Envisioning Four Mile Run Drive

I'm not generally a big fan of public meetings. That being said, I've seen enough changes through recent years to know that design processes can turn out some really cool stuff or some really crappy stuff.

If getting involved in envisioning what Four Mile Run will look like in a few years, interests you, here's a great chance to jump in that process.

What: Four Mile Run Restoration Project Open House Meeting
When: June 16, 6:30 - 9:00 PM
Where: Arlington County Parks Operation Building, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 2700 S Taylor Street

Also, check out the website about the project. There's some cool stuff there, including a documentary film.

Interested, but don't want to or can't go to meeting. Leave your thoughts in the comments. What do you think Four Mile Run should look like?

Saturday: Stream Cleanup at Barcroft Park

Community Role Models will be joining with Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment and the Girl Scouts for Saturday’s stream cleanup! It will take place on Saturday, May 3^rd from 10am-noon at Barcroft Park (on Four Mile Run Drive at George Mason).

We’ll be doing a cleanup along the banks of Four Mile Run alongside some Arlington Girl Scouts. If you’ve wanted to get involved with a local troop, this will be a great way to learn more. And regardless of your badge-earning interest, it’ll be a great way to get outdoors, get some exercise, and preserve Arlington's environment. In fact, an ACE cleanup in this location just last year resulted in a dumping discovery and county investigation. Sign up now at the CRM website!

The CRM May Monthly Meetup will take place just a few days later on Tuesday, May 6^th at Sine in Pentagon Row. An organizer from Arlington's American Cancer Society Relay for Life event will join us to talk about how you can get involved. Look for the green CRM t-shirts in Sine’s smoke-free back bar. RSVP at the CRM website or at the Facebook event page!

Great Hike Right Down the Street: Four Mile Run

OK, so it's not necessarily a true hike in the strap-on-your-backpack-and-Timberlands sense of the word. But considering you don't have to leave Arlington to get there, walking the Four Mile Run Trail is a beautiful way to spend a spring afternoon. And it has one thing going for it over some bigger-name trails -- you can't stop for a Slushie in Shenandoah National Park.

The Green Girlfriend and I picked up the trail Sunday morning off a side street in Arlington's Barcroft neighborhood. There were plenty of other people on the trail, but it didn't feel crowded. We spent a couple of hours walking the trail as it meandered through parks, behind apartment buildings, past a snow-cone vendor, and across Walter Reed Drive.

A partial list of the wildlife we spotted:

• A red-tailed hawk
• Grackles
• Blue jays
• A crow being chased by aforementioned grackles & blue jays, who apparently had formed a coalition of the willing to drive the crow away from their nests
• Robins
• Cardinals
• Fish (up to 6 inches long) who apparently have not gotten word Four Mile Run itself is pretty polluted A cat, which may or not have been wild

Unfortunately, we also spotted plenty of invasive plants overpowering native trees. We pledged to bring pruning shears next time we hiked the trail.

Here's a W&OD trail website's review of the Four Mile Run Trail:

Arlington County's Four Mile Run Trail is an asphalt trail parallel to the W&OD from Mile 0.1 to Mile 4.7. Because it is less well-known than the W&OD it gets less through traffic, including bikes. It is ideal for walking. Parallel to the W&OD between Mile Markers 3.5 and 4.5, the Four Mile Run Trail disappears briefly. It takes a while to learn where it goes, but it is worth it. Going west, a good starting point is on Walter Reed Drive at Arlington Mill Road, which is west of the W&OD (Mile 0.5). Eastbound on the W&OD, it branches to the right at Mile 4.8.

Thanks to RunDC.com for the map!