Search

Arlington's Greenest Citizen

The envy of public transportation and smart growth proponents nationwide, Arlington County is a model "green" citizen. But with land at a premium, the County lacks undeveloped green space. Beyond the trail corridors (W&OD, Potomac Heritage), does Arlington County have a signature nature park?

In answer to that question, Trail Voice nominates Potomac Overlook Regional Park. At only 67 acres, this park is dwarfed by its Fairfax/Montgomery/Prince George's County counterparts. In this case, however, the old adage rings true: good parks come in small packages.

View the Potomac Overlook Slideshow on FlickrHiking Trails

Within its boundaries, Potomac Overlook boasts a respectable 2.5 miles of natural surface hiking trails. Shenandoah it is not, but for many, 2.5 miles provides a satisfying trekking experience - especially considering the terrain. Sitting high on a bluff overlooking the Potomac (hence the name), Potomac Overlook Regional Park has enough steep (but brief) hills to raise your heart rate.

With your map in hand, park in the main lot by the pavilion to start your hike. Here's the loop we recommend:

Farm Road / Overlook Trail (Black) > Left turn to Red Maple Trail (Red) > Heritage Loop Trail (Green) > White Oak Way (White)

For additional mileage, access the park via N. Randolph St. and include Blue Jay Way (Blue) or the Red Maple Trail (Red) extension.

Trail Connections

If you're a hardcore hiker with a penchant for mileage, hopefully we haven't lost your attention. As all heavy trail users realize, the key is in the connections. Via the Brown Creeper Connection (Brown), the park links to the Donaldson Run Trail which in turn intersects with the Potomac Heritage Trail. Starting from the Virginia side of Chain Bridge, follow these directions for an approximately six mile route (mileage in brackets):

South on Potomac Heritage Trail [1.0] > Left turn to Donaldson Run Trail [0.8] > Left turn to Brown Creeper Connector Trail [0.1] > Potomac Overlook loop [~2.0] > Retrace route

Park Programs

Through the years, Potomac Overlook Regional Park has dedicated itself to serving the community in more ways than one ("one" being hiking). The park's nature center, a retrofitted 20th century home, is the centerpiece of its community and environmental stewardship programs.

Nature Center

For many visitors, the grand tour of Potomac Overlook starts with the Nature Center.

Energerium: The main floor exhibit is devoted to exploring the interconnectivity of energy and living systems. For more information, check out the GreenMan video.Auditorium: The bottom floor auditorium holds up to 50 people (open for birthday parties!) and features plant and animal exhibits.

Environmental Stewardship and Cultural Programs

Several environmental organizations, including Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment and the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists, are regular park stewards. Not to be left out, school groups, scout groups, and even local companies arrange volunteer and educational programs with park staff. Considering the busy calendar of events, it's easy for you to get involved: 

Volunteer Work Days (monthly, first Saturday): Indoor and outdoor projects around the parkEarth Day Celebration (April 17): Plant trees and milkweed for the monarch butterfliesOpen House & Heritage Festival (May 2): Music, food, exhibits, and games for the familySummer Concerts (starting May 22): Free Saturday evening performances

As treasured landscapes, public parks bring people together. In north Arlington, Potomac Overlook Regional Park fills that crucial role.

Location / Directions: Arlington, VAPark Size / Trail Distance: 67 acres; approximately 2.5 total milesSurface / Difficulty: Natural; ModerateTrail Map: Map of Potomac Overlook Regional ParkAdministration: Northern Virginia Regional Park AuthoritySocial Media: Facebook, Twitter

Wildlife reigns supreme at Maryland's other bay

During a recent "Wilderness in Washington" segment of the Kojo Nnamdi Show, outdoor gurus Candy Thompson and Paul Elliott gushed about Jug Bay Natural Area, a Patuxent River Park property in eastern Prince George's County, Maryland.

Candy Thompson: "Fabulous...You can paddle there, you can hike there, you can fish there..."

Paul Elliott:"One of the remarkable things about Jug Bay is that you can stand there looking out over the river, and it's very hard to determine what century you're in. It's a timeless landscape."

Not yet convinced of the merits of Jug Bay Natural Area? Perhaps, these additional accolades will help... Recognized as a National Audubon Society Important Bird Area locationComponent of Maryland's National Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research ReservePart of the Chesapeake story as told by the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network"Two thumbs up!" - Siskel & EbertRecreation and Nature on the Land

Jug Bay Natural Area attracts two main types of outdoor enthusiasts: aquatic paddlers and terra firma hikers. This article is geared towards landlubbers, but check back with us in the future - we'll test the Patuxent River waters (literally) during the warmer months.

Featuring 8+ miles of natural surface trails, Jug Bay's hiking network is understandably overshadowed by the park's namesake tidal wetland. With that said, motivated hikers can easily make a day out of it. Trail highlights include:

Brown Trail (Black Walnut Creek Nature Study Area): Directly accessible from the Visitor Center, this hiking trail network (not open to bicyclists) includes a half mile boardwalk through marshes and wetlands.Green Trail: Connecting to Black Walnut Creek Nature Study Area, the Green Trail follows the ridge offering excellent Jug Bay views once the leaves have fallen.Red Trail: The park's longest trail, the Red Trail accesses historic Croom Airport, now a large, open field, and the starting point of Chesapeake Critical Area Tour.

Featuring colorful underbrush, towering hardwoods, wetland amphibians, and melodic songbirds, this Patuxent River Park location is a naturalistic feast for the senses. Birders in the know should check out the Patuxent River Bird Checklist brochure available in the Jug Bay Natural Area Visitor Center. Naturalists, amateur or otherwise, are invited to join a Park Ranger on guided woodland hikes, which are scheduled for Saturday afternoons several times a month.

Blessed as it is with natural beauty and recreational opportunity, Jug Bay goes one step further in an effort to lure inquisitive history buffs. Tucked into a wooded clearing just a few hundred yards from the Visitor Center, Patuxent Rural Life Museums is a collection of buildings and exhibits designed to represent Prince George's County living during a less complicated time. Visit on weekend afternoons (1-4 PM) for the guided tours and demonstrations.

Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Tour

The Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Tour is a four-mile dirt roadway hugging the Patuxent River shoreline. Open to walkers, bicyclists, and cars (only on Sundays), the main draw of the tour is the 1,000 foot wooden boardwalk bridge connecting Jug Bay Natural Area to Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. Overlooking the Mattoponi Creek marshlands, the bridge sports a tower ideal for bird watchers.

Jug Bay 10K/5K Run for Wildlife and 3K Fun Walk

A paddling and wildlife-viewing haven like Jug Bay Natural Area forces visitors to slow down their busy lives and appreciate nature. But on Jug Bay 10K/5K Run for Wildlife race day,  scheduled for 9:00 AM on Saturday, November 7, 2009, the slow down concept need not apply. Expected to attract about 300 participants, event organizers welcome runners and walkers (either pre-registered or walk-ins), spectators, and volunteers. As Kyle Lowe, Park Ranger and Run for Wildlife creator, states, "The race location sells itself."

Spotting Blue-winged Teals (a migratory type of duck) may not be on the minds of oxygen-starved runners, but race day funds have been a boon to the Jug Bay wildlife. All event proceeds go towards conservation/environmental projects like osprey nesting tower construction, Sora Rail tracking research, and the expansion of outdoors education. 

With ecosystem preservation a top priority, it's clear that Prince George's County Parks and its partners recognize the real stars of Jug Bay.

Location / Directions: Upper Marlboro, MarylandPark Size / Trail Distance: 2,000 acres; 8+ milesSurface / Difficulty: Natural; EasyTrail Map: Jug Bay Natural AreaMore Information: For events and programs, visit Jug Bay Natural Area online

Jug Bay is just one of the many Prince George's County Parks offering frequent volunteer opportunities. Learn more about how to get involved.

- Osprey image courtesy Flickr user Renee Belisle

In the 1880's, Walter B. Shaw set out to start a garden on his east-bank Anacostia River property. He began his work unceremoniously - laboriously cleaning out a small ice pond (since reclaimed by nature). However, with help from his talented daughter, Helen Fowler, that ice pond became Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. Sweeping her gaze from the ice pond to the stunning aquatic plant landscape, Kathleen Bucco, a Kenilworth park ranger, exclaims, "What's amazing is how he could look at that [the small ice pond], and envision this."

Aquatic Gardens

High-time for the dazzling display of water lilies and lotus flowers, visitors flock to Kenilworth during the warm summer months. Gardening enthusiast or not, Walter B. Shaw's creation is inspiring. For the best experience, especially from a photographic perspective, arrive early (the park opens at 7 AM) to stroll around the ponds as the flowers glow in the morning rays. Also, be sure to join a ranger-led Garden Tour (weekends at 9 AM and 11 AM) to learn about Kenilworth's fascinating history and its present-day challenges (request to hear the "Turtle War" story).

Kenilworth Marsh and the Anacostia River

As beautiful as Kenilworth's cultivated gardens may be, the real action is around its perimeter. The gardens are essentially surrounded on three sides by an Anacostia River wetlands area known as Kenilworth Marsh. This tidal marsh, the last of its kind in the District, is a wildlife haven in an otherwise hostile urban area. With a fascinating history of its own (a dredging plan was narrowly averted in 1938), the marsh is home to beavers, muskrats, turtles, frogs, and the majestic great blue heron. Kenilworth visitors can stroll out on the boardwalk trail for an expansive view of the marsh.

Overshadowed by the gardens and marsh, many visitors miss out on Kenilworth's 0.7 mile-long (one-way) River Trail. As an informed Trail Voice reader, make sure you do not! The River Trail leads to the channel connecting Kenilworth Marsh and the Anacostia River. Venture down to the river's edge for an up-close inspection of the Anacostia seawall, built in the 1920-1940 timeframe. The infamous seawall changed the ecological health of the Anacostia for the worse - and it didn't prove to be much of a flood barrier either. Kenilworth Marsh, however, shows what the Anacostia River can be, and hopefully will be, when nature prevails.

Park & Trail Stats: 8 acres (ponds), 70 acres with wetlands; approximately one mile of natural surface and boardwalk trailsHow to Get Here: Map; Metro - Deanwood (Orange line)Administration: National Park Service - National Capital Parks-EastTwitter: @DCParksEastNPS

The Appalachian foothills of northwest Loudoun County are full of surprises. One such surprise is the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES) (map). It's a unique natural area with an interesting story - the 900 acre property is privately owned by the environmentally-supportive Leggett Foundation. The foundation has opened the Blue Ridge Center to the public - operating it as both an outdoor recreation playground and an environmental classroom. For the Birds

The protected forest landscape of the Blue Ridge Center is a hotspot for birds and birders. Joe Coleman of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy (LWC) delivers the BRCES lowdown on all things bird-related. Equipped with a list of 130+ identified birds, Joe leads early morning bird walks on the fourth Saturday of each month. For those without the luxury of an expert guide, the Blue Ridge Center developed the Birds of the Ridge Trail - a self-guided trail complete with a series of educational interpretive plaques.

Hiking the Blue Ridge Center

Perhaps birding is not your bag - what does the Blue Ridge Center offer if you do not share a passion for yellow-bellied sapsuckers? The Blue Ridge Center's nine miles of natural surface hiking trails, designed as a series of manageable loops, satisfies hikers uninitiated to the "Aves" class. With your map in hand, link up some loops, starting with the Farmstead, for your preferred mileage.

Farmstead Loop (1.3 miles): Part of the self-guided birding trail - highlights include homestead ruins and trail extensions for Jonathon's Rock and the Mountain View Vista.Little Turtle Trail (0.25 miles): The connector trail to Legacy Loop and Sweet Run Loop from the Farmstead Loop - fun bridge crossing over Piney Run.Legacy Loop (1.2 miles): A less traveled (i.e. duck for spiderwebs) path passing Gordon Pond in the northwest corner of the park.Sweet Run Loop (1.9 miles): A lively stream valley trail following Sweet Run - the southern portion of the trail is accessible for equestrian parking.

Park & Trail Stats: Approximately 900 acres; nine miles of natural surface trailsMap: http://www.brces.org/pdfs/BRC_map_8x11_w_contours.pdfAdministration: Blue Ridge Center for Environmental StewardshipDonate: Donate to the Blue Ridge Center