Hike Lake Accotink from Wakefield Park, VA

Come along on a beginner friendly hike in Fairfax County, Virginia from Wakefield Park to beautiful Lake Accotink Park. Flora and fauna abound in the parks and along the wooded trails, where we might glimpse bald eagles, great blue herons, white-tailed deer, and wildflowers in bloom.

This 6-mile hike is considered easy, with 292 feet of elevation gain at a pace of 2.5-3 mph along the paved, dirt and gravel paths of the Gerald Connolly Cross County Trail and the Lake Accotink Trail.

Meet at the entrance to Audrey Moore Recreation Center in Wakefield Park. The Rec Center parking lot is 0.5 miles from Braddock Rd, beyond the first set of parking lots at the baseball fields. Plan to arrive at 9:15 am to allow time for participants to sign in and make introductions before starting the hike at 9:30. Well behaved, leashed dogs are welcome.

From Wakefield Park we will hike to the Gerald Connolly Cross County Trail and continue south until we reach the Lake Accotink marina, where we will have a rest and/or snack. The Lake Accotink Trail continues below the dam, up an elevated pedestrian walkway, and travels on a natural-surface trail along the lake for another 1.2 miles. We then turn onto Danbury Forest Drive, pass the Kings Glen Elementary School, head to the Cross County Trail, and follow it back to our parked cars at Wakefield Park.

Bring: Hiking boots, layered clothing as appropriate for the weather, 1-2 quarts of water, trail snacks, hiking poles if you use them, insect repellent, sunscreen, and hat. Be mindful of the weather, the temperature changes throughout the day, and adjust the amount of water to bring along as appropriate.

Cost: Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings kindly requests a modest $2 donation per person to help defray expenses of our all-volunteer program. In addition to cash donations, you may also donate using PayPal https://bit.ly/46jTw5Y. (If you don’t have a PayPal account, tap Sign Up and follow the prompts to sign up.) Log in to your account. Go to Send, enter ecommerce@sierrapotomac.org as the Recipient, enter the amount you want to send, use Family and Friends as the payment type, enter your payment method (PayPal balance, bank account, or credit card), review the details, and click Send Payment.

Carpool: Participants can post carpool requests/offers to arrange with other participants in the Meetup Comments section.

Optional lunch after the hike at the Swiss Bakery and Pastry Shop, 5224 Port Royal Rd, Springfield, VA 22151