Loudoun’s historic villages, by bike
Our rides have taken us across the whole map of the Loudoun Historic Village Alliance: through every one of its ten living villages, through the vanished villages of Willisville and Bowmantown, to the doorstep of Between the Hills, and on to Middleburg, Upperville and Bloomfield. More than 1,250 village passes since 2009, from our own Strava and Ride with GPS logs.
Each card counts the rides that went through that village and links the Ride Library courses that do the same. Further down: the history our routes ride through.
Unison
196 rides
Our home village, inside the 2011-listed Unison Battlefield Historic District. Logged since 2020.
- The Long Way to MiddleburgJul 2, 2020 · 39.6 mi
- Unison Endurance Gravel Grinder 40KJun 12, 2026 · 25.0 mi
Aldie
166 rides
At the southern end of the Snickersville Turnpike, where the 1863 cavalry battle began. Logged since 2010.
- The Plains loop to Landmark School and beyondMar 31, 2012 · 48.3 mi
- Saturday Mountville LoopAug 9, 2025 · 42.3 mi
St. Louis
121 rides
Just south of Unison; most of our home loops pass through. Logged since 2012.
- The pine tree rideApr 29, 2012 · 54.1 mi
- Unison – LeithtownOct 5, 2026 · 18.7 mi
Philomont
54 rides
The halfway point on the Snickersville Turnpike. Logged since 2010.
- Sunday Philomont to Unison graveling loopJun 1, 2025 · 20.7 mi
- Philomont Saturday endurance loopMay 16, 2026 · 23.6 mi
Paeonian Springs
21 rides
West of Leesburg, on our northern Loudoun loops. Our oldest logged village ride: May 2009.
- Leesburg to Taylorstown & StumptownApr 1, 2012 · 44.7 mi
- Sunday Leesburg exploring rideAug 25, 2024 · 38.0 mi
Waterford
19 rides
Founded around 1733 by Quaker Amos Janney as a mill village on Catoctin Creek. Logged since 2009.
- Waterford 45K with after-ride pizzaMay 26, 2023 · 27.9 mi
- Leesburg Saturday Fun RideSep 6, 2025 · 29.3 mi
Lincoln
14 rides
Founded by Quakers as Goose Creek and later renamed for President Lincoln. It’s on our way to lunch at Kneads. Logged since 2012.
- Back to Taylorstown/StumptownMay 12, 2012 · 63.2 mi
- Breakaway Specialist Friday Ride to KneadsAug 21, 2026 · 20.2 mi
Bluemont
12 rides
Once called Snickersville, on the slope of the Blue Ridge. Logged since 2010.
- Big Summit finish rideJun 15, 2013 · 70.2 mi
- Queen stage day: Mt Weather loopJul 25, 2026 · 34.1 mi
Taylorstown
11 rides
In northern Loudoun, on our Leesburg–Waterford loops. Logged since 2009.
- Team Qhubeka Cycling Unbound Gravel Bike RideJul 10, 2022 · 42.1 mi
- Waterford 45K with after-ride pizzaMay 26, 2023 · 27.9 mi
Lucketts
1 ride
Our one pass so far, on a northern Loudoun exploring ride.
- Pavement ends, fun begins: Loudoun County ExplorerOct 16, 2022 · 38.0 mi
Vanished villages
Willisville
137 rides
Founded by African Americans before the Civil War; in 2019 the first historically African American village in Loudoun listed on the National Register. Logged since 2010.
- Upperville Gravel SundayJul 5, 2020 · 38.1 mi
- Thursday Gravel Climber ChallengeAug 27, 2026 · 43.9 mi
Bowmantown
191 rides
South of Aldie, on our old loops around Bull Run Mountain. Logged since 2010.
- Around the mountain and over Bust HeadJun 5, 2023 · 30.6 mi
- Valhalla Farms loopAug 3, 2025 · 33.5 mi
Neersville
Not yet
In the Between the Hills valley on Harpers Ferry Road, at the foot of Short Hill. Our closest passes so far came within 2.6 km.
- Loudoun County Dinosaur routeJul 3, 2022 · 35.5 mi
- Purcellville Gravel Wonderland Sunday RideSep 19, 2021 · 40.3 mi
Loudoun Heights
Not yet
Also in the Between the Hills valley. Our closest passes so far came within 2.9 km.
- Sunday Purcellville Trek Gravel RideApr 9, 2023 · 31.1 mi
- Upper Loudoun County meandering gravel rideMay 7, 2023 · 29.8 mi
Also on our routes
Not on the Alliance’s list, but our routes keep going through them.
Middleburg
171 rides
The hunt-country town about six miles south of Philomont. Logged since 2010.
- Middleburg Gravel 50K SundayAug 20, 2023 · 30.1 mi
- Thursday Gravel Climber ChallengeAug 27, 2026 · 43.9 mi
Bloomfield
118 rides
The crossroads northwest of Unison, on our way toward Bluemont and the Blue Ridge. Logged since 2010.
- Bluemont gravel on a perfect spring dayMay 14, 2023 · 30.5 mi
- Hump day Rokeby loopApr 15, 2026 · 26.5 mi
Upperville
28 rides
On Route 50 at the Loudoun line in Fauquier, home of the nation’s oldest horse show, founded in 1853. Logged since 2012.
- Lunch at Hunter’s Head TavernMay 23, 2025 · 31.8 mi
- Upperville – Delaplane Friday loopAug 7, 2026 · 20.2 mi
Ride out of Unison and you are riding through history. Western Loudoun’s rural roads form a roughly 700-mile network of unpaved and paved lanes, many of them dating to the colonial era, and Loudoun still keeps more than 250 miles of them unpaved. These are some of the places our routes pass, and what happened there.
In 2020 the network was named to Preservation Virginia’s list of most endangered historic sites and found eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Riding these roads, respecting the people who live and work along them, and telling their story is how we help keep them gravel.
The Battle of Unison
About six weeks after Antietam, the vanguard of the advancing Union army ran into Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart, and three days of running fights followed across the fields and lanes around Unison. The Unison Battlefield Historic District now stretches between Philomont, Unison and Upperville, about 8,000 acres in Loudoun and Fauquier counties, and was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
A state historical marker stands on Unison Road in the village. The dirt roads and stone walls of this landscape are still largely intact.
167 of our rides have passed the Unison battlefield marker since spring 2023, 127 of them in 2026 alone.
- Unison Endurance Gravel Grinder 40KJun 12, 2026 · 25.0 mi
- Queen stage day: Mt Weather loopJul 25, 2026 · 34.1 mi
- Perfect spring Saturday: Unison figure-8 gravel loopMay 24, 2025 · 26.9 mi
- Great to see so many riders on my back yardJun 11, 2023 · 31.7 mi
Fighting retreat on Trappe Road
On the last day of the Battle of Unison, the 9th Virginia Cavalry made a slow, fighting retreat down Trappe Road with the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry in pursuit. Kirkby Farm, which saw that skirmishing, has since been protected by a conservation easement.
Trappe Road is still gravel today, and our Piedmont Horseshoe loop rides more than four miles of it.
36 of our rides have followed Trappe Road since 2023, most of them this season.
- Trappe Upperville loopSep 8, 2026 · 20.8 mi
- Delaplane Gravel GrinderSep 9, 2026 · 45.7 mi
- Hump day Rokeby loopApr 15, 2026 · 26.5 mi
- Bluemont Station 50K gravelMay 21, 2023 · 31.9 mi
The Battle of Aldie
Early in the Gettysburg Campaign, Union cavalry under Alfred Pleasonton tried to push through Stuart’s screen at Aldie. They fought for several hours in 94-degree heat, the first of three cavalry battles in the Loudoun Valley, followed by Middleburg on June 19 and Upperville on June 21.
Markers along Snickersville Turnpike and John Mosby Highway tell the story, next to a monument to the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry. Ride with care here: both are busier paved roads.
29 of our rides went through Aldie between 2023 and 2025, usually on loops around Bull Run Mountain.
- Around the mountain and over Bust HeadJun 5, 2023 · 30.6 mi
- Terrific Tuesday fall gravel ridingOct 22, 2024 · 44.4 mi
- Bull Run Mountain Saturday loopJul 12, 2025 · 35.2 mi
- Saturday Mountville LoopAug 9, 2025 · 42.3 mi
Stone walls and farmsteads
The history isn’t only in the markers. Look for dry stone walls lining the fields, sunken lanes worn below the fields on either side, old stone farmhouses close to the road and fords and bridges where the roads cross the runs and creeks. They are the reason these roads are worth keeping as they are, and the reason we ask riders to slow down, share the road and leave no trace.
214 of the 544 outdoor rides we logged from January 2023 to October 2026 passed at least one of the places on this page.
- Hot day: Foxcroft–Unison–Crenshaw loopJun 12, 2025 · 50.2 mi
- Unison – Rectortown Sunday loopJul 19, 2026 · 35.4 mi
- Unison – Bull Run Mtn & Bust Head loopAug 8, 2026 · 28.3 mi
Keep exploring
See the old roads in our photo gallery, and meet the groups working to preserve them.
Sources: Loudoun County, Rural Unpaved Roads · Virginia DHR, Western Loudoun County’s Rural Road Networks (draft) · Loudoun Preservation and Conservation Coalition · Virginia DHR, Unison Battlefield Historic District · HMdb, The Battle of Unison marker · Blue Ridge Leader, Kirkby Farm · American Battlefield Trust, Aldie · HMdb, Battle of Aldie marker. Photos from Cycling Unbound rides.
