60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Washington, D.C.

Renee Marchese Sklarew is a native Washingtonian who enjoys exploring her city’s many attractions, including its parks and trails. As a young girl, her father received a temporary assignment that took her family to Switzerland, and that’s where she began her passion for hiking and exploring. Today, her family makes surveying nature’s wonders a priority, and they love visiting America’s National Parks. Renee regularly contributes travel articles and photos to newspapers and magazines, including the Washingtonian, Northern Virginia Magazine, Boston Globe, and Washington Post. She is co-author of The Unofficial Guide to Washington DC and Fodor’s Washington DC Guidebook. Recently, she joined the team of “Oh Ranger!” editing guides to national, state, and local parks. Renee hopes readers will use 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Washington D.C. to discover new trails and meaningful destinations. Rachel Cooper is a freelance writer and has been the Washington, D.C., Expert for About.com (now TripSavvy.com) since 2004. Rachel is also the author of the book Images of Rail - Union Station in Washington, D.C., and has written numerous articles for local and regional publications. She especially enjoys outdoor recreation, including hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding. She met her husband, Brian, through a local windsurfing club, and they have spent more than 25 years together seeking new adventures as they travel across the region and around the world. Paul Elliott works as a writer/editor and plays primarily as a social and solo hiker. He has been leading hikes year-round in the Washington metro area and beyond since 1990, most recently for the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Club. His forte is getting people with a taste for adventure to sample the pleasures and surprises of the area’s remarkable array of hiking opportunities.

WASHINGTON, D.C.


1Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park

2Columbia Island

3East Potomac Park and Jefferson Memorial

4Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

5U.S. National Arboretum

6Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail

7Anacostia Riverwalk Trail

8Rock Creek Park: Boulder Bridge Trail

9Rock Creek Park: Northern Section

10Capital Crescent Trail: Fletcher’s Cove to Georgetown Waterfront Park

11Glover Archbold Park Trail and Potomac Heritage Trail Network



CLOSE-IN MARYLAND SUBURBS

12Cabin John Regional Park

13Lake Needwood and Maryland’s Rock Creek Regional Park

14 Black Hill Regional Park

15C&O Canal Towpath: Great Falls to Old Angler’s Inn with Olmstead Island

16C&O Canal Towpath: Old Angler’s Inn to Carderock

17Billy Goat Trail: Sections A and B

18McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area

19Lake Artemesia Natural Area and Northeast Branch Trail

20Greenbelt Park

21Patuxent Research Refuge: Cash Lake Trail

22 Cosca Regional Park

23Brookside Gardens and Wheaton Regional Park

24Sandy Spring Underground Railroad Trail to Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park

25Seneca Greenway Trail: Frederick Road (Rt. 355) to Brink Road

26Seneca Creek State Park: Lake Shore Trail


CLOSE-IN VIRGINIA SUBURBS

27Gerald Connolly Cross Country Trail: Difficult Run Stream Valley Park

28Winkler Botanical Preserve

29 Fort Hunt Park and Mount Vernon Trail

30 Huntley Meadows Park

31Turkey Run Park and the Potomac Heritage Trail Network

32Scott’s Run Nature Preserve

33Fraser Preserve

34Riverbend Park and the Potomac Heritage Trail Network

35Great Falls Park of Virginia

36Potomac Overlook Regional Park and Nature Center

37Mason Neck State Park and National Wildlife Refuge

38Burke Lake Park Trail

39Lake Accotink Park Trail

40Glade Stream Valley Park


RURAL MARYLAND LOCALES

41Monocacy National Battlefield

42Magruder Branch Trail and Lower Magruder Trail

43Little Bennett Regional Park

44Rachel Carson Conservation Park

45 Sugarloaf Mountain

46Cunningham Falls State Park

47Catoctin Mountain Park

48Patuxent River Park: Jug Bay Natural Area

49Quiet Waters Park

50National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park

51Calvert Cliffs State Park

52Cedarville State Forest

RURAL VIRGINIA

53Manassas National Battlefield Park

54Bull Run–Occoquan Trail

55Prince William Forest Park

56Leesylvania State Park

57Algonkian Regional Park

58Sky Meadows State Park

59Appalachian Trail: Raven Rocks

60Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve