Lake Audubon in Reston, VA!

Reston has 4 artificial lakes with many different planned communities surrounding these lakes. The original purpose of these lakes was for stormwater managment to capture rain run off which then heads toward Difficult Run watershed and eventually out to the Potomac River on it's way to the Chesapeake Bay.

Last week we checked out Lake Audubon in South Reston. This Fairfax County lake was built in 1979 and covers 44-acres. We parked at the Lake Audubon Pool parking lot and headed out on the trail that surrounds the lake. This is near the Beacon Hill and Lake Audubon communities off of Twin Branches Road. There is a great website called Reston Paths that helps you navigate the trails since most of it winds through neighborhoods and has you crossing small roads.

No swimming is allowed on the lake but a boat launch ramp allows you to launch boats for fishing. As you walk the paved trail around the lake you'll find many private boat docks for the lakeside homes, condos and townhomes. We headed towards the dam area where we were stopped by a large set of stairs. Since I had the stroller we stopped at a picnic table in the wooded area right at the waters edge. The kids had a great time eating a snack and watching the fish come up to the edge looking for food. The picnic table was completely in the shade and allowed the kids to take a break from their walk.

We picked a beautiful day to walk the trails and it was almost always in the shade of huge older trees. The homes in the communites surrounding the lake are beautiful with awesome views of the lake and nature.