About us
THE CLUB www.nvhc.com
The Northern Virginia Hiking Club (NVHC) offers a range of hikes of various difficulty levels in Virginia, Maryland, DC, and beyond. The club also offers other outdoor events occasionally. NVHC members reflect the rich diversity of the Washington DC Metro area. Annual membership fee is $5. Guests are welcome and enjoy a month’s free participation in the club events. NVHC is a nonprofit organization and donates funds to local parks and trail maintenance organizations from time to time. The selection of the parks and organizations is based on club usage - it is our way of giving back. Monies vary each time - $7,200 was donated in 2023.
Members are required to accept the liability disclaimer by typing “Accept” in the fields presented when they join the club.
DIFFICULTY RATINGS
NVHC hikes are assigned difficulty ratings. A combination of linear distance and elevation gain is used to determine the rating, with 400 feet of elevation gain considered to be equivalent of 1 mile of linear distance. With the “miles” derived from elevation gain added to the linear distance, following are the ratings:
A+= Very Difficult (19 miles or more)
A = Difficult (13 miles or more, but less than 19 miles)
B = Moderately Difficult (10 miles or more, but less than 13 miles)
C = Moderate (7 miles or more, but less than 10 miles)
D = Easy (Less than 7 miles)
For example, a nine-mile hike with 1,000 feet of climbing would be rated B (9 + 2.5 = 11.5).
Elevation loss is not measured in this system. Also, the difficulty rating is separate from the pace of the hike, which is determined by the leader, and is usually specified in the individual hike descriptions.
RSVP ETIQUETTE
Often there are limits on the number of participants on NVHC events, set by our leaders. This creates wait lists on Meetup. If you find yourself in this situation, we request that you keep in mind the interest of the leaders and your fellow hikers, and follow the guidelines below:
- If you RSVP’d “yes” for a hike, change your RSVP to “no” as soon as you decide not to go, so that someone else can go.
- If you RSVP’d “yes” to overlapping events on the same day, decide on one as soon as possible, and change your RSVP to “no” for all others.
- If you are on a wait list and decide not to go, remove yourself from the list.
DOGS ON HIKES
Dogs are welcome on NVHC hikes at the discretion of the hike leader. Several restrictions apply including advance notification to the leader, dogs being well behaved, and their being kept on a six foot leash. See dog policy located at [https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy] for details.
Upcoming events
27
Big Devils Stairs (Rating: A)
Centreville Park & Ride Lot, 14700 Lee Highway, Centreville, VA, USYou must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
This is a 10 mile hike from the boundary of SNP to a spectacular gorge. It has an elevation gain of about 2200 feet. This hike is rated A for difficulty. We start at a small parking area along Rt 625 at the Mount Marshall Trailhead. We immediately start climbing. We make a left on the Bluff Trail. Then we descend to the overlook on the Big Devils Stairs Trail for a snack/lunch before retracing our steps back to the cars.
Leader: Tracy Miller 724 967-3248 (C)
Rating: A
Pace: 2.25 to 2.5 mph
Carpools: Meet at the Centreville Park and Ride at 7:15am to depart by 7:30am. Suggested carpool fee is $7. The leader will be at the carpool location. GPS Coordinates: 38.836038, -77.455371
https://goo.gl/maps/UhxfSAbcao4mCWC96Meet at the Mount Marshall Trailhead at 8:45am. GPS Coordinates: 38.7478506,-78.1940236
https://goo.gl/maps/VvgSpAddeyUPJXCy9Neither the Club nor the hike leaders are responsible for coordinating transportation to/from the trailhead. Hikers are not guaranteed to get a ride to the trailhead from the carpool location. Carpooling is organized by the participants and they participate at their own risk.
Park Entry Fee: $0.
Map for hike: Big Devils Stairs on AllTrails:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/custom-route-14687c8?u=i&sh=rr7xq6Driving time to trail head: 1 hour 15 minutes
You must be experienced in hikes of this distance and elevation gain.
11 attendees
OSS Spy Hike Prince William Forest Park (Rating: B)
Turkey Run Education Center, 5475 Turkey Run Rd, Triangle, VA, USYou must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
DESCRIPTION: Explore a little-known part of the park and tour a cabin camp built in the 1930s, which is normally closed to public access. Join park rangers at Cabin Camp 2 at Prince William Forest Park to learn more about the period of the park’s history in the 1940s when the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) trained spies in the park. Before he was famous for creating James Bond, Ian Fleming was an officer in the Royal Navy's Intelligence Dept., and an instructor at the OSS (precursor to the CIA) Training School at Prince William Forest Park. We'll hike from Turkey Run to Cabin Camp 2, where they trained in combat, sabotage & guerrilla warfare. I'll briefly share some history, and we'll get to tour the buildings on our snack break. There will be park rangers there for questions.
HIKE: 8.5 miles with elevation gain of 800 ft. Trails are dirt with rocks and roots. Multiple rolling hills but no steep climbs. Pace will be 2.5-3mph while moving.
MEET: Note that we are meeting at the Turkey Run Ridge Environmental Education Center, NOT the Prince William Forest Park Visitor Center. There are restrooms at the start at Turkey Run.
DOGS: No dogs please.
FEE: The park entrance fee is $20/vehicle, but is included in the America the Beautiful annual pass. https://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html
LEADER: Kris N. 618-623-2484. Please give your name when you text.
28 attendees
Fun, Fall Fitness Hike (Rating: C)
Red Caboose, W&OD Trail, 131 Church Street, NE, Vienna, va, USYou must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
(7ish-mile, largely flat, out-and-back moderate to fast [about 3 mph while moving] hike with intermittent exercise stops. Rating: C )
Hike maybe a smidge over 7 (flatish) miles along the paved W&OD Trail and its dirt horse trail with stops roughly every 1/4 to 1/2 mile for 2 minutes of bodyweight exercises. Before each stop, we'll do a 30-second NANO-RUN (or fast walk). All exercises are modifiable and partner exercises are optional.
We'll start at the RED CABOOSE in Vienna & trek to our turnaround point at Hunter Mill Road at the edge of Reston. We might have some stream crossings but there will likely be negligible water due to the recent drought.
IMPORTANT NOTES: Please stay RIGHT on all public trails to allow bikes, runners, and walkers to safely pass us. All exercises are optional and modifiable, but generally we'll do squats, lunges, situps, pushups, planks, star jumps -- get that iPhone ready for the jumping pix! -- and other typical "boot camp" exercises. Hike leader is *NOT* a certified fitness trainer but just passing on exercises she has learned from fitness classes. Finish time of 1:30 pm is approximate for planning purposes. We'll likely finish a tad earlier.
MEET: 9:30 a.m., at the RED CABOOSE on the W&OD Trail, ACROSS THE STREET FROM from the Freeman Store & Museum, 131 Church Street, Vienna, VA. Copy these coordinates into Google Maps: 38.903539, -77.265726
PLEASE READ. YOU WILL BE GRADED ON THIS:
Please do NOT attend unless you are experienced with bodyweight exercises, you have done recent strength workouts, and you can and will safely and happily keep up with our moderate to brisk pace (about 3 mph while moving). Adults only and no pets, including pet ponies.BRING: Sense of humor and mandatory WATER. Optional: snack, oversized TRASH BAG TO SIT ON if you don't want to sit on the dirt or grass, gloves for pushups/planks. Dress for variable fall weather and potentially slippery dirt trails.
RESTROOMS: At Town Green across the street from the caboose, at Whole Foods one block from caboose (143 Maple Ave E), at Vienna Rec Center two blocks from the caboose, and porta-potties at our roughly 3-mile turnaround point.
CLOSEST METRO: Vienna-Fairfax/GMU station on the Orange Line.
https://www.wmata.com/rider-guide/stations/vienna.cfmPARKING: Free street parking by meeting place and additional parking in the lot at the nearby Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St. SE, Vienna, VA. (PLEASE READ THE SIGNS. DON'T PARK WHERE IT SAYS NO W&OD PARKING OR YOU COULD BE TOWED.)
12 attendees
Riverbend Park, Great Falls Park, (Rating: B)
Riverbend Park Visitor's Center, 8700 Potomac Hills St, Great Falls, VA, USYou must read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and then answer the question that you will see when you RSVP with "I accept" to be permitted on the hike.
9 mile circuit hike with 600 feet of elevation gain.
A nice hike along the scenic Potomac River and adjoining forests of Riverbend Park and Great Falls Park.
Description:
We'll start our hike in Riverbend where we hike several trails and then join the Potomac Heritage trail where we will travel south to Great Falls. We'll stop at the Great Falls overlook(s) for some amazing views of the falls and then continue on the River Trail as it winds along Mather Gorge and some more great scenery. We will then connect to the Ridge Trail, Matildaville trail, back to Great Falls visitor center and begin our return to Riverbend. Lunch break about halfway through.Hike Pace:
Pace will be about 2.5 mph.Bring:
At least 2 liters of water/hydration, snacks/lunch, and sturdy hiking shoes since there are some rocky areas/tree roots on the River Trail. Hiking poles if you normally use them. There are no stream crossings.Fee:
There is no entrance fee at Riverbend Park, but I will need to collect $2.00 from each hiker to cover the cost of group fees at Riverbend. Group fees are required for groups of 12 or more. I will get the group permit in advance. Small bills only please!Dogs are welcome on this hike in accordance with the NVHC Dog Policy. https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy
Riverbend Park trail map:
Riverbend Park Trails
Great Falls Park trail map:
https://www.nps.gov/grfa/upload/GRFA-complete-map-508.pdfMeet at the trailhead parking lot 15 minutes early to allow everyone to get signed in and ready to hike at 9:30am.
Meeting Place Instructions: Riverbend Park, Great Falls, VA. We will meet at the lower parking lot, on the right, across from the Riverbend Visitor Center. Coordinates 39.01817, -77.24599
Any questions, please message me here or text/call @202-528-0456. If you text me, please include your name.
30 attendees
Past events
5069
