Snow, Cold, Ice Make For Messy Capital Crescent Trail

The Georgetown Branch extension of the Capital Crescent Trail at Jones Mill Road on Thursday

Two rounds of snow and record-breaking cold have kept parts of the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda and Chevy Chase packed under ice and slush.

Trail reports provided to the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail over the past 10 days chronicle how last week’s snow, this week’s snow and continuing cold have left the Georgetown Branch extension of the Trail in rough shape for cyclists, runners and walkers.

“Unfortunately, the trail conditions have actually worsened overall. The last light round of snow has now frozen and covers much of what was bare pavement on Tuesday,” one report said this morning. “The icepack in the shady sections and bridges in MoCo has now hardened and is even more rutted from the recent snow. And finally, the Georgetown branch is still mostly a bumpy ice-field.”

Montgomery County does not pave any of its trails for lack of budget resources.

Local residents for years have argued the Bethesda and Chevy Chase sections of the Capital Crescent Trail should merit consideration because those sections serve as major commuter routes for cyclists.

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