POTOMAC RIVER PANORAMA
Details
Come celebrate the American Hiking Society's National Trails Day with this moderately paced nature/urban hike that meanders about 7 miles from the hubbub of the nation's capital to a woodsy island oasis and back, looping along the pulchritudinous Potomac River.
https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/e/d/4/600_460180660.jpeg
https://secure.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/9/e/c/c/600_460180652.jpeg
We'll start in Georgetown (Washington, DC's oldest and toniest neighborhood, with brick rowhouses adorning European-skinny streets), cross the artistically arched Francis Scott Key Bridge to explore wild Theodore Roosevelt Island (where a presidential memorial is ensconced in a lush forest with red, white, and blue birds), and then cross classically designed Memorial Bridge to another riverside trail, passing the Kennedy Center, the Watergate, and other waterfront jewels.
Near the end, we'll pop into the Swedish embassy for a quick welcome from a country known for hiking. Allemansrätten (http://www.swedishepa.se/Enjoying-nature/The-Right-of-Public-Access/) -- Sweden's "Right of Public Access (https://visitsweden.com/right-public-access/)," enshrined in its constitution -- permits hikers to saunter anywhere in the countryside as long as they leave the surroundings undisturbed, akin to our "Leave No Trace" principles.
This hike is adapted from "Walk #13, Potomac River Panorama and Watergates," in "Walking Washington, DC," a unique new guidebook for natives, newbies, and tourists. Author Barbara Saffir will lead the excursion. It's co-sponsored by the American Hiking Society (http://nationaltrailsday.americanhiking.org/), Wilderness Press (https://www.wildernesspress.com/), and the Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings (http://www.sierraclub.org/virginia/potomac-region-outings), where Saffir is a prolific hike leader.
PLEASE READ IMPORTANT NOTES: Registration is required. This is a free hike, but there is a voluntary/optional $2 donation to the Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings. To register, first RSVP on the SCPRO's Meetup site ( https://www.meetup.com/sierrapotomac/events/239330189/ ) and then send a "Meetup Message" to the hike leader who will send you a confirmation. Moderate pace on asphalt, concrete, dirt, and cobblestone surfaces with several stops for iconic views of DC's monuments and other photo ops. Please bring water, a snack, and sunblock. Only thunderstorms cancel this hike, which is capped at 30 adults. (Our two main riverside trails are the Mount Vernon Trail and the trail flanking Water Street, NW and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway.)
MEETING LOCATION/TIME: We'll meet at 9:15 a.m. and depart at 9:30 a.m. from the gazebo at Francis Scott Key Memorial Park. (It's across the street from Revolution Cycles, 3411 M St NW, Washington, DC, between Key Bridge; M Street, NW; 34 Street, NW; and the C&O Canal. GPS Coordinates: 38.904764, -77.068181 )
Maps/Brochures of Roosevelt Island and Mount Vernon Trail:
https://www.nps.gov/this/planyourvisit/brochures.htm
Georgetown Waterfront:
https://georgetownwaterfrontpark.org/#
POTOMAC RIVER PANORAMA