est. 2017
In order to celebrate their birthday, all National Parks sites had free entry today. I hope you all were luckier than me and had a chance to #optoutside instead of sitting behind a computer all day (regretting not playing hooky!)
Just a heads up– this loop is no walk in the park! The constant inclines and declines here are no joke (maybe 5-10% of the trail is actually level?!)! AT Thru-Hikers often include this as one of the toughest parts of the entire Appalachian Trail! Hiking Upward has the elevation gain of 3,960 feet, but I’ve read the actual change in elevation is about 7,000 feet! So I definitely recommend you be in decent shape (and bring lots of water or a water filter to fill up at the creeks!).
DC may be a small city of only 68 square miles, but that doesn’t limit the number of places to explore here. One of my favorite parts of this city is that no matter where you are, you are never too far from a park or some other green space. As an outsider to DC, you may think of the National Mall when it comes to green space. Or if you live here… Rock Creek Park or Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park may come to mind. However, my favorite hidden gem in DC when I’m craving nature is the National Arboretum.