Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park

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The Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park or the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail (sometimes abbreviated W&OD Trail or W&OD and often referred to simply as "the WOD" (pronounced "wad")) is a highly popular and unusually-shaped regional park in Northern Virginia. The primary feature of the park is a paved rail trail that runs through densely populated urban and suburban communities on top of the former Washington and Old Dominion Railroad road bed.

Although the park is 45 miles (72 km) long, it is only about 100 feet (30 m) wide. The rail trail is approximately 10-foot wide through much of its length and is suitable for walking, running, cycling, or skating. A gravel trail for horseback riding runs parallel to the paved trail for 32 miles/52 km of the way.

The rail trail begins at the boundary of Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. Its trailhead (Mile 0) is at Shirlington Road, near the road's intersection with Four Mile Run Drive. The trail starts at its lowest elevation (141 feet / 42.98 m above sea level).

The trailhead is near Exit 6 of Interstate 395 (I-395) (the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway) in Shirlington. The trail connects at its origin to the paved Four Mile Run Trail, which travels eastward through Arlington along a stream embankment to meet the Mount Vernon Trail at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, near the Potomac River.

The rail trail's route largely parallels the routes of the Potomac River and Virginia State Route 7. The trail travels northwest to Purcellville in Loudoun County, passing through or near Arlington, Falls Church, Fairfax County, Vienna, Reston, Herndon, Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Paeonian Springs and Hamilton.

Much of the rail trail lies beneath a Dominion Virginia Power electrical transmission line. The trail reaches its highest elevation (610 feet / 185.93 m above sea level) when passing over the summit of Clarks Gap in Catoctin Mountain west of Leesburg. Near this point (Mile 38.2), the trail travels under an old stone overpass that formerly carried Virginia State Route 7 over the railroad.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) administers and maintains the park and its trails. NVRPA keeps most of the parkland surrounding the trails in a natural state. It has placed alongside the rail trail a number of interpretative signs that describe the historical and natural features of the park.