Shaded by dogwoods and river birch, a hiker rests on a boulder beside a rushing stream. The only sound that can be heard above the water’s burble is the screech of a blue jay.
Less than three miles away on this sunny spring Saturday, President Clinton is sitting in the Oval Office delivering his weekly radio address to the nation.
The nation’s capital is no concrete wasteland. Although home to more than 4.5 million people, the metropolitan region is considered the greenest in the country. Secret Service agents recently had to disentangle a deer from the White House fence.
Only a few minutes by foot or public transportation from the city center, a visitor can find nature in the leafy isolation of a parkland hiking trail, on the towpath of a historic canal or on an undeveloped island in the Potomac River.
Despite the well-publicized crime problems in some areas of the capital, “in general, the parks in the D.C. area are safe” and amply patrolled, said Maj. Robert Hines of the U.S. Park Police. “We do recommend that joggers walk in pairs” on secluded hiking trails, he said.
Here are five places to find foliage and a fresh breeze away from the capital’s granite facades. All trips begin from the Metro Center mass transit rail station, located between the White House and the Capitol in the heart of the downtown business district.
Rock Creek Park
This 2,000-acre expanse in northwest Washington was the first urban park ever created by Congress and remains one of the finest.
The act that authorized the park’s purchase in 1890 praised its “pleasant valleys and deep ravines, primeval forests and open fields, its running waters, its rocks clothed with rich ferns and mosses, its repose and tranquility.”
John Quincy Adams, our sixth president, was among the historical figures who enjoyed Rock Creek Park’s wild and lonely reaches. Much the same experience awaits today’s hikers.
“You can almost get lost in the middle of the city in an older-growth forest,” said Mark Anderson, district manager for D.C. trails of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. “There are places where you are completely removed from urban surroundings. You can actually get away from hearing cars.”
The best hiking is in the northern section of the park. From Metro Center, take the Metro red line to the Van Ness-UDC station. Walk two blocks south to Tilden Street, then east until the street becomes Park Road, which soon intersects the blue-blazed Valley hiking trail.
The moderately difficult dirt trail runs 5.6 miles north to the Maryland state line. It connects via numerous tan-blazed connector trails to the parallel green-blazed Ridge trail, a 4.6-mile dirt path rated as strenuous.
To customize shorter walks, hikers may use both the equestrian trails that crisscross the park and a paved bicycle trail that runs 9.8 miles through Washington and continues 14 miles north through Maryland’s Rock Creek Regional Park.
Beach Drive, the main road through the park, is closed to cars from 7 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday and attracts crowds of joggers, skaters and bicyclists.
Theodore Roosevelt Island
The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association purchased this 88-acre island in the Potomac River in 1931 and presented it as a gift to the American people the next year. It remains undeveloped except for a memorial to Roosevelt, who probably would be pleased that his statue stands at the center of such a well-preserved environment.
From Metro Center, take the Metro orange or blue line to the Rosslyn station. Walk one block east to Lynn Street, then 2 1/2 blocks north to a paved footpath that leads to a riverfront parking lot and the foot bridge to the island.
About three miles of dirt paths (some can be quite muddy after rain) lead you through several types of habitat — forest, swamp, shore and a rare tidal freshwater marsh.
Early morning is the best time to view the island’s wide variety of birds and waterfowl or to catch a glimpse of other resident wildlife. Beaver signs abound on the island, which is also home to opossum, raccoon, woodchuck and fox.
C&O Canal towpath and adjoining parks
As an outdoors enthusiast, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno’s dream is to hike all 184 miles of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath, from the District of Columbia to the city of Cumberland high in the Appalachian Mountains of western Maryland.
Downtown walkers have easy access to one of the most scenic and historic stretches of the towpath. From Metro Center, take the Metro orange or blue line to the Foggy Bottom station. Walk one block north to Pennsylvania Avenue, then three blocks west until you cross the bridge over Rock Creek. A sidewalk from the west end of the bridge descends to the beginning of the towpath.
At first, the paved path passes below boutiques and terrace restaurants in the upscale Georgetown neighborhood. You may see canal boats filled with tourists traversing the canal and its working antique locks, recreating the atmosphere of 1831 when this section opened.
After about a half mile, the path turns to dirt and crushed stone and passes beneath Key Bridge. Farther west, it offers frequent views of the Potomac River and the highlands along the Virginia bank.
An alternative to the out-and-back towpath hike is a detour through one of the District’s most beautiful wooded areas. About a half-mile west of Key Bridge, a path from the left leads to a tunnel giving access to Glover Archbold Park.
A dirt trail running through the 180-acre park is crossed by only four streets along its three-mile length. The land was donated by local philanthropists in 1924 for use as a bird sanctuary and is treasured by nearby residents for the undisturbed beauty of its dense woodlands.
The trail exits the park at Van Ness street; five blocks east is the Van Ness-UDC Metro station.
West Potomac/East Potomac Park
Less wild, but also beautiful, are these well-groomed parks west and south of the Washington Monument. This walk skirts water for almost its entire length, and also leads past four presidential memorials.
From Metro Center, take the Metro orange or blue line to the Smithsonian station. Walk west for about a mile, passing the Washington Monument and skirting the north shore of the Tidal Basin, until you reach Ohio Drive along the banks of the Potomac just south of the Lincoln Memorial.
Follow Ohio Drive southeast along the river. The route passes the brand-new Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, and after crossing the short bridge over the Tidal Basin inlet, you can make a short detour to circle the Jefferson Memorial before returning to Ohio Drive.
The little-traveled road (an occasional jogging venue for President Clinton before his knee accident) runs five miles around the edge of a long, narrow island that is largely occupied by a golf course. Besides the distant views down the river, walkers will enjoy busy National Airport across the water, a striking sculpture called “The Awakening” at the island’s tip and the Capitol Yacht Club across the Washington Channel on the return trip northward.
When the path reaches the Tidal Basin again, follow it through the cherry trees around the east side to Raoul Wallenberg Place. This block-long street houses both the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where U.S. currency is printed, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Its north end is two blocks west of the Smithsonian Metro station.
The National Mall
Most visitors to Washington are awed when they first glimpse the grassy expanse of the Mall, an open area that few large cities can match.
From Metro Center, walk three blocks west to 15th Street, then three blocks south to E Street. You’ll be at the northeastern corner of the Ellipse, a large field directly south of the White House often used for casual softball and football games.
Cross the Ellipse diagonally southeast to reach an area known as Constitution Gardens, whose centerpiece is a 7 1/2-acre lake with an island.
Just south of the lake is the reflecting pool of the Lincoln Memorial, whose eastern tip is the future location of the World War II Memorial. Except for a few cross streets, a walker can take a two-mile stroll on a broad, grassy lawn from this point east to the Capitol.
The gravel paths bordering this greensward are a favorite route for members of Congress and their aides running to stay in shape for their next race.
East of the Washington Monument, the Mall runs between the museums and administration buildings of the Smithsonian Institution. While none of these (except perhaps the National Museum of Natural History) qualify as a detour on a nature walk, two other attractions do: the outdoor Sculpture Garden in front of the circular Hirshhorn Museum on the south side of the Mall, and the congressional Botanic Garden south of the reflecting pool just west of the Capitol.
DETAILS ON WALKING D.C.
For more information about walking in the Washington area:
Book
– “Frommer’s Walking Tours, Washington, D.C.,” by Rena Bulkin (Macmillan USA, New York, 1995). This guide focuses on tourist and shopping centers but does include some natural areas.
Maps
– A map of the recreational features of Rock Creek Park, as well as smaller parks connected to Rock Creek Park by hiking trails, is available from the Superintendent, Rock Creek Park Headquarters, 5000 Glover Rd. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015.
– A detailed street map book of Washington, D.C., and vicinity is sold for $9.95 by ADC, 6440 General Green Way, Alexandria, Va. 22312. Phone 800-232-6277.
Internet sites
– http://patc.simplenet.com (Potomac Appalachian Trail Club). A sophisticated and information-packed site from the group that maintains the hiking trails in downtown Washington.
Newspapers
– The “On the Move” pages in the Weekend section of The Washington Post each Friday include hiking events amid a variety of participatory sports listings.
General information
– Washington, D.C. Convention and Visitors Association, 1212 New York Ave., N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20005-3992; 202-789-7000.
