A Ride Through History

Stretch of Cider Mill Road Is Designated a Scenic Byway

After two years of efforts by residents, Virginia is adding a two-mile stretch of Cider Mill Road in western Loudoun County to the 3,251 miles the state has designated as scenic byways.

The road is a leafy loop that includes vistas of the Short Hills and a Civil War-era ruin where the Mosby Raiders, a group of Rebel soldiers, are thought to have hidden out.

The push for the designation was led by resident Pete Geis, who investigated the road's history. He found that the stone ruin, a former cider mill, was burned during a raid by Union troops in 1864 as they searched for Confederate soldiers. Joggers and bicyclists often use the road, which runs between Charles Town Pike and the intersection of Stony Point and Woodgrove roads.

"We found that it was just something that was overlooked," Geis said.

Geis met with the Loudoun Preservation Society and the Mosby Heritage Area Association. The idea was forwarded to the Board of Supervisors and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which recommended the designation to the state Department of Transportation. It was approved May 21.

To be designated a scenic byway, a road must be connected to "scenes of natural beauty and places of historical and social significance that offer motorists a side of the commonwealth that is uncommon and revealing," according to VDOT literature.

The designation helps areas attract visitors and boosts economic development related to tourism, VDOT spokesman Mike Salmon said. The state helps direct visitors to designated roads and points out interesting scenery and historical sites.

Scenic byways offer an alternative to high-speed, multilane highways that offer little opportunity to take in scenery. "They're a place people can go, away from the high-traffic corridors," Salmon said. "They couldn't make I-95 a byway."

Although the designation might limit placement of outdoor advertising signs, it does not affect land use or limit road improvements.

Loudoun has more than 200 miles of designated scenic byways, more than any other county in the state. The Loudoun byways include a section of Route 662 through Waterford, a segment of Route 7 through Hamilton and part of Route 15 north of Leesburg.

The first scenic byway in Northern Virginia was Old Georgetown Pike between routes 123 and 7, which received the designation in 1974.

Cider Mill Road hearkens back to a more pastoral time, when horseback riders used the road.

"Believe it or not, we even get farmers with tractors with their hay wagons behind them," Geis said. "We're glad that VDOT approved it, and we hope that people will come and visit the area."