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The east end of this 0.9-mile trail begins on the west bank of Rock Creek, along the Parkway Trail,
which connects the Dumbarton Oaks Trail (trail H) and the
Rock Creek Trail (trail J). It heads northwest one block, then
emerges on
Rock Creek Drive. Turn left, and then immediately right on Normanstone Drive.
Walk up Normanstone Drive for three blocks and watch closely for a yellow/orange blaze on the west side of
the street after crossing the fourth bridge over Normanstone Creek. Here, the trail climbs a wooded
hill to Massachusetts Avenue. Cross Massachusetts Avenue and continue for one block on
Observatory Circle. There is a security gate for the Naval Observatory at the end of Observatory
Circle, and the trail continues immediately to the left of the gate, following a chain link fence before
dropping down to the foot of Whitehaven Street. Recently, a hiker noted: "With the increase in security in the area, one may get stopped
when entering Observatory Circle by a security guard. He let us through, but did ask if we had business in the area . . . we simply
explained that we were walking a trail."
The west end of the trail is at the foot of Whitehaven Street, one block east of Wisconsin Avenue.
At this point, there are connections to the Whitehaven Trail (trail
G),
which provides a route west toward the Potomac River, and the
Dumbarton Oaks
Trail (trail H), which provides an alternate route to Rock Creek Park.
You can enjoy a pleasant 3-mile loop hike beginning at the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro station by
walking down into Rock Creek Park, turning right on the Rock Creek
Trail
(trail J), and turning right, immediately before it crosses Rock Creek, onto the Parkway
Trail along the west side of Rock Creek. Then use the Normanstone Trail and the Dumbarton Oaks Trails (trail I) to loop back to your
starting point.
Metro Access: From the Woodley
Park/Zoo Metro station, walk south on either 24th Street or
Connecticut Avenue and go down into Rock Creek Park on the right (west) side of the Connecticut
Avenue bridge. Go right on the Rock Creek Trail (trail J).
Immediately
before it crosses Rock Creek, turn right on the Parkway Trail. The Normanstone trailhead is on the
right after less than one-quarter mile.
This 0.8-mile trail goes through the beautiful 27-acre Dumbarton Oaks Park, donated to the city in
1940 by former ambassador Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, who simultaneously gave their
mansion and gardens to Harvard University for a museum. The west end of the trail begins at the
foot of Whitehaven Street, one block east of Wisconsin Avenue. At this point, it connects to the Whitehaven Trail (trail G), which provides a route west toward
the
Potomac River, and the Normanstone Trail (trail H), which
provides an
alternate route to Rock Creek Park.
Use the trails closest to the stream in the valley. At the midpoint of the trail, it crosses Lovers Lane,
a trail that provides connections south to R Street
and Montrose Park, and north to Massachusetts Avenue, emerging at the west end of the bridge over
Rock Creek Park. Following Massachusetts Avenue, you can walk nine blocks down Embassy Row
to the Dupont Circle Metro station.
At Rock Creek, the trail goes
north for one-half mile along the west bank of Rock Creek (it is called the Parkway Trail at this
point), beneath Massachusetts Avenue and past an intersection with the Normanstone Trail (trail H), emerging onto the Rock
Creek Trail/Bike Path (trail J) where it crosses Rock Creek on a foot bridge, just below
the Taft Bridge carrying Connecticut Avenue over Rock Creek Park.
You can enjoy a pleasant 3-mile loop hike beginning at the Woodley Park/Zoo Metro station by
walking down into Rock Creek Park, turning right on the Rock Creek
Trail
(trail J), and turning right, immediately before it crosses Rock Creek, onto the Parkway
Trail along the west side of Rock Creek. Then use the Normanstone
(trail
H) and Dumbarton Oaks Trails to loop back to your starting point.
Metro Access: From the Woodley
Park/Zoo Metro station, walk south on either 24th Street or
Connecticut Avenue and go down into Rock Creek Park on the right (west) side of the Connecticut
Avenue bridge. Go right on the Rock Creek Trail (trail J).
Immediately
before it crosses Rock Creek, turn right on the Parkway Trail toward the Dumbarton Oaks and Normanstone trails. From the Dupont Circle Metro station, walk nine
blocks west
on Massachusetts Avenue. Immediately after crossing the Rock Creek Park bridge, turn left onto
the Lovers Lane trail.
The southern end of this trail is at the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River, at the east end of
the National Mall by the Lincoln Memorial. The Memorial Bridge provides a connection to the Mount
Vernon Bike Trail and other trails on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.
The Rock Creek Trail follows the east bank of the Potomac River past the Kennedy Performing Arts
Center and the Watergate, to the mouth of Rock Creek, at
Thompson's Boat Center, a distance of almost
1.5 miles. From here, it follows Rock Creek for 2.8 miles, passing the National Zoo, and extending
to the southern end of the Western Ridge Trail (Trail L) and
the Valley Trail (Trail N), both of which continue to the north end of
Rock
Creek Park.
Along the way, the trail provides connections to the C&O Canal Tow
Path
(trail B), and the Normanstone Trail (trail H) and Dumbarton Oaks Trail (trail I) via the Parkway trail.
Metro Access: From the Foggy Bottom
Metro station, walk south toward the Watergate on New
Hampshire Avenue, turn right (toward the river) on Virginia Avenue, and cross Rock Creek
Parkway. From the Dupont Circle Metro station, walk west four blocks on P Street. One block
after crossing over Rock Creek, turn left down into the park, along the roadway. From the Woodley
Park/Zoo Metro station, walk south on either 24th Street or Connecticut Avenue and go down into
Rock Creek Park on the right (west) side of the Connecticut Avenue bridge.
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