Twisty Roads in VA/MD/DC
 

Most of us do not have the luxury of having a track in our backyards, so here's the next best thing: Twisties! We need more practice guys, no more weaksauce noobs in the corners! I have compiled a list of practice locations for the true corner enthusiast, feel free to add to the list. Rating is out of 5 stars.

Rating Chart:
* = slighty curved roads, great for high speed (80mph+) cornering practice
** = curvy roads (70mph +) turns, with plenty of straights in-between
*** = your average curvy roads with high speed + low speed corners
**** = Twisty with a larger amount of 45 degree - 90 degree turns
***** = Super Twisty 90 degree - 180 degree turns (25mph - 50mph)
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VIRGINIA:

Road Name/Location: Mountain Rd. Lovettsville VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, banked and curved
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement:*
Traffic: *
Precautions: Deer and Tractors

Road Name/Location: Georgetown Pike, Mclean/Great Falls VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, mild inclinations
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: **
Precautions: Deer

Road Name/Location: Compton Road, Manassas, VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, mostly flat
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: **
Precautions: None

Road Name/Location: Walker Rd., Great Falls VA
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: **
Precautions: None

Road Name/Location: Lawyers Rd., Vienna VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, mild hills
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement: **
Traffic: **
Precautions: Blind Spots, cant see what's ahead

Road Name/Location: Oakton Rd., Oakton VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, flat
Twisty Factor: ****
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: **
Precautions: Ditches and some neighborhoods

Road Name/Location: Beulah Rd., Vienna, VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, flat
Twisty Factor: **
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: ***
Precautions: School zone/Neighborhood

Road Name/Location: Towlson Rd., McLean, VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, flat
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: *
Precautions: 3-6 ft. ditches on both sides

Road Name/Location: Brock Rd., McLean, VA
Road type: 2 lane road, flat
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: *
Precautions: none

Road Name/Location: Bellview Rd., McLean/Great Falls, VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, lots of inclinations/jumps
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: *
Precautions: 3-6 ft. ditches on both sides

Road Name/Location: Lewsinville Rd., McLean, VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, flat
Twisty Factor: *
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: ***
Precautions: none

Road Name/Location: Hooes Rd, Springfield, Va (contributed by rich150001)
Road Type: 2 lane road, banked and curved
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement:*
Traffic: *
Precautions: none

Road Name/Location: Henderson rd, Clifton rd, Clifton, Va. (contributed by rich150001)
Road Type: Banked, low and high speed turns and straightaways
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement:**
Traffic: **
Precautions: none

Road Name/Location: Kirby Rd., McLean/Great Falls VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, inclinations
Twisty Factor: ****
Law Enforcement: *** (CIA building near!)
Traffic: **
Precautions: FBI squad vehicles

Road Name/Location: River Bend Road (Great Falls, VA) (contributed by bboypuertoroc)
Type: 2 lane road, mild inclinations with 2 or 3 short, steep ones
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: Really depends on the time, anywhere from * to ***
Precautions: Deer, lack of shoulder on some sections, Dead Man's Curve (called that for a reason), some hidden driveways

Road Name/Location: 211 Shanendoah Valley, (near Skyline Drive) VA
Road Type: 3 lanes, 2 lanes going toward Skyline, 1 going back
Twisty Factor: ****
Law Enforcement: **
Traffic: ***
Precautions: none

Road Name/Location: Skyline Drive, Shanendoah Valley VA
Road Type: 2 lane road, inclinations
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement: *
Traffic: ****
Precautions: none

Road Name/Location: VA-610-612-806-Route 28 or 610-806-28 or 610-616-806
Road Type: 2 lane road, mild/major inclinations
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement level: ZERO
Traffic: *
Precautions: Know yourself and your car. Blind corners, no crossing over that middle line...head on collisions never turn out well. Deer, Cattle, Tractors....its the boonies use your heads.

Road Name/Location: alt rt 40 (aka Devils backbone)
Type: 2 lane road,
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: minimal
Precautions: Deer,SHARP turns,no gaurdrails on 50ft dropoffs(dont fly off)

http://www.digitalontogeny.com/350z/...-5-6-07/55.jpg
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MARYLAND:

Road Name/Location: River Road out to rt 28 (contributed by umzzz)
Road Type: 2 lane road, mild inclinations
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: **
Precautions: Deer, Some parts can be rocky

Road Name/Location: Loch Raven Drive (Loch Raven Reservoir, Balt. County)
Road Type: 2 lane road, inclinations, drops, hairpins, everything!
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement: **
Traffic: **
Precautions: Some gravel/rocky spots, mostly clear. DEAR!!!!
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DC:
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Nearby Tracks: VIR, Summit Point
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Techniques to practice/keep in mind while you drive: (please feel free to add to this list)
1. Rev-Matching
2. Braking techniques (the middle pedal wins the race!)
3. Throttle Control
4. Heel/Toe (very important!)
5. Knowing how to take the "Best Line"
More Advanced Techniques:
6. Weight Transfer/Shift
7. Controlled sliding (aka drifting, but please do not believe this technique will get you through a corner faster like you see in the movies. This is more of an accident avoiding technique)
8. Driving w/o Headlights on: This hones in on your ability to strictly rely on your surroundings

Things to keep in mind: (please feel free to add to this list)
Know the limit of your car and then know the limit of yourself. Just because Mr. X can tackle the corner at X speeds does NOT mean you can do the same driving the same car!

1. Wet vs Dry Conditions
2. Oversteering vs Understeering
3. Entry speed vs exit speed
4. Vehicle aerodynamics (Yes big wings make a diff.!) front splitters and such also help keep the nose of your car down.
5. Atmospheric temperature and how it affects your shocks
6. Heat affects on brake pads and how it affects your stopping
7. Vehicle weight
8. Tire choice

Disclaimer: Drive these roads at your own risk, the curator of this article does not condone any driving past the speed limits marked on these roads: only an estimated guess of how fast each corner could be taken was documented.

Notes:
- Please know the number of a tow truck company or a reliable friend :D
- Check air pressures on all wheels/top off brake fluid/check pads
- Most people will crash at least once, I say get it out of your system early before you mess up any new mods. If you do not get close to crashing or if your tires were not singing, then you simply were not going fast enough.
- Not for people who think their cars are "too pretty" with their fancy extravagant bodykits + perfect paintjobs - you guys can stay home or attend car shows. These roads are for people who actually drive their cars. ;)
- For the love of god, please DO NOT upgrade your suspension until you have maxed them out and your driving ability with your current setup
- Get an oil cooler

Practice Methods: (please feel free to add to this list)
- Newbies: Practice ALONE, 11-3am preferred
- Intermediate/advanced: Practice with a friend and try to "keep up/chase" one another in alternating fashion increasing entry/exit speed each round (make sure to trust this friend and know exactly how he/she drives!)
- Advanced: Find someone to race - winner leads by 10+ cars or over-takes the competition

Last but not least; a few words of wisdom from one of my old mentors:
"Squealing Tires are Happy Tires!" :icon39:

Good Post, Route 55 in Virginia is pretty good too.

Road Name/Location: River Road out to rt 28
Road Type: 2 lane road, mild inclinations
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: **
Precautions: Deer, Some parts can be rocky

LOL... I remember some of these roads.

Here's one...

Road Name/Location: River Bend Road (Great Falls, VA)
Type: 2 lane road, mild inclinations with 2 or 3 short, steep ones
Twisty Factor: ***
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: Really depends on the time, anywhere from * to ***
Precautions: Deer, lack of shoulder on some sections (as in trees immediately off the road), Dead Man's Curve (called that for a reason), some hidden driveways

Keep em coming guys, great suggestions so far!

Idaho

Bogus Basin Road (to the top)
Hill Road
I-95 to Idaho City
That little hidden road behind Simplots house (GREAT!)

Blue Mt Ridge Rd. its off rte 50 and rte 7

damn thats kinda far away :icon11:

Road Name/Location: VA-610-612-806-Route 28 or 610-806-28 or 610-616-806....You get my drift (I said drift...lol)
Road Type: 2 lane road, mild/major inclinations
Twisty Factor: ***********(SICK!!! This is a baby skyline drive)
Law Enforcement level: ZERO
Traffic: *
Precautions: Know yourself and your car. Blind corners, no crossing over that middle line...head on collisions never turn out well. Deer, Cattle, Tractors....its the boonies use your heads.

Google this: VA-610, Stafford, Stafford, Virginia, United States

I have been trying to get a meet scheduled to cruise here for sometime...I think its time? Aubui....its all on you man. Let me know....Im there.

Thats a fun road. I take it home every day! :)

Abui01 for Mid-Atlantic Driving Events Chairmen!

Seems like alot of these roads are around the vienna, potomac, mclean, langley, great falls area. Someone bust out a map and get a route together and lets all drive it one weekend. I know kirby road and georgetown pike almost connect. As I remember there are lots of little areas off the highway for photo shoots and what not.

Road Name/Location: alt rt 40 (aka Devils backbone)
Type: 2 lane road,
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement level: *
Traffic: minimal
Precautions: Deer,SHARP turns,no gaurdrails on 50ft dropoffs(dont fly off)

Driving w/o headlights on? you mean at night?

blind attack FTW!

Road Name/Location: Loch Raven Drive (Loch Raven Reservoir, Balto County)
Road Type: 2 lane road, inclinations, drops, hairpins, everything!
Twisty Factor: *****
Law Enforcement: **
Traffic: **
Precautions: Some gravel/rocky spots, mostly clear. DEAR!!!!

The law enforcement is about 2-stars, once ricers show up and start acting like dumbasses, the law enforcement jumps to five stars and an apache heli and the army come out to take care of it. :)

120mph shoulder bomb in traffic! INSANITY :icon11: :icon11: :icon11:

Virginia: loudoun county back roads towards south riding. Nothing but flatlands and clear views of the horizon. The Great part!: twisties followed by long roads. I hit 145mph easy room for more.. then slowed down to twisties.. have to travel a bit though...

Very nice Mr. Anh!

This totally needs to be modified. Slight squealing is good. Strong Squealling is bad. Strong squealing means you are scrubbing speed and are too hot through the turn. This raises your tire temps and can eventually lead to less traction. Also due to the speed scrub you loss exit speed.

Driving is a methodology!

The Method to THE MADNESS!

First, to the beginner it is best to understand that the car must do ONE THING AT A TIME. Make the car brake, then steer, then accelerate. Do NOT attempt to do them all at once! This will lead to confusing results and slower cornering! As you advance you can begin melding these actions for smoother transitions and to help with weight transfer.

1: Begin entering corner at slower speeds taking note of how the weight transfer effects the car.

2: Take note of camber or elevation changes

• Positive Camber allows the car to corner faster (Insert InitialD Reference abui01 :D)
• Negative Camber can cause serious slowdowns and is VERY uncomfortable! Use caution!
• Flat/No Camber is self-explanitory (Insert Dee-Da-Dee Sounds here)
• A swift elevation change from low to high will casue the weight to transfer OFF the suspension. This can cause loss of grip factor.
• High to low can increase traction

3: Take note of radius of the turn. Is this a fixed radius (most civil engineers attempt to achieve this. You will NOT find this to be the case on the track), decreasing radius (very difficult to find the best line and generally requires a double apex), or increasing radius (In slow out fast).

4: Begin increasing speed while continuing to take note of the weight transfer

5: Once maximum speed has been attained you may have to take a step back (or two or three) to find the optimium braking point.

6: Brakes win RACES! (on evenly matched cars - aka Drivers Race)

• Use road references to identify your braking points
• Make note of your entry speed
• Make note of you exit speed
• Some corners are better fast in slow out
• Some corners are better slow in fast out (against convension)
• BE CAREFUL - Brakes are one of the few variable output devices on the car (ie Boost) due to fade. This is caused by the rotor, fluid and caliper overheating. This overheating can reduce your braking capacity severly.
• If you are taking a series of turns you need to watch for the above as your brakes will not have sufficient time to cool

7: My advice - Visualize in your mind what the car is doing in the corner.

"Visualize and you'll win Jesse"

there is a straightaway right by Dominion power in Dumfries VA. The road is about 1 mile-ish long. You must take the road at the top of Triangle towards the plant and make the left right before it. The only thing at the end is a gas refueling station for Valero, so only commercial vehicles use it MAYBE 5 times a day. It looks as though it is a known drag strip (by the rubber marks) and the cops may also know about it.

here is a vid of me hauling ash through there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsXt2q4oxSo