DC Trip...Nat'l Firearms Museum question

[jgh4445]

Have to attend a conference in a few weeks in DC. Staying at the Mayflower Hotel. I believe the NRA HQ and National Firearms museum is in Fairfax, VA. How far is this from the hotel? What would be the best ( cheapest) mode of travel there. I will not have a rental car so I have to rely on cabs or metros...

 

[loadedround]

Several years ago I visited the NRA museum while at a convention in D.C. I did have a car and it was a 20-25 min drive if I remember correctly. I would suggest either checking with your hotel regarding public transportation or giving the NRA museum a call. Try to get there, it will be well worth your time. My wife even enjoyed it and she is not a gun person (but does support the NRA and Second Amendment).

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Google maps can be useful for this sort of thing:
http://goo.gl/maps/RmtK

 

[jgh4445]

Cool Jorg thanks. Had done the mileage thing with mapquest, but didn't think about using it to tell me the metro routes.

 

[Skyshot]

FYI:A lot of road contruction in the DC area right now.

 

[Black Knight]

I was just at the NRA Headquarters Monday and Tuesday for an armorers class. The museum is in the south tower of the facility along with the NRA Store. If you can arrange it you should definately go see it. Also don't forget to have lunch at the NRA Cafe. They serve very good meals and members receive a discount.

 

[Hugo]

The NRA HQ should be in a zombie movie. The safest place to work in a zombie attack!

 

[jbkebert]

Dang..

We were in DC about three weeks ago and I didn't even know about it. We still had a great time and enjoyed ourselves. Around town just take the Metro seemed to get us close to anything we wanted. For anything longer rent a car. Cab fares add up quicker than my bill at Cabelas.

 

[johnmcl]

The closest Metro stop to NRA HQ is the Vienna stop on the Orange line. There's plenty of cabs there to take you the couple of miles to HQ. Cabs traditionally do not hang around HQ for the return trip, so get the cabbie's business card to call him 30 min before you are ready to go back.

Its well worth the trip. If the hours are right you also can get a peek into the NRA indoor range, which is one state of the art facility.

 

[The_Armed_Therapist]

D.C. traffic can also be the worst that I've ever seen. Keep that in mind, too!

 

[wojownik]

From Farrugut North metro station (a block and half south of the Mayfair) to Vienna would be $5.20 peak (most of the day it seems) and $5.20 off peak.

Or ... you could save 20 cents by walking another block or so to the Farragut West metro station. From Farragut north, you'd change trains at Metro center (red line to orange line - vs. orange line straight out. That would save you maybe 10 minutes or so ... budget 30 minutes rail time plus cab from Farragut West).

Then take a quick cab ride from the Vienna metro to the NRA museum would be around $18-20 ... 6 mile drive to the NRA.

Or ... instead of a taxi, you could take the metro bus (Route 2B) from Vienna metro to Route 50 and Waples Mill Road - then walk up Waples Mill Road about 1800 feet to the NRA building. Fare would be $1.50. Around 20 minutes ride time (plus waiting).

Yeah, mass transit can get a bit unfriendly once you venture too far outside the beltway...