"The trails at Lake Fairfax have seen a considerable transformation over the last few years. What were once soggy and boggy unsustainable tracts have been converted to a network of sustainable ribbons across this Fairfax County destination.

When we first documented the trails in the vicinity of Lake Fairfax there was very little to talk about. Initially we had set out this destination as a point-to-point ride, taking riders from the southeast of VA 7 to the Difficult Run parking area, where Ride 38 of this edition begins. Along the way riders would pass what’s now the starting point of this loop.
Back then there were very few trails to choose from, and the best alternative was to send riders along Colvin Run along the water’s edge. That route, historically, was often soggy, muddy, and otherwise susceptible to damage from heavy use."

--Scott Adams & Martin Fernandez, Mountain Biking the Washington, D.C. / Baltimore Area (Falcon Guides).

"The trails at Lake Fairfax have seen a considerable transformation over the last few years. What were once soggy and boggy unsustainable tracts have been converted to a
network of sustainable ribbons across this Fairfax County destination. When I first documented the trails in the vicinity of Lake Fairfax, there was very little to talk about.

Initially I had set out this destination as a point-to-point ride, taking riders from the southeast of VA 7 to the Run parking area, where Ride 4 of this edition begins. Along the way, riders would pass what’s now the starting point of this loop. Back then, there were very few trails to choose from, and the best alternative was to send riders along Colvin Run along the water’s edge. That route, historically, was often soggy, muddy, and otherwise susceptible to damage from heavy use."

--Martín Fernández, Mountain Biking Virginia: An Atlas of Virginia's Greatest Off-Road Bicycle Rides (Falcon Guides).