On the morning of June 27, hundreds of people gathered on a gravel site at the edge of Georgetown Pike for a ribbon cutting and a 4.95K Fun Run and Walk. The distance was a nod to the interstate next door. They stood in what VDOT's announcement called "the future Scott's Run Nature Preserve annex parking lot," and they took their first steps on a new 2.5-mile path along the Capital Beltway.
A few hundred feet away, the preserve that gave the parking lot its name was closed. Scott's Run had been shut since February 16 for emergency sewer work, including both parking areas and every trail.
So the path opened next to a woodland nobody could enter. It took eight more weeks for the two to line up. Late October into November is the first full fall in which the trail does what it was built to do. Even now, the pieces meant to tie it into Scott's Run, a small parking lot and a short sidewalk, are still marked as coming soon.
The eight weeks when the trail had no way in
The trail and the preserve were run by two separate agencies with two separate projects, and neither schedule depended on the other. The trail belongs to VDOT and Transurban's 495 Express Lanes Northern Extension, known as 495 NEXT. The closure came from Fairfax County's Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, which was relining a sewer siphon inside the preserve.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Nov. 23, 2025 | The 495 NEXT toll lanes open to traffic |
| Feb. 16, 2026 | Scott's Run Nature Preserve closes, including both lots and all trails |
| June 27, 2026 | The 2.5-mile shared-use trail opens along I-495 |
| Aug. 10, 2026 | Phase 1 of the Scott's Run Siphon Rehabilitation is complete |
| Aug. 21, 2026 | Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman announces the reopening |
| Late Oct. to Nov. 13, 2026 | The westbound Georgetown Pike sidewalk near Balls Hill Road is closed for reconstruction |
| Fall 2027 | Phase 2 of the siphon work is expected to begin |
McLean Ledger reported that this year's closure was the third spring in a row that hikers and trail runners lost access to the preserve while the county worked on its sewers. The siphon pipes carry wastewater from Fairfax County under the Potomac River to D.C. Water's system. The Ledger also reported that the relining is expected to keep the pipes working for another 50 years. Bierman described the result as "safe, reliable sewer infrastructure for the next 50 years."
One detail matters if you check the county website before heading out. The Park Authority's original closure notice still says the preserve is "closed through July 4." That notice was never updated after the reopening. The Park Authority's live alerts page, updated October 23, lists no closure at Scott's Run.
What the path is, and where it crosses
According to VDOT, the trail is paved and 10 feet wide. It runs parallel to I-495 from Lewinsville Road to Live Oak Drive, behind the new noise walls, and links to the Fairfax County Park Authority's trail system and to Scott's Run. In the agency's words, as quoted by FFXnow, it "provides a safe, separated facility for bicyclists and pedestrians with newly-built connections across the Beltway."
Those crossings let you get across the Beltway without driving. There are three:
- Lewinsville Road, at the trail's southern end.
- Old Dominion Drive, near the middle of the route.
- Georgetown Pike, where the interchange was rebuilt as part of 495 NEXT. The new six-lane bridge has a 6.5-foot sidewalk on its north side and a trail connection from the bridge into Scott's Run Nature Preserve.
The trail was one of the last multimodal pieces of 495 NEXT. That project extended the Beltway's toll lanes about 2.5 miles, from the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons to just north of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and rebuilt seven bridges along the way. VDOT puts the cost of the public-private partnership with Transurban, trail and annex lot included, at about $660 million.
Georgetown Pike is where the connection still isn't finished
Most of the open questions about the trail sit at its Georgetown Pike end.
The annex lot. The site where the June crowd gathered is meant to become a parking lot of about 25 spaces. A 5-foot-wide sidewalk along Balls Hill Road would lead from it into Scott's Run. VDOT's April project newsletter places the lot at the southeast corner of the I-495 and Georgetown Pike interchange. It lists bike racks, an air pump and repair station, picnic seating, and ADA access. In practice, that would make it the trailhead the path doesn't have yet.
The lot was also a trade. FFXnow reported that VDOT offered it to the Fairfax County Park Authority in exchange for 1.15 acres of the preserve needed for 495 NEXT. VDOT's June 27 release, last updated October 23, still describes the lot as "opening in the coming months" and gives no date. Parking at Holy Trinity Church on Balls Hill Road was arranged for the opening event only. It is not a standing option for trail users.
The Georgetown Pike sidewalk. A separate stretch of sidewalk on westbound Georgetown Pike, between Balls Hill Road and the ramp from southbound I-495, closed in late October. FFXnow reported that VDOT expects it to stay closed through Friday, November 13. Crews are rebuilding the sidewalk so they can add a small retaining wall around a traffic signal control box. On weekdays, the right westbound lane may also close as needed between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. VDOT said weather could push the schedule back. If you walk to the preserve along the Pike, follow the posted detour signs until mid-November.
The Balls Hill Road sidewalk tied to the annex lot is a different piece of pavement from the Georgetown Pike segment. Both sit within a few hundred feet of the same corner, so they are easy to confuse.
The preserve's calendar still has one more entry
The sewer project has a second phase. DPWES is designing work to reline the siphon pipes that run under the Potomac into Carderock Recreation Area in Maryland. McLean Ledger reported that construction is expected to start in fall 2027, pending a National Park Service permit. The county has not said whether that phase will close Scott's Run again.
That puts this fall's access in context. Spring closures took away three consecutive springs at the preserve. The second phase is planned for a fall, and its effect on the preserve is still unknown. Right now there is a new paved approach from three Beltway crossings, an open preserve, and the Potomac Gorge woodland that the Park Authority calls one of the rarest biological environments in the mid-Atlantic. All three are open together this fall, and the county has set no date that would change that before fall 2027.
Before you go
- Address: Scott's Run Nature Preserve, 7400 Georgetown Pike, McLean.
- Hours: Open dawn to dusk and closed at night, according to the Park Authority's location page, which also links to the official trail map.
- Admission: Free, as McLean Ledger reported.
- Trail ends: Lewinsville Road and Live Oak Drive, with Beltway crossings at Lewinsville Road, Old Dominion Drive and Georgetown Pike.
- Detour: Westbound Georgetown Pike sidewalk between Balls Hill Road and the southbound I-495 ramp, expected through November 13.
- Project updates: The 495 NEXT project site is VDOT's home for the corridor, including the annex lot when it opens.
Trail access is one of the details that shapes daily life on a McLean street, and it seldom shows up in a listing. If you want to know which parts of McLean the new path reaches on foot, or how the 495 NEXT changes have played out near Georgetown Pike, The DC Team at TTR Sotheby's International Realty can walk you through it. Schedule a Consultation, and we'll start with the trail map.
