If you rode the 66 Parallel Trail this summer between Fair Lakes and Oakton, you probably hit a fence at Random Hills Park and had to find a way around it. That fence is gone. The Fairfax County Park Authority announced on Oct. 8 that the park's trails had reopened the week before. Construction began in January 2026 and finished in September.
That reopening changes where the trail's gaps are. The middle of the corridor is now continuous off-road path, from Centreville through Fair Lakes and Fair Oaks into Oakton. The parts still under construction or still on the street are at the two ends: near the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro station in the east, and toward Bull Run in the west. Knowing which section you're on tells you what to expect underfoot this November.
Random Hills Was the Last Gap in the Middle
The Random Hills project added about 900 feet of new 10-foot-wide asphalt trail, plus drainage work across the park at 11550 Random Hills Road. That doesn't sound like much. But the park sits where the trail crosses the Route 50 interchange. VDOT routes the trail through four short tunnels there, linking the northeast side near Fairfax Farms Road to the southwest side near Random Hills Park. Until this fall, the southwest end of that tunnel sequence didn't connect cleanly to the rest of the system.
In July, FFXnow called the park "one of the largest gaps" on the trail. Park Authority trails program manager Tom McFarland told the outlet the contractor "will also return for landscaping work in the fall, which may require temporary closures while work is taking place." So a short closure at Random Hills in November is most likely planting work, not a setback.
The next nearby step is a crossing, not a trail segment. VDOT is planning a wider crosswalk on Random Hills Road with a refuge island and rapid flashing beacons. The county's Oct. 8 release says that work "will begin soon." The order of the work is deliberate. A Fairfax County transportation status report from December 2024 said the county's trail work would come first so construction wouldn't damage the new beacons.
The second piece of this area is already finished. A new shared-use path runs along the south side of Post Forest Drive from West Ox Road to Random Hills Road. From there it goes north along the east side of Random Hills Road to the Monument Drive Transit Center. VDOT lists that project's final completion milestone as June 2026.
Why the Trail Has Three Different Lengths
The Oct. 8 Park Authority release describes "more than 34 miles of connectivity from Gallows Road in Dunn Loring to Bull Run Regional Park." The county transportation department's wayfinding announcement calls it "the 20-mile trail" from Centreville to Dunn Loring/Merrifield. VDOT counts 11 miles of Transform 66 shared-use path.
None of these numbers is wrong. They measure different things. VDOT's 11 miles is the path its highway project built. The county's 20 miles is the full named route, including stretches that use other paths. The Park Authority's 34 miles counts everything the corridor connects to, out to Bull Run. For a weekend ride, the 20-mile route is the number to plan around.
Where Each Section Stands Heading Into November
| Section | Condition now | What's next |
|---|---|---|
| Centreville to Fair Lakes | Off-road path; signs at Centreville Park and Ride, Fair Lakes Circle and Fair Lakes Parkway | No major work announced |
| Route 50 tunnels and Random Hills Park | Reopened in early October 2026 | Random Hills Road crosswalk upgrade, start date not announced |
| Post Forest Drive and Random Hills Road to Monument Drive | Open, completion milestone June 2026 | None listed |
| Blake Lane to Nutley Street at Vienna Metro | Temporary on-road bike lanes and a two-way cycle track | Permanent path; construction expected to begin Spring 2027 |
| Compton Road toward Bull Run and Cub Run | Not yet built | Construction estimated to start mid-fall 2026; completion mid-2028 |
The East End Still Runs on the Street at Vienna Metro
Near the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station, the trail becomes on-road bike facilities. Between Blake Lane and Nutley Street, riders use temporary bike lanes on Sutton Road and a two-way cycle track on Country Creek Road and Virginia Center Boulevard. VDOT's final design adds shared-use paths along Blake Lane and Sutton Road. It also raises the eastbound cycle track on Country Creek Road and Virginia Center Boulevard to sidewalk level.
That work is still well ahead. VDOT's project page, last updated Sept. 23, 2026, shows utility relocation starting June 2026, the construction contract advertised in Winter 2026/27, and construction starting Spring 2027. The completion date is still listed as to be determined. An older Transform 66 page from April 2026 still says Vienna construction starts in 2025. The newer project page replaces that date.
Construction will change this stretch without closing it. VDOT spokesperson Ellen Kamilakis told FFXnow that "the cycle track along Country Creek Road and Virginia Center Boulevard will be shifted during construction, but will be maintained." She added that the Sutton Road bike lanes will stay, but "the striped buffer between the bike lanes and the vehicular lanes will be removed during construction." Riders who use the Metro link should expect a narrower, less separated ride on Sutton Road for part of 2027.
The West End Is Waiting on a Bridge Over Cub Run
Past Centreville, the next extension is VDOT's Compton Road shared-use path. It will link the access road to the Bull Run Special Events Center, an I-66 underpass built under a separate contract, and the Cub Run Trail. It includes a pedestrian bridge over Cub Run. VDOT awarded the contract in July 2026 and estimated a mid-fall 2026 start and mid-2028 completion. As of its Oct. 13 update, the project page still said "Coming soon."
For now, the practical western start is the Centreville Park and Ride or the Stringfellow Road Park and Ride at 4920 Stringfellow Road. VDOT lists Stringfellow at about 700 spaces, with a direct trail connection. Ellanor C. Lawrence Park is also on VDOT's list of corridor access areas. The park covers 650 acres, with gardens and historic buildings, and its Walney Visitor Center is at 5040 Walney Road.
What the Finished Middle Connects To
The off-road middle section also runs past two of the corridor's shopping clusters, Fair Lakes and Fairfax Corner. FCDOT installed its new directional signs in July at Centreville, Fair Lakes, Fair Oaks and Oakton. In the county's release, FCDOT planner Andrew Sheldon said the trail "has become my go-to route for commuting between Centreville and Fairfax." Both transit centers on the route, Monument Drive and Stringfellow Road, have secure bicycle parking rooms.
Stops near each access point:
- Fair Lakes Circle and Fair Lakes Parkway. The Fair Lakes Center directory lists Bagel Joy at 13081 Fair Lakes Shopping Center, Guapo's at 13050, and SR Coffee Co. at 4465 Market Commons Drive. First Watch at 12249 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive is open daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Monument Drive Transit Center and Fairfax Corner. Fairfax Corner lists Ozzie's Good Eats, Coastal Flats, Sweetgreen and REI. Ruthie's All-Day at 11951 Grand Commons Avenue began dinner service on April 15, 2026, according to FFXnow.
- Dunn Loring-Merrifield and Mosaic District. At the eastern end, past the Vienna section, the Mosaic District directory includes Caboose Commons at 2918 Eskridge Road, Hi/Fi Tex Mex Barbecue and Maman. Maman, a coffee-and-pastry shop at 2920 District Avenue, opened in June 2025, FFXnow reported. Makers Union is moving into the former Matchbox space and was expected to open by the end of the year, per FFXnow in August.
Gallows Road's sidewalks and bike lanes connect the trail's Dunn Loring end to the W&OD Trail. The new signs also point riders to the Fairfax County Parkway Trail and the Gerry Connolly Cross County Trail.
Projects like Random Hills, Compton Road and the Vienna Metro link affect access, parking and how close you are to a trail, and those things matter when you buy, sell or lease property along the I-66 corridor. If you'd like to talk through how the trail's progress affects a home or commercial space you're considering, Dick Stoner offers a free consultation directly with the broker-owner.
