Metro-Accessible Nature Walks - Have a Favorite?

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Permalink Reply by David Furst on July 1, 2009 at 7:00pm

Thanks Robert! We will absolutely be hitting Roosevelt Island in this series. Quite a place.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Novak (WAMU 88.5) on July 8, 2009 at 2:10pm

Roosevelt Island is one of my new favorites -- the memorial area with the statue that just appears suddenly through the trees is simply astounding.

David Furst said:

Thanks Robert! We will absolutely be hitting Roosevelt Island in this series. Quite a place.

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa Stevens on July 15, 2009 at 11:14am

There's a great walking trail no more than two blocks north of the Cleveland Park Metro Station. It's called Melvin C. Hazen park and it has a .5 mile long trail along a stream that takes you to Rock Creek Park along Beach Drive. There's a big open area next to the creek with a space for cookouts, which also has public restrooms. It's a great place to sit and have a picnic or play a game of Frisbee, soccer, or football. There's also another trail there that you can take through Rock Creek Park that has plenty of people running and biking on it. Once you're there, you hardly know that you're in the middle of Washington, DC.

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Permalink Reply by David Furst on July 15, 2009 at 11:28am

Thanks Vanessa - we'll be visiting the Melvin Hazen park on the show this Friday! What a great place - you can feel like you traveled far away from the city within a few steps of the sidewalk.

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Permalink Reply by wonkguy on July 17, 2009 at 2:12pm

You and one or more friends take the Red Line to Bethesda Metro Station. Sit down for a bite to eat & pick up some snacks and your favorite sports drink for the road. Head over to the Capital Crescent Trail (http://www.cctrail.org/) at Woodmont & Bethesda Ave. Start walking towards Georgetown. When you get to Georgetown, get on the Circulator and head into the city for dinner.

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Permalink Reply by Tokey Boswell on July 21, 2009 at 10:12am

From Rosslyn, to the river, then north on the Potomac Heritage Trail. In 20 minutes you can be totally lost from the city, just checking out the birds and the shoreline. There are good rocks for scrambling and bouldering, and it's a long enough trail to get a good workout if you keep going. Dirt surface adds to the feeling of wilderness. (Bring a plastic bag and pick up trash along the way...)

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Permalink Reply by Clare on July 24, 2009 at 11:41pm

A great way to commune with nearby nature while doing a good green deed is to remove invasive plants in our local parks. It’s a fun and productive way to get fresh air and exercise, learn about plants, and make a difference while meeting people of all ages who care about the world we live in.

Representatives from Arlington County’s Remove Invasive Plants (RIP) program and experienced volunteers lead the effort and share their knowledge of plants. Help once or as often as you like. RIP volunteers meet regularly to rid Arlington’s natural areas of invasives, which diminish biodiversity.

Environmentalist and long-time volunteer Steve Young created this Google Maps/My Maps site to document where the regular monthly events take place: http://tinyurl.com/lwhbkw.

Steve’s blog (photo diary) documents RIP volunteers’ progress at Long Branch Nature Center and the multitude of critters that live there: http://plantwhacker.blogspot.com/.

You may also like to join the Remove Invasive Plants listserv to receive notification of events: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RiP_Arlington/

Go get 'em.

Clare

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Permalink Reply by Mikaila on August 7, 2009 at 9:31am

The Anacostia Metro stop on the green line is right across from Poplar Point--at this time still National Park Service land. It's right next to the Anacostia River with a view of the Capitol building--especially from the top of the parking garage. The view directly across from the metro stop—exit towards the parking--looks out over the site of the historic Bonus March, where WWI soldiers and their families came to Washington to demand the bonuses promised them for fighting in the war. One of the first integrated groups, the camp was burned out by the US Army under Generals McArthur and Patton. This is also the site of the former White House greenhouse. From there one can walk along Anacostia Drive over 2 miles to the CSX railroad bridge at the North Field, with picnic tables for lunch. Along the way, one passes a public swimming pool and an aquatic education center. You'd never know there was National Park land East of the Anacostia River from looking at the metro schematic map posted in every station, train and their web site, because, unlike the green apportioned to Rock Creek Park, there is no green representing all the park land East of the Anacostia, which includes Anacostia Park, Ft. Dupont (at 376 acres the second largest piece of parkland in DC after Rock Creek Park) and other Ft. Circle parks, which are landmarks to the Civil War defenses of Washington, in addition to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens mentioned earlier on this show.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Novak (WAMU 88.5) on August 7, 2009 at 9:35am

Thanks to everyone for sharing their favorite nature spots in the DC region! Just a heads-up: Metro Connection host David Furst and naturalist Mark Garland will be joining us for a live chat about this series today at 2 p.m. on The Conversation.

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Permalink Reply by Diana Vidutis on August 7, 2009 at 10:22am

My favorite walk is the small apron of greenspace surrounding the Takoma Park metro that WMATA has supposedly sold to developers to build 98 double-garaged townhouses. There are 200 trees on these few acres, which also include parking for about 100 cars. The developer wants to build the townhouses on the greenspace, leaving us with a symbolic gazebo. BTW, WMATA promised $2million of renovations to the metro system to accommodate the new development, thereby eliminating whatever they might have earned by the ill-advised sale of the land.
We in Takoma DC and Takoma MD keep working to prevent this project from moving forward, as the land was intended for "transit oriented development" not "transit cramping development."
There is something magical about stepping of the train in Takoma and seeing a little greenspace. We hope to keep it that way.

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Permalink Reply by Stephanie Flack on August 7, 2009 at 12:06pm

My favorite oasis of nature in this region is the Potomac River Gorge, the 15-mile river corridor from Great Falls to Georgetown, which also happens to be one of the most biologically rich areas in the eastern United States. The Potomac Gorge is at the fall zone, where the river drops in elevation and its periodic flooding and scouring creates a wealth of unusual habitat types. The area is a crossroads for plant and animal species, and it is home to many different habitats, including scoured bedrock river terraces, mature upland forest, rich floodplain forests, streams and wetlands. There is an exceptional concentration of rare plants and rare groups of plants called natural communities in the Potomac Gorge, which is why it is a high priority for conservation.

There are a number of ways to get to the Potomac Gorge via Metro in DC, MD or VA: (1) in DC, you can take the red line to Union Station or blue/orange line to the GW/Foggy Bottom metro stop, and then hop on the Union Station-Georgetown Circulator bus to Georgetown, from which you can walk upstream along the C&O Canal; (2) in MD, you can take the red line to Bethesda, walk to the Capital Crescent Trail access at the corner of Woodmont and Bethesda Ave, then walk or bike down the trail to the C&O Canal along the Potomac; or (3) in VA, you can take the blue/orange line to the Rosslyn metro stop, where you can pick up the Potomac Heritage Trail near Roosevelt Island to walk upstream along the river through lands protected as part of the GW Memorial Parkway.

To learn more about the conservation value of the Potomac Gorge, you can visit The Nature Conservancy's website, which is working in partnership with the National Park Service to protect and restore this exceptional natural (and recreational) area: http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/pres...

Please remember to use Leave No Trace sensitive recreational use practices when you visit the area, to help protect its exceptional natural resources: plan ahead for your visit so you're prepared for the conditions there, stay on trails, leave nature as you find it, share the trails, manage your dog and its waste (if you bring it), and pack in and out all trash.

Enjoy!

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Permalink Reply by Pam Browning on August 7, 2009 at 12:40pm

Check out the beautiful section of the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring - just a few blocks from the Bethesda Metro. There are beautiful cathedral arches of trees that are more than a hundred years old. Lovely Sycamore, Beech and Tulip Poplars. A half hour walk on the Trail takes you to the Trestle in the trees suspended over Rock Creek Park. This Trail, though very popular, is not as congested as the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Georgetown.

To get there from Metro, walk south on Wisconsin Avenue, cross Wisconsin Avenue at Elm Street (just after the movie theater) heading east. Go one block into Elm Street Park. You'll see signs to go left to get to the Trail. Then turn right on the Trail to go east towards Silver Spring. (Left will take you through the Tunnel to Bethesda.)

It is a lovely 3/4 of a mile walk to Connecticut Avenue. Then another even more stunning 3/4 of a mile to the Trestle over Rock Creek Park.

The best light is in the late afternoon. Enjoy!

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