The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail is a unit in the National Park Service system, but the Federal government defers to local agencies to define the route and manage the trail.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) will make the route decision that when it approves the Trails Master Plan. The Planning Commission will get briefed on that plan on April 8. BOCS action is expected in May, if all goes as currently scheduled.
On March 3, Department of Parks and Recreation staff and the Trails and Blueways Council (TBC) agreed on the primary PHNST route through Prince William County.
Previously several different routes had been shown on local, regional, and national maps. A subcommittee of the TBC met multiple times over the last few years to review options, including the results of a 2025 Federal Land Access to Parks (FLAP) study examining different ways to close three gaps. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) has been a major contributor in PHNST planning since completing a corridor study in 2011.
In addition to the final primary route to be adopted in May, the Trails Master Plan will include other trail segments that could be “braids” of the PHNST. For example, a segment from the primary route may extend to the scenic Potomac River vista and historic Civil War resources at Cockpit Point Park.
National Park Service and NVRC maps were updated in February to show the route adopted on March 3. Prince William County trail maps and the County Mapper will be updated once the Trails Master Plan is approved.
Prior to the March 3, 2026 decision at the Trails and Blueways Council, Prince William County maps showed the southern end of the PHNST going west of I-95:
