What’s open and closed in Fairfax County for Christmas 2023

Local government offices are closing early today (Friday) to give staff a head start on Christmas weekend.

With Christmas Eve falling on Sunday (Dec. 24) this year, Fairfax County, Fairfax City and the towns of Vienna and Herndon are all instead observing the occasion with a half-day today. All local government offices will shut down at noon, though schedules vary for some other public facilities and services.

Government offices will close all day on Monday (Dec. 25) for Christmas. The county courts, which are closing at noon today, will pause operations through Tuesday, Dec. 26, as will Fairfax County Public Schools, whose students have been on winter break since Dec. 18.

Here are other notable closures and schedule changes coming for the holidays:

Trash and recycling

Fairfax County won’t provide trash and recycling collection services on Christmas Day, bumping all customers back by a day throughout the week. The I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex’s recycling and disposal centers will be closed Sunday and Monday.

The Town of Vienna and Fairfax City will both collect waste and recycling for both Monday and Tuesday customers on Dec. 26. Vienna won’t pick up brush and yard waste that day.

The Town of Herndon will make trash pick-ups as usual, but Monday recycling will be collected on Tuesday instead.

Transportation

Metro is running modified service on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with trains and buses following Sunday schedules. Rail stations will be open from 7 a.m. to midnight.

Fairfax Connector will operate on a Sunday service schedule on Christmas Day, and its customer service center will be closed. In Fairfax City, the CUE bus system will follow its regular schedules except on Dec. 25, when the service will be closed.

Like it did for Thanksgiving, the Virginia Department of Transportation is suspending most highway work zones and lane closures on major roads, starting at noon today and continuing until noon on Tuesday, Dec. 26. Rush-hour tolls for the I-66 Express Lanes inside the Capital Beltway will be lifted on Christmas Day.

Community centers

The McLean Community Center will be closed on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The Reston Community Center will close its Lake Anne facility on both days, but Hunters Woods (2310 Colts Neck Road) will open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 24. The Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center will be open from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday before closing for Christmas Day.

The Herndon Community Center is open today from 7 a.m. to noon and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will close on Dec. 24-25. The Bready Park Tennis Center and Herndon Centennial Golf Course will also be closed on Christmas.

The Vienna Community Center will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It’s also observing holiday hours of 8 a.m. to noon today and 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. from Dec. 26-29.

Libraries, Parks and Recreation

Fairfax County Public Library will close all branches at noon today, followed by closures on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Libraries will open tomorrow (Saturday) according to their regular hours.

All Fairfax County Park Authority facilities are open today except for the carousel at Clemyjontri Park in McLean and Sully Historic Site in Chantilly. For Christmas Eve, park visitor centers and other amenities will be closed, but all rec centers will open from 8 a.m. to noon, except for the George Washington Rec Center in Mount Vernon, which is opening at 9 a.m.

The park authority will close all facilities for Christmas Day.

In Fairfax City, both the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center and Historic Blenheim are closed through Dec. 25.

Read more on FFXnow…