Walking to Shirlington from Metro Station--which station, best routes?

[CaliTerp07]

The Oktoberfest can easily turn into a loooooooong afternoon. The past few years have been extremely crowded, and we've easily spent 4-5 hours there eating, drinking, and socializing with friends. There is no real seating (just curbs unless you go into the restaurants), so you are standing for a long period of time. I think it is ambitious to expect you can walk the 3 miles back after such a long afternoon (especially with a healthy pumpkin beer buzz going on )

I would definitely look up bus routes and/or plan for a quick taxi ride for the way back.

[terrence81]

Yeah I don't understand why anyone would walk either. It sounds cheap and silly. Its a $15 cab ride and as mentioned there are several buses that meet in Shirlington. This is intentional since Shirlington doesn't have a metro.

With all that said the Crystal City metro is closest. It also has the most bus lines going to Shirlington.

[hilsmom]

interesting - pentagon used to be where most shirlington busses ran to/from. I haven't lived there in 10 years, though - things change.

I'm not really saying it's cheap and silly to walk. I think a longer walk sounds lovely in nice weather, honestly - If you can take trails and avoid the busy roads, it would be worth it on the way there. I was thinking more of the END of a day like that. CaliTerp pointed out what I was trying to say already.

If the busses are too confusing, a cab ride is definitely an option. It will be slightly more expensive than the bus, but it isn't going to break you, either.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by terrence81

Yeah I don't understand why anyone would walk either. It sounds cheap and silly.

What can I say, we like to take long walks. I like the idea of getting exercise, and thought maybe it could be an interesting part of town to walk through. However, now that we've thought about it a little more it sounds like it would be more interesting to walk around Shirlington rather than walking to it. The bikeshare idea might be a good one, since we could still get some exercise that way. Not sure how it ould be riding a bike after having a few beers, though.

[hilsmom]

shirlington and the surrounding areas are nice to walk around. I used to walk back through fairlington and parkfairfax a lot when we lived off of walter reed. And there is a rather large park area nearby, too.

I just found this image - hope it helps! Google Image Result for http://www.walkarlington.com/tasks/sites/Walk/assets/Image/Walkabout_maps/Fairlington-Shirlington435.jpg

[Matt2789]

Originally Posted by Caladium

What can I say, we like to take long walks. I like the idea of getting exercise, and thought maybe it could be an interesting part of town to walk through. However, now that we've thought about it a little more it sounds like it would be more interesting to walk around Shirlington rather than walking to it. The bikeshare idea might be a good one, since we could still get some exercise that way. Not sure how it ould be riding a bike after having a few beers, though.

If it were me I'd ride a bike share there from the Crystal City Metro via the Mt. Vernon Trail to 4 Mile Run Trail. Very scenic! The beauty of bike share is you don't have to return the bikes where you got em so you would be free to take alternative transportation (bus, taxi) back if you wanted.

[LOL_Whut]

Originally Posted by hilsmom

Hmm, I think this plan is rather nuts and would recommend you look into the bus schedules. There is a big bus stop in Shirlington now and a bunch of lines run there. It might be better for AFTER the beer, but please keep it as an option.

I agree. There have also been muggings and assaults at the Braddock Road metro at night - the neighborhood is not as safe as it looks at night. A couple of happy drunks staggering to the metro at 1 am look pretty tempting to muggers.

[Mahatma X]

Take the damn bus

[hilsmom]

did you see this?
How to Get to the Shirlington Oktoberfest - 2013 - YouTube

they talk about busses, walking and biking. ART Busses and Metrobusses from multiple locations.