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
18
Gambrill State Park (Rating: A)
High Knob Area Gambrill State Park, 8281 Gambrill Park Road, Middletown, MD, 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.
Let's enjoy a warm spring day hiking within Gambrill State Park in Maryland! We'll begin the hike by visiting the Middletown Overlook for a wonderful view to the west, and around noon we'll have our lunch break at the North Frederick Viewpoint which has great views to the east. Here are details for the hike:
- Start time: 9:00 a.m.
- Trailhead parking: Gambrill State Park High Knob Area Parking Lot (GPS 39.462917, -77.495356)
- Park entry Fee: $3 per car for Maryland vehicles, $5 for out-of-state
- Distance: 9.3 miles
- Elevation gain: 1,650 feet
- Pace: ~2.5 miles/hour when moving
- Duration: 4.5 hours
- Hike map: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/gambrill-yellow-black-red-4588e67
- Leaders: Chris Bosch 703-216-7801
Carpools
The hike leader(s) will meet hikers at the trailhead. Neither the Club nor the hike leader(s) are responsible for coordinating transportation to/from the trailhead. Carpooling is organized by the participants and they participate at their own risk.
What to bring
Bring a backpack, water, lunch/snacks, sunscreen, hiking poles if you like. Wear comfortable shoes or boots that are suitable for hiking. Dress in layers for the weather including hat, gloves, rain gear as needed.
Dogs
Dogs are permitted on this hike in accordance with the NVHC Dog Policy. Please contact the hike leader in advance if you intend to bring a dog.
https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy
Park entrance / parking fees
Gambrill State Park charges a day-use admission fee of Maryland residents $3/vehicle; out-of-state residents $5/vehicle. Information on Maryland State Park passes is available at the link below.
https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/parkpass.aspx
Weather
Here's a National Weather Service URL you can use to check the 7-day weather forecast at the trailhead from which we start the hike.
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.462917&lon=-77.495356
In case of poor or severe weather, this hike will be postponed.
23 attendees
Tenleytown-Palisades Urban Hike (Rating: C)
Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library, 4450 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC, USWAIVER REQUIRED: You 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.
HIKE: An 8-mile urban hike will take us through the neighborhood streets of Tenleytown, American University's campus, and the Palisades, and a patchwork of trails including Glover Archbold, Battery Kemble and the Palisades Trolley Trail. Along the way we’ll visit a "glass forest" and pass an old schoolhouse built in 1874.
The hike has a few minor stream crossings, and a few stairs and hills. We'll be on sidewalks half the time and on trails half the time. We'll have a snack/restroom break halfway.
WHERE TO MEET: We will begin and end outside the Tenley-Friendship Library (4450 Connecticut Ave., NW), across the street from the Tenleytown metro. Parking is available on the side streets.
DISTANCE: 8 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 600 feet
PACE: Our average moving pace will be between 2.5 and 3.0 miles per hour.
DOGS: Dogs on a leash are welcome in accordance with NVHC pet policy (https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy).
11 attendees
DC Urban Hike and Book Store Crawl (Rating: C)
Rossyln Metro Station, 1800 North Moore Street, Arlington, VA, USDetails:
You *must* read the following NVHC Sign-in Sheet Statement/Liability Disclaimer, https://nvhc.com/signin.pdf and answer the question “I accept” when you RSVP to be permitted on the hike.
Meet at the outdoor plaza at McDonald’s across from the Rosslyn Metro entrance on N. Moore Street. Street parking on Sundays should be free, but double check just in case.
This is an 8 mile hike that will start on N. Lynn Street. We will cross the bridge, go into Georgetown, and heads towards the waterfront. From there we will use various streets to make our way to our first stop: East City Bookshop (https://eastcitybookshop.com). From ECB we will head to our next stop, located on H Street: Solid State Books (https://www.solidstatebooksdc.com). Once we leave Solid State, we will head back towards Eastern Market, where there is a metro station that can take you back to Rosslyn (hike leader plans to do exactly this).
***Optional brunch stop at Mr. Henry’s prior to book store visits***
Mr. Henry’s menu can be seen here: https://www.mrhenrysdc.com/menus/#brunch
We hike at a pace of 2.5 to 3.0 mph while moving.
Leader: Michele Douglas (703) 463-0597
23 attendees
Antietam National Battlefield - Maryland (Rating: B)
Dulles Transit Center Park and Ride, XHG8+GGG, dulles, 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 10.5 mile circuit hike with 750 feet elevation gain in the Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland. https://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm. We will hike on various trails in the park, pass farm houses, monuments and walk along the Antietam Creek. We hike at a pace of 2.5-3.0 mph when moving.
Dogs are permitted on this hike in accordance with the NVHC Dog Policy. https://tinyurl.com/nvhcdogpolicy
Rating: B
Leader: Ed Brimberg 703-944-9920 (C)
Carpools: Meet at the Dulles Transit Park and Ride at 7:45am, GPS Coordinates: 38.976317, -77.433659, https://maps.app.goo.gl/5VB71QdWsy9KjGZi8.
Go to the end of Pacific Blvd and turn left into the Park and Ride lot.
Suggested carpool fee is $7. The leader will be at the carpool location. Driving time to the trailhead from the carpool location ~1 hour minutes.If you are going to the trailhead, meet at the Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center at 9:00am. GPS Coordinates: 39.474278, -77.744583
https://goo.gl/maps/z2N6nCSqT7G7nHXu8Neither 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: $10/person or $20 per car whichever in less. Free with National Park Pass. You will need to go in to the Visitor Center to show your pass and get a receipt. They open at 9am.
AllTrails map for hike: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-4f6312f--59?u=i
You must be experienced in hikes of this distance, pace and elevation gain. There is significant uphill in the first couple of miles.
36 attendees
Past events
4811
