It’s thrilling to be back on the trail after such a long absence. A friend wanted to scout out a hike on a fantastic trail just outside of Washington D.C. Along the Potomac River is the National Park Service Great Falls Park. This park covers both the Maryland and the Virginia sides of the river.
The Billy Goat Trail on the Maryland side is well known for its rock scramble along the water. Next to the Old Rag Mountain Hike in Shenandoah and the Mason Dixon Trail in Pennsylvania to Maryland this is just as fantastic.
The trail snakes through the woods with rocky terrain and sections of boulder scrambling. Paralleling the C&O Canal the trail is abundant with wildlife. Multiple birds including Cedar Waxwings, Yellow Throat Warblers, Red Eye Vireo, Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, Eastern Phoebes, Wood and Hermit Thrushes, woodpeckers and even a Louisiana Waterthrush.
White Tailed Deer calmly walked through the forest, accustomed to mankind, along with many lizards, turtles, black squirrels, chipmunks and yes..a snake. I could have done without the snake. I don’t like snakes. I just assume that all snakes are poisonous and I prefer to run away from them.
This little guy was in a pool of water within the boulder scramble. His head facing this small rock that I would HAVE to put my foot on to continue past the pool. He wasn’t too pleased that someone was coming close to his home. I rushed past, but then he really started to get pissed and started to coil in the water as if to strike. Alas, my friend had to go around the really hard way to avoid him.
The scenery along the trail is nothing short of spectacular. Whether you’re walking along the C&O Canal, or high on the rocks overlooking the Potomac River. It is mid-May and all of the wild flowers were in bloom. For more wildflowers in Maryland, check out this great website: http://uswildflowers.com/wfquery.php?State=MD
So we get to “Section A” which is the boulder scramble of this nine-mile hike. Halfway through the scramble, we come across this sign.
It was a really hot and muggy day, but as hardy trail girls, we were ready to tackle the second part of the trail. Come and scramble the rocks with me.
The Great Falls Park on both the Maryland and Virginia sides are popular with hikers, rock climbers, kayak and white water rafters. While we were walking along the water’s edge, we happened to catch some white water rafters in the water. It appeared that their boat had capsized. Although they may have been practicing retrievals as well.
The boulders that we scrambled were works of art themselves. It is truly a wonderful hike, and an oasis within the hubbub of a busy metropolis. Sure, you are never far away from the city noise sometimes, but it is a hidden eden within a city.
Categories: 2013 Project 365, Birds, Flowers, Foot Prints, history, Maryland Area Hikes, Nature, travel, Washington DC
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
Great – really like this post… 🙂
Thanks Drake ! Wish you could have been there with me.
Wonderful pictures! 🙂
Thank you so much Fatima ! Hope all is well with you.
Now that’s my kind of place! Birds, flowers, all types of wildlife, beautiful scenery, and multiple ways to get around. On a hot day, I’d be one of the kayakers, I’d save the hiking for cool days. Thank you for the info, and of course, your wonderful photos.
Thanks Jerry ! In spite of it being a very busy place during the weekends, nature holds on.
I could run up to see those flowers, Emily! 😉
Now that is something I’d like to see.
Looks like an amazing location Emily! Thanks for the pics and taking me along on the hike!
It is my pleasure. Certainly different than your lovely marsh. No gators here. 🙂
OH the gold prospector in me likes to see those bowls in the bedrock! Sadly I am NOT A BILLY GOAT!
They weren’t too deep and would be easy to explore. But that snake would probably discourage me from checking them out.
Great Place to Explore – Beautiful Captures – makes me want to escape to nature right now:) Happy Day!
I hope you did get out there and enjoy mother nature for me Renee. 🙂
I will be taking advantage of mother nature on this long weekend coming up:)
Oh Emily – your are the ultimate adventurer. Amazing photos.
Thanks Rebecca. This is certainly a favorite. Such incredible scenery.
I love hiking the Billy Goat Trail! It’s definitely a local favorite for me. Makes me want to go out and see the flowers. What kind of lizard is the rough-scaled one? I saw one of those out on a trail in Shenandoah River State Park last weekend. This weekend I will be in the Nassawango Creek Preserve on the Eastern Shore. Have you ever been there? Thanks for sharing the great photos!
The wildflowers were awesome Mark. Well worth the effort. Have no idea about the lizard though. He was pretty cool. Nope, haven’t heard of Nassawango. Good luck with the bugs!
No bugs this weekend! Maybe the cool weather is helping. I was told the tannin in the river keeps the mosquitos from layimg eggs. The campfire definately helps too.
Looks like it’s a great place for a trek & wonderful photo opportunities! Great shots! Not fond of snakes either! 😦 Think I would’ve had to go the long way round & not even attempt to go past it! 🙂
I almost did, but where’s the fun in that? 🙂
You’re a braver gal than me… snakes & spiders are deal breakers for me! 🙂
That looks like a super hike! And I like snakes 😉
Now you are someone I need to take on hikes with me. I’m so scared of them ! I saw two this past week. I could have used your help!
You’d have to deal with all the spiders though…
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Thank you for sharing this with your readers.
Wow Emily I love this series of photographs of your hike – the view down in the first is a spectacular find and gives us a fantastic perspective. I how cool that you were able to capture such creepy crawlers, although I am partial to the lizard.
You are so kind Mary. It’s hard to mess up photographing such a beautiful and alive place. There was a skink I was trying to capture but he kept hiding from me. 🙂
Just beautiful! I LOVE to see those signs… “Difficult Trail”! Yay! What a wonderful place.
Isn’t that a great sign? Funny, you’re the only one that noticed it. 🙂
Wow! A hidden treasure! Spectacular photos!
Thanks Denise ! I so appreciate you visiting and commenting. It’s wonderful to meet you and hope to see you back soon.
Beautiful photos and great blog, Emily. So many places to discover in this area. I’ll have to add this one to my list. I don’t like snakes either though.
Oh we would be in trouble them. Two girls that hate snakes. It’s a great place and it’s easy to get to. You don’t have to do all of the trail either. You can enjoy the C&O Canal path.
That is one – straight – drop!