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U.S. Route 301 north - Bowling Green to Maryland line
Just south of Bowling Green, Virginia, along the Bowling Green Bypass, Virginia State Route 207 reaches its north end, and U.S. Route 301 joins the bypass, separating from Virginia State Route 2, which passes straight through Bowling Green. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The VA 207 shield below the "END" on this shield assembly is missing. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The posted speed limit is 55 miles per hour. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Virginia state secondary route 619 (Chase Street) intersects US 301 ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The next intersection is secondary route 1204, Courthouse Lane. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Multiple food options are available from the next junction. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A Shell gas station is also accessible at next left. US 301 itself heads into some trees as it curves to the right. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
That junction is where US 301 receives its business route, known as Broaddus Avenue, through Bowling Green. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301 Business runs off to the left, while mainline US 301 continues straight. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
As the bypass ends, Port Royal is 12 miles away, the Potomac River (Nice-Middleton) Bridge 30 miles, and Baltimore, Maryland 108 miles. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit remains 55. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301 approaches a crossroads with state secondary route 608 as it passes the Bowling Green Motel and approaches the south entrance of Fort Walker. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Known as Fort A.P. Hill for several decades, it was renamed in August 2023 in honor of Mary Edwards Walker, the first female U.S. Army surgeon. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The fort's entrance is 1,500 feet from these signs. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
At the fort's entrance, a small break in the trees occurs before the highway passes through heavy forest for several miles. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301 passes its Virginia mile marker 115 as it plunges into said forest. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The Army generously increases the highway's speed limit to 60 within Fort Walker's property. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
There is a curve to the left as the highway's median has become tree-lined. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The route straightens out, with guardrails appearing on either side of the northbound carriageway, as it prepares to dip downward, then climb back uphill. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
After going back uphill, the highway prepares to curve leftward again, along which a scattering of no-parking signs are placed. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A short distance ahead, there is another hillcrest coming just prior to another descent, with parking restrictions still in place along the shoulder. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Drivers are treated to a glimpse of early fall foliage, as was the case at the time of these photos, as they glide downhill. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The highway has now gone back uphill and flattened out, still heavily surrounded by trees. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A speed limit drop to 55 occurs soon afterward. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Then, at a median crossover, US 301 enters the town of Port Royal, meaning Fort Walker's north end is impending. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit drops further, to 45 miles per hour, as US 301 leaves the fort and the trees behind. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Approaching Port Royal, the speed limit then becomes 35. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Just south of Port Royal's center is where US 301 intersects U.S. Route 17, which passes along the northern edge of Fort Walker and through here between Fredericksburg and Tappahannock. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Baltimore is straight head, Fredericksburg accessible through a left turn onto US 17, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region right on US 17. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Another US 17/301 shield assembly sits just before the intersection, beside Horne's, the last remaining location of what was once a prominent roadside restaurant chain. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 17 through here is known as the Tidewater Trail. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Now undivided and earnestly making its way into Port Royal, US 301 is 18 miles from the Potomac River and 96 miles from Baltimore. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The highway approaches a pedestrian crosswalk, with houses sitting beside it to the right. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The route's crossing of the Rappahannock River is starting to become visible in the distance. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit is still 35 for now. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301 intersects Caroline Street (secondary route 1008) as it approaches the bridge. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit increases to 45 miles per hour as the bridge begins and the lanes divide again. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Known as the James Madison Memorial Bridge, this crossing of the Rappahannock River takes US 301 from Caroline into King George County, the northernmost county during its time in Virginia. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The route hits land again at the north end of the bridge and proceeds as the main north-south arterial of King George County. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed now reaches 60 miles per hour again. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
King George County itself has a welcome sign just afterward. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The highway has a crossroads up ahead, where the road at right (Salem Church Road, SR 625) leads to a weight-limited bridge with accordingly-posted restrictions. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A set of flashers before the intersection warns of vehicles entering the highway ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Past the intersection, US 301 continues past a median crossover at left and an open field at right, while heading toward some trees. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The highway is now entering the Commonwealth's designated Northern Neck Heritage Area. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The route then enters a sharp rightward curve at mile marker 129. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit soon drops to 45 miles per hour. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A pair of flashers announces a traffic light up ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The highway intersected at this signal is Virginia State Route 3, known in this area as Kings Highway. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The Potomac-side Westmoreland State Park is east on VA 3 So are the Ingleside Vineyards, twelve and a half miles away. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
From the signal, VA 3 leads west (left) to King George and east (right) to Montross, in Westmoreland County. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Also right on VA 3 are the George Washington Birthplace National Monument and Stratford Hall. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
VA 3 and US 301 shields are placed before the intersection. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The Potomac River bridge is now 12 miles ahead, and Baltimore 90 miles away. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit now jumps up to 55. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Trees line the highway as it curves while the northbound lanes dip downward. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Traffic bound for Cedell Brooks Jr. State Park is directed to eastbound Virginia State Route 205 up ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Another speed limit drop to 45 MPH is ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
VA 205 (Ridge Road) intersects US 301 at the light ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Another chance to get to King George westbound, VA 205 also leads east to Colonial Beach on the Potomac River, then rejoins VA 3 at Oak Grove in Westmoreland County. Eastbound drivers needing to bypass Colonial Beach can take SR 631 (Longfield Road) as a shortcut to return to VA 205 near Mattox Creek. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
This junction also marks the community of Edgehill. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Leaving VA 205 behind, US 301's distance to the Potomac is down to ten miles. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit is back to 60 as the highway descends downward and curves to the right. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
SR 667 (State Road) intersects ahead at right. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Then, after intersecting the south end of Will Loop (SR 633), US 301 eases downward and curves gradually to the left. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Climbing back uphill, the highway passes multiple houses and the King George Lodge. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
After about three-quarters of a mile, the highway reaches SR 697 (Chestnut Hill Loop). Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The highway levels out shortly afterward at a median crossover, but the start of another descent is visible up ahead. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Dipping sharply downward, US 301 has a two-span crossing of the Upper Machodoc Creek, which from here wraps south and east, then back north, forming Pumpkin Neck, and flowing as a tidal estuary into the Potomac. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Accessible from eastbound state route 206 (Dahlgren Road) is one mile is the Machodoc Creek Marina, 3.2 miles away. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The speed limit now again decreases to 45. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Virginia State Route 218 (Windsor Drive) intersects US 301 ahead. It leads northward to SR 624 (Owens Drive). Photo taken 10-06-2023.
VA 218 eastbound can also be used to backtrack to Colonial Beach. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The route then climbs uphill, with a grade sufficient enough for truckers to have to use a lower gear. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
VA 206 intersects up ahead. Just to the west, it and VA 218 form a concurrency that lasts to Berthaville, just over two miles away. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
In addition to being another route to King George, VA 206 goes east into the proper area of Dahlgren. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (here "Naval Base Dahlgren" for brevity) and Caledon State Park are in each respective direction at the junction. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301 then leaves VA 206 behind and directly passes the Dahlgren McDonald's. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Then, an overhead sign posted by the Maryland Transportation Authority displays an AM radio frequency for information related to the approaching Nice-Middleton Bridge. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The Dahlgren campus of the University of Mary Washington is at next left. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
That sign precedes this traffic signal at University Drive and Commerce Drive, serving the King George Gateway retail complex and some military commercial properties. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A leftover sign following the signal posted by Maryland authorities touts the Nice Bridge replacement project in a positive manner. The new bridge, double the width of the old one, opened in October 2022, one year prior to these photos. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Separate access to the naval base is a right turn away from this sign, on SR 614 (Bennion Road). Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The SR 614 signal up close. At left, while bearing the same secondary route number, is where Owens Drive reconnects with US 301. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
MDTA then posts a notice for drivers with permit or unusual loads to make arrangements for an escort no sooner than one hour prior to crossing the bridge. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A speed reduction to 50 miles per hour is coming up. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A weigh station for large trucks is up ahead, to ensure they meet requirements for crossing the bridge. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
Traffic exiting the weigh station re-enters US 301 at right. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
It is here than overhead lane markers for the bridge begin to appear, with green arrows indicating valid lanes of travel at the given moment. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301's penultimate intersection in Virginia is SR 1000 (Barnesfield Road), leading to Barnesfield Park. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
As the Nice-Middleton Bridge is solely a MDTA facility, Maryland posts its first US 301 reassurance shield just prior to the south end of the bridge. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
The final intersection in Virginia is SR 652 (Roseland Road), leading to the Dahlgren Wayside Park with Potomac beachside access, and a Virginia welcome center for southbound traffic. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
A sign pointing to the escort pickup point sits at right. Photo taken 10-06-2023.
US 301 now begins its crossing of the Potomac River. On this note, US 301 bids farewell to Virginia and transitions into Charles County, Maryland. Photo taken 10-06-2023.