Best Hiking Trails in the Northern Virginia D.C. Area

With so many trails in Northern Virginia and Washington D.C., where to go hiking can be so overwhelming. Where does one new to the area start? Don't worry, I have some recommendations where history and nature will take your breath away before the exertion of the hike will.

1. Harper's Ferry - Jefferson County in West Virginia

Now even though I do have hiking suggestions that are actually in Northern Virginia, I really recommend you travel to West Virgina to Harper's Ferry. This little town is so historical and just takes you back in time. You will find the original B&O train station there and still in use to this day as Amtrak. Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet in this town with remnants of the first bridge remaining. This is where Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland meet. You can hike trails or battlefields. You will discovery history on John Brown's Raid. Then engine room that they were forced to take refuge at that became the armory house is still standing. The Appalachian Trails Conservancy headquarters is located in this town also. In fact, Harper's Ferry is one of the few towns that the Appalachian Trails actually passes through. You will see St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church that was built in 1833 and the only church in Harper's Ferry that didn't get destroyed. It sets on top of the town with many stairs leading to it. The streets are very picturesque and they have designated parking to keep the streets looking more historical. The town's people are very friendly. I highly recommend that anyone visit this place at least once in their life. They won't regret it.

2. Manassas National Battlefield Bull Run in Virginia

This park is full of history. Let's start out by saying that two major civil war battles happened here. Hiking here is appropriate for all ages and with all the history to learn, the little ones won't even feel like they are exercising and neither will you for that matter. There is a statue of General Thomas J. Jackson near the parking lot and visitor's center. There is a 1 mile self guided trail that is interesting called the Henry Hill Loop Trail. Other trails to hike are Stone Bridge, Matthews Hill, Brawner Farm, Deep Cut, Unfinished Railroad or Chinn Ridge. Manassas Battlefield Park has multiple trails. For a more guided tour and map you can visit this website. http://www.hikingupward.com/OVH/ManassasBullRun/ . You can also join a guided hike from a Park Ranger. There is so much to see and learn here that it will probably take more than just one trip to see everything. We've only gone once and know that there was tons of interesting trails and history that we missed. We will be going back again soon. Maybe we'll see you there.

3. Great Falls National Park in Mc Lean Virgina

This 800 acres of park is located just about 15 minutes from our Nation's Capitol and is full of history and nature. It runs along the banks of the Potomac River in the northern section of Fairfax County. In the northern boundary of the park you will find remnants of the Patowmack Canal which was the first Canal to use locks to lower and raise boats. This park is not only great for hiking but rock/cliff climbing as well at Mather George above the Potomac. I personally don't rock or cliff climb, but thought that this was useful information and it's fun to see someone doing it just as long as they don't fall of course. One of the park's trails actually goes to the top of Mather George and passes the falls and a dam. The river is very rough water and considered to be class 5-6 on a difficulty scale by the International Scale of Difficulty. Entrance to the river above the falls from the Virginia side is illegal. There are several viewing platforms within the park that allows you to see wonderful views of the falls. There is said to be 15 miles of trails within this park, but we've only gone down the scenic trail that climbs Mather George. It was breathtaking, but I cannot wait to go back and discover more trails.

For detailed directions to Great Falls National Park from about any point you are at in DC or Virginia, go to this site http://www.nps.gov/grfa/planyourvisit/directions.htm