Great Runs in the Washington D.C. Suburbs
Note: For the Full Guide to Running in the Washington D.C. Suburbs, see the GR Website

The greater Washington, DC metropolitan area is one of the largest urban areas in the country, encompassing over 6 million people who come to live, work, and sightsee in the nation’s capital. But many businesses and residents are located in the immediate suburbs on the other side of the Potomac River in Virginia and just to the north of D.C. in Maryland. We’ve added to our Washington, D.C. routes with a guide to running in the Washington, D.C. suburbs that includes Fairfax County in Virginia (Reston, Mclean, Alexandria, Tysons Corner) and Montgomery County in Maryland (Bethesda, Rockville, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring). The area is fairly sprawling so it’s hard to cover all of the major centers comprehensively–so we’ve tried to highlight some of the best and most popular places to run within a 10-mile or so radius of the Capitol.
The local infrastructure for running in this area is excellent, with numerous interconnected bike paths and pedestrian trails. We’ve divided the D.C. Burbs coverage into a section for each of Virginia and Maryland, featuring our recommendations of the best running spots. Our running guide map also incorporates our D.C. routes in a separate layer.
Washington, D.C. Running Guide

Montgomery County, Maryland. Several routes in the communities to the north of D.C. Highlights include Rock Creek Park, the Capital Crescent Trail, Cabin John, the Trolley Trail, and Garrett Park neighborhood.

Fairfax County, Virginia. Routes in Arlington, Reston, Alexandria, Tyson’s Corner, and Fairfax: Old Town Alexandria, Mt. Vernon Trail, W&OD Trail, Custis Trail, Four Mile Run Trail, Great Falls Park, trails in Reston.

