail before one hikes it. I have now done so. Once they rebuild the bridge over Rocky Branch near Hunting Cove PL, I will attempt to bushwhack this stretch of trail.
Mike C
Map showing where these access points are
Note: I thought that I got images of Cianti Terrace and Finestra DRS areas but apparently, I didn’t. And I could not stop on Rollins Ford RD to get an image there.
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