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Posted

You could have knocked me over with a feather.

After having done this, happily discovering a U-turn back into DC on I-395 shortly after crossing the Potomac River, I decided to take the left fork in the road - the one that's marked "Long Bridge Drive." You will simply not believe there is a place this barren and rubble-strewn so close to downtown DC - it reminds me of the time a few years ago when I took a drive through the parking lot of what used to be Landover Mall

But then, I went around a turn, and before my very eyes, on the left of the road, was a huge hill leading up to what appeared to be some sort of park. There were lots of people there, and some were wearing batting helmets. Could it be?

Yes! Yes it was! It was a park - Long Bridge Park to be exact - the most unlikely thing I've seen in quite awhile. Amidst the rubble-strewn road seemed to be some really nice athletic fields (inside of a 30-acre park, it turns out, with plenty of parking), and it's less than five minutes from the Washington, DC line. The website doesn't mention any batting cages, but this looks like the type of place that would have them.

Although I didn't park and walk up to look, this place looked like it was really nice, and *if* there's a batting cage, it's probably the closest one to several neighborhoods in Washington, DC. Remember this - go to this post about making a U-turn on I-395, but don't make the U-turn - take the left fork in the road, and you'll be right at the batting cage within seconds. 

If you keep going, past the park, you'll end up in the heart of Crystal City - it's the fastest route to Jaleo, Kabob Palace (open 24 hours), etc.

And then to get back into DC, just reverse course - it couldn't be any closer, and nobody knows about this exit off of I-395.

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Posted

Long Bridge Park is one of the most underrated (really, unknown) walks in the entire DC area.

There's an expansion going on which will include an indoor Aquatics and Fitness Center - details can be found here:

Long Bridge Park Project on projects.arlingtonva.us

Given that the southern entrance to this park is in the northern part of Crystal City, I wonder how much Amazon has to do with the entirety of all this. Regardless, the best time to stroll along the "boardwalk" of Long Bridge is now - there's ample parking in the central portion of the long, narrow park.

I suspect the exit off of I-395 will no longer exist in five years - there's a ton of construction in that area, and it's a pointless exit.

Posted

Hey - I was there today too.

Not Amazon, but Boeing, whose building is adjacent to the southern part of the park.  They made a significant enough donation that Arlington Parks named the soccer fields for them.... i.e. Boeing Fields at Long Bridge Park.

Posted
On 6/14/2020 at 8:46 PM, rbh said:

Hey - I was there today too.

Not Amazon, but Boeing, whose building is adjacent to the southern part of the park.  They made a significant enough donation that Arlington Parks named the soccer fields for them.... i.e. Boeing Fields at Long Bridge Park.

Oh, wow, rbh - I just saw this. Isn't that a wonderful stroll along the walkway? It almost feels like you're at a boardwalk in the beach (except for the train tracks, but the trains and the airport give it an atmosphere that is unmatched in this region).

The initial development of the park did seem a little "early" to be associated with Amazon, but I guess if Amazon "tears down and rebuilds Crystal City" (if that's what they're going to do), they could really benefit from this being here.

It isn't surprising that they're essentially building a walkway from Boeing to the Pentagon, if they ever extend it underneath I-395 - I suspect the proximity of the two isn't by chance, although the highway is an 800-pound gorilla.

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