For years, a trip to Scott's Run Nature Preserve started with a gamble. You turned into the lot at 7400 Georgetown Pike and hoped for a space. The Fairfax County Park Authority's June 2025 rules reminder capped that lot at 50 vehicles and warned that parking on the roadside or in nearby neighborhoods could get you towed. If the lot was full, your visit was over before it started.
That has changed. A 10-foot paved trail now runs along the Beltway behind new noise walls and links into the preserve. The preserve itself reopened in late August after six months closed. Put the two together and this fall is the first season when McLean residents can reach Scott's Run on foot or by bike along a dedicated path while the woods are open.
Three springs lost, then a fall back
Scott's Run closed on Feb. 16, 2026. The Park Authority's closure notice shut the east and west parking areas and every trail for an urgent rehabilitation of the Scott's Run Siphon. That wastewater facility carries sewage under the Potomac River through Carderock and connects to D.C. Water's Potomac Interceptor in Maryland. The county first estimated about three months of work. A later update pushed the closure out through July 4.
It ran longer than that too. The McLean Ledger reported that the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services finished Phase 1 on Aug. 10. Crews relined three deteriorating siphon pipes inside the preserve using cured-in-place pipe lining. Dranesville District Supervisor Jimmy Bierman announced the reopening on Friday, Aug. 21. The same Ledger piece noted that this was the third spring in a row that hikers and trail runners had lost access while the county worked on sewer upgrades.
That history is why this fall stands out. There is a Phase 2. DPWES is designing work to reline the pipes that run under the Potomac into Carderock Recreation Area. Construction is expected in fall 2027 if the National Park Service grants a permit, and the county has not said whether Scott's Run will need to close again. For now, the preserve has an open season ahead with no closure on the schedule.
A paved path along the Beltway work
The second change came from the Beltway. On June 27, 2026, the Virginia Department of Transportation and Transurban opened the 495 Express Lanes Extension Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail. It is a 10-foot-wide paved path, about 2.5 miles long, running parallel to I-495 between Lewinsville Road and Live Oak Drive behind the new noise walls. The trail was delivered as part of 495 NEXT, a public-private partnership between the Commonwealth and Transurban that cost about $660 million.
The trail matters most where it crosses the highway. For decades the Beltway split McLean in two for anyone not in a car. VDOT's opening release names three Beltway crossings on the new trail:
- Lewinsville Road, at the trail's southern end
- Old Dominion Drive, near the middle
- Georgetown Pike, closest to the preserve
VDOT's April 2026 project newsletter adds a fourth pedestrian access point at the Live Oak Drive bridge, at the trail's northern end. According to VDOT, the trail links to the Park Authority's trail system and to Scott's Run itself. In practice, you can now start a walk at the Lewinsville Road or Old Dominion Drive crossing and end up in the woods above Scott's Run. Before June, there was no separated path for that route.
The trail and the preserve barely overlapped in their first summer. The trail opened June 27, while Scott's Run stayed closed until late August. So the connection VDOT described at the ribbon cutting led to a closed park for almost two months. This fall is the first full season with both open.
Georgetown Pike is where they meet
The preserve and the trail come together at the Georgetown Pike interchange, and that spot has its own short-term issue.
As FFXnow reported, 495 NEXT rebuilt the interchange about a year ago. The new six-lane bridge has a 6.5-foot sidewalk on its north side, and the project added a trail connection from the bridge into Scott's Run. That is the most direct way to walk from the Beltway trail into the preserve.
For the next few weeks, one piece of that route is closed. VDOT closed the westbound Georgetown Pike sidewalk between Balls Hill Road and the ramp from southbound I-495, and expects the closure to last through Nov. 13. Crews are rebuilding the sidewalk to fit a small retaining wall around a traffic signal control box. VDOT says pedestrians should follow posted detour signs. The work may also close the right westbound lane "as needed" from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, and bad weather could push the end date back.
If you plan a weekday walk that crosses Georgetown Pike before mid-November, expect a detour on that stretch. Weekends avoid the lane closures entirely.
The lot that isn't open yet
The third piece of the new route is a parking lot, and it isn't open yet.
As part of 495 NEXT, VDOT built a Scott's Run Nature Preserve annex lot at the southeast corner of the I-495 and Georgetown Pike interchange. Construction started in late February 2026. The lot was designed to connect to both the preserve and the new trail, and the Park Authority is set to own and maintain it once the project is finished. According to FFXnow, it has about 25 spaces and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on Balls Hill Road leading into the preserve.
The lot also has a land-swap history. FFXnow reported that VDOT offered it to the Park Authority as a concession in exchange for 1.15 acres of the preserve needed for 495 NEXT. The highway project took a slice of the preserve, and the preserve gets a second entrance in return.
The trail's opening ceremony was held on the lot itself. Hundreds of people gathered there on June 27 for the ribbon cutting, a 4.95K Fun Run and Walk, and a 495-meter Kids' Run. VDOT still describes the lot as "opening in the coming months," and has given no date. Until the Park Authority announces that it's open, plan around the main lot on Georgetown Pike. Parking at Holy Trinity Church, 850 Balls Hill Road, was arranged only for the June 27 event.
Once the annex opens, the preserve will have parking on two sides and a paved walking and biking route between them. Until then, the trail is the best way to get in without a car.
Before a fall weekend at Scott's Run
The Park Authority's Scott's Run location page lists the preserve at 7400 Georgetown Pike, open dawn to dusk. The McLean Ledger notes that admission is free. The rules most likely to affect a visit come from the Park Authority's June 2025 reminder:
- No swimming, wading or boating in Scott's Run creek. The Park Authority cites strong currents, slippery rocks, fast-rising water and harm to habitat.
- Dogs must stay on a leash.
- No picnics or coolers, grills, alcohol or glass containers.
- Park only in the designated lot. Cars on the roadside or on neighborhood streets may be towed.
- The park closes at dark.
The setting explains some of the care. The McLean Ledger, citing the county's project page, reported that without the sewer rehabilitation, the aging pipes posed risks to public health and to the Potomac Gorge, which the Park Authority calls one of the rarest biological environments in the mid-Atlantic.
Days are shorter this time of year, so if you're walking in from the Lewinsville Road crossing, start early enough to finish before the preserve closes at dark. If you'd like a riverside outing with programming for kids, Riverbend Park's Nature Center holds Family Fun Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. on Nov. 13 and Nov. 27, with drop-in activities and a naturalist presentation.
At Beltran & Associates Realty, we follow how projects like 495 NEXT change everyday life in McLean, including which streets now have a paved route into Scott's Run. If you have questions about the area around Lewinsville Road, Old Dominion Drive or Georgetown Pike, our McLean neighborhood page is a good place to start. Talk with a Local Broker Today. ¿Prefiere hablar en español? We're happy to help.
