Thousands of residents of the Route 1 corridor walked or biked the paved portion of the Trolley Trail for the fifth annual celebration of the historic 3.8-mile streetcar line on June 13.
Trolley Trail Day celebrates the communities that make up the trail, including College Park, Riverdale Park and Hyattsville, according to Valerie Woodall, associate director of the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area, one of the event organizers.
“I think this trail is just a beloved trail that people want to access and explore the communities there that it touches,” Woodall said.
Activities started at 9 a.m. with the regular College Park 5K Parkrun on the nearby Paint Branch Trail and a bike ride to the Patuxent Research Refuge, hosted by College Park Bicycles.
All along the trail, visitors journeyed either on foot or on bikes, stopping at hubs and rest stops for water, snacks and socializing.
At a hub at Old Parish House on Knox Road right off the Trolley Trail, visitors made beaded bracelets and colored in pictures of College Park landmarks. And Legends United FC in partnership with Stripe 3 adidas put on a soccer demonstration.
The Discovery District hub featured music. Cambria Hotel and The Hotel at the University of Maryland handed out raffle tickets for a two-night weekend stay. The Hotel raffle included a 50-minute facial.
Nearby, Eat Sprout partnered with the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to hand out free cookies.
Physical activities along the trail included disc golf at the Lakeland community hub and roller skating at the Berwyn neighborhood booth. Proteus Bicycles distributed cards for a scavenger hunt, which sent visitors to 25 locations along the trail to take photos for prizes, including smart wallets and Trolley Trail hoodies.
Charlotte Francoeur of Hyattsville, who participated in the scavenger hunt, said the Trolley Trail offers alternatives to moving around the area by car.
“You get to breathe the air and interact with people and kind of just move more slowly,” Francoeur said. “So I think this sort of infrastructure along this corridor just kind of shows how, like, having both infrastructure for cars as well as bikes and pedestrians really just makes for a beautiful community.”
Bob Catlin, president of the Berwyn District Civic Association, said the event serves as a way to remind residents of the trail’s history.
“It’s something the city bought in 1996,” Catlin said. “It had incredible potential and it’s good to see that it’s being utilized.”
The Trolley Trail was built directly over a streetcar line, which half a century ago ran from the Department of the Treasury, in downtown D.C., all the way north to Laurel. The trail has served area residents since 2002, when the first section opened in College Park.
Volunteers passed out green Trolley Trail Day T-shirts at the hubs.
Katelyn Aldenhoff, a College Park Woods resident, came to the event for the first time with her 3-year-old daughter, Juniper, to participate in the activities and get some exercise.
“I think it shows how connected our communities are,” Aldenhoff said. “We’re really excited to see everybody all together and listen to music and meet other people who are new and people we already know.”
Local businesses took part in the day by offering discounts and special promotions.
The day was an opportunity for small businesses to promote themselves, as it drove foot traffic to the weekly Hollywood Farmers Market in the Hollywood Shopping Center, according to Robin Ratliff, who works at the online gourmet bakery Sugar Plug, which participates in the market.
The hubs featured music by various bands and musicians at different locations, including rocker Janine Wilson, the ZooKulele collective and folk musician Bobby Fellman, among others.
The day concluded with a wrap party at the College Park Aviation Museum with a Night at the Museum Rock Concert featuring rock, country and soul group Sara B and the Backline, local rock and indie cover band Laundry World and the College Park Chorale.