One of my favorite times of the year is the fleeting week or two that the Virginia bluebells are blooming, and it’s happening right now. I make the rounds through several different nearby parks, but my favorite place to see them is Bull Run Regional Park, as there just seems to be millions of them there. There is an easy (although very frequently muddy) 1.5-mile Bluebell Loop Trail that makes it easy for anyone in the area to get out and enjoy them, and if you are up for a longer hike (featuring even more bluebells along the way), the Bluebell Loop intersects (and is partially on) the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail, which is a cool 17.5-mile trail connecting Bull Run to several other regional parks. (It’s things like the Bull Run-Occoquan Trail that convinced me to start liking Virginia after moving here and being disconcerted by all the sprawl.) You’re pretty much guaranteed to run into other people on the Bluebell Loop when the bluebells are blooming, but it’s worth it. You can also hang a left off the loop once you hit Cub Run, and follow a narrow, unmarked trail that no one but me ever seems to bother with, and you’ll find yourself walking through a magical fairyland of dense blue.
To celebrate the long anticipated, much appreciated spring season, I’ll be sharing a bluebell picture a day over the next few days. This is Cub Run early this morning, pretty much right at the spot I said you can turn off the main trail.
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