The United States Marine Corps War Memorial, dedicated in 1954, recreates the iconic scene of a 1945 photograph of six U.S. Marines raising an American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Today the beautiful memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial) sits just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, a short walk …
Terminating at a multi-tiered waterfall, the Gulf Branch Trail follows one of northern Virginia’s several lush stream valleys from Glebe Road Park in Arlington to the Potomac River. The Gulf Branch Nature Center, situated roughly halfway through the hike, offers daily programs and surprisingly extensive exhibits on the local ecology and history. The below account …
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 …
Generally less rip-roaring than several of its nearby tributaries, Pimmit Run nonetheless carries a rather significant volume. It weaves gently through McLean, Virginia—a generally upscale Washington, DC suburb—for eight miles before emptying into the Potomac River. Unpaved walking trails flank the stream for much of this distance, allowing for several relatively easy hiking opportunities. The …
Continue reading Pimmit Run Trail – Fort Marcy to Solitaire Ln. (Fairfax County Parks, VA)
Dead Run. It’s an ominous name for what is actually quite a lovely stream, though at times this 3.6-mile loop hike can feel rugged and perplexing. The first half is relatively straightforward: nearly two miles of hiking through some of Fairfax County, Virginia’s most peaceful terrain. A 1/10-mile section of Dead Run—the highlight of the …
Envisioned to one day extend from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT) for now only exists in fragments. It is perhaps the good fortune of Washington, DC residents, however, that one of the PHT’s finest uninterrupted stretches—a 12-mile trek from Theodore Roosevelt Island to northern Virginia’s Scott’s Run Natural Preserve—is …
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, like the much better-known Theodore Roosevelt Island ten miles to the north, is a living reminder of what the Washington, DC area looked like before it became the metropolis of today. In the days of the Founding Fathers, the Potomac River weaved through a swampy floodplain, a natural wetland habitat for …
Continue reading Haul Road Trail (Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, VA)
It is a roughly six-minute drive from Theodore Roosevelt Island to Fort Marcy along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a route predominantly used by commuters in the Washington, DC metro area. Most, however, are completely unaware of the charming underworld that lies just below—a sliver of lush greenery between the parkway and the Potomac, a …
Live and Let Hike 