Horsepen Run (a.k.a. Horsepen Creek) is a modest stream winding through northern Virginia’s Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. Situated in the unincorporated community of Oak Hill—between the Dulles Toll Road and Interstate-66—the paved Horsepen Run Trail runs alongside the creek for 1.5 miles. To be honest, there’s not much to it—the stream, while pretty and calming …
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This 4.6-mile ramble from Turkey Run Park to Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean, Virginia constitutes the third section of the Potomac Heritage Trail heading westward from Rosslyn in Arlington. (Note: Descriptions of the two preceding sections—Roosevelt Island to Fort Marcy and Fort Marcy to Turkey Run Park—can be found here and here, respectively.) Despite …
Bearing westward from Rosslyn in Arlington, Virginia, Donaldson Run is the third notable tributary feeding into the Potomac River. Like its neighbors—Spout Run, Windy Run, and Pimmit Run—Donaldson Run cuts through rocky bluffs, with the last half-mile punctuated by minor but pretty cascades. The Donaldson Run Trail links the lengthy Potomac Heritage Trail, on the …
Continue reading Donaldson Run Trail and Loop (Arlington, VA)
Arlington, Virginia’s Windy Run Trail offers a brief, scenic jaunt with four creek crossings, culminating at the base of one of the Washington, DC area’s best waterfalls. Starting at N. Kenmore Street, the nearly half-mile trail drops more than 120 feet; most of it comes at the end, when the stony path descends a sandstone …
There’s not much to the Custis Trail, which spends the majority of its time following Interstate 66 through suburban Arlington County, Virginia. But it’s popular with runners and bikers as a connector route—the 4.4-mile route serves as a shortcut between the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail and Mount Vernon Trail. While relatively easy for …
- Civil War Series - The importance of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia in influencing the course of American history is hard to overstate. This picturesque town, situated at the confluence of two rivers in a majestic valley, played host to a 19th century federal armory, Civil War battles, several distinguished civil rights advocates, and abolitionist …
- Civil War Series - Three years after John Brown’s ill-fated raid at Harper’s Ferry, violence again struck this strategically-located town, situated at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in present-day West Virginia. The year was 1862, and Confederate General Robert E. Lee had directed famed General T.J. “Stonewall” Jackson to seize Harper’s …
Continue reading Murphy-Chambers Farm Loop (Harper’s Ferry National Historical Park, WV)
Identified on select maps as the “Rough Trail,” this little-known hike through Glencarlyn Park in Arlington, Virginia (see here for more on the park) is aptly-named: it’s narrow, hard-to-follow, and plagued with fallen trees, roots, and brush. The upside is that the trail—unmarked in any way—is virtually empty, situated in a rarely-visited corner of Glencarlyn …
For a suburban destination, Glencarlyn Park in Arlington, Virginia is a nice one. The 96-acre park can be approached from multiple directions and boasts a dense network of hiking trails of varying difficulty. The focal point is a pleasant stream valley where the Long Branch stream meets Four Mile Run, the latter a relatively high-volume …
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The 2.5-mile trek to Annapolis Rocks is one of the most popular hikes in northwest Maryland and features sweeping views of Hagerstown Valley, Greenbrier Lake, and beyond. One mile farther, hikers can get an even better—and more private—vista from Black Rock. The hike follows a short section of the famed Appalachian Trail (AT) and climbs …
Continue reading Appalachian Trail to Annapolis Rocks and Black Rock (South Mountain State Park, MD)
Live and Let Hike 