You can’t hike it yet, but there is a one-mile stretch of existing trail along Flat Branch between Sudley Road and Splashdown WaterPark next to Bull Run.
It is currently the service road for the Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA), used to maintain the underground pipe that carries sewage from Manassas and western Prince William County to the treatment plant in Fairfax County.
The Flat Branch Trail became possible after the Prince William Board of County Supervisors cancelled the proposed Route 28 Bypass. That road would have used the route for a 4-lane highway with a shared use path.
The Flat Branch Trail could be opened in 2027, assuming county agencies can:
– arrange for use/transfer of the land owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation
– obtain permission from UOSA and Prince William Water, which have pipes in the ground where access must be guaranteed for maintenance
– obtain funding as needed for trail improvements and facilitate use of volunteers for construction
For more, see Flat Branch – the Lowest of the Low Hanging Fruit
