Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
6.5 h fully dark
Hikes
Easy–Strenuous
🟢 🔴
Open today
Open
Entrance
Free entry
Trail Closure at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve (McLean, Virginia)
Scott’s Run Nature Preserve in McLean, Virginia will close, beginning February 16th, for an urgent sewer project to renew and rehabilitate the Scott's Run Siphon wastewater facility. All trails and parking lots in the park are closed through July 4, 2026.
Official NPS alert →Trail Closure at Veterans Park at Balls Bluff (Leesburg, Virginia)
Veterans Park in Leesburg, Virginia, is closed for park improvements. All trails in the park are closed into late summer 2026.
Official NPS alert →The Potomac River corridor is rich in both history and recreation, offering a chance to both explore your heritage and choose your adventure along the way. Start your journey here!
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
The Trail is open year-round, weather permitting. Our partners who manage specific sections of the trails may have seasonal openings and closings. Please refer to our Operating Hours & Seasons page for more information.
Generally open:
winterspringsummerfallHours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 301-739-4200
✉ POHE_information@nps.govConditions
Weather now: ☀️ Clear, 88°F
🌧️ 91°/74°
🌧️ 90°/73°
🌦️ 97°/71°
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Explore the Civil War Defenses of Washington Hiker-Biker Trail · 7 mi
Multi-Park Loop · 10 mi
Bike the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in Prince William Forest Park · 1.4 mi · <p>From the Pine Grove Picnic Area to the end of Burma Road it is roughly 5 miles, making the roundtrip distance close to 10 miles. The elevation gain is roughly 450 feet each way (900 feet total).</p>
Skiing and Snowshoeing the C&O Canal Towpath
Explore the Trails at Meadowood · 15 mi
Skiing and Snowshoeing the Great Allegheny Passage
Bicycle Confluence to Big Savage Mountain · 46 mi · <p>Consider an overnight in Meyersdale to break the trip into two days. </p>
Bicycle the Great Allegheny Passage · 70 mi
Visitor centers
Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center - Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Williamsport Visitor Center - Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Accessibility
308 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
Passport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 10 Canal Quarters
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 21 Canal Quarters
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 22 Canal Quarters
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 25 Canal Quarters
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 28 Canal Quarters
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 49 Canal Quarters
🎫 C&O Canal Lockhouse 6 Canal Quarters
🎫 National Colonial Farm
🎫 The Thomas Stone House
Places to see
122nd New York Volunteer Infantry Monument
audio
15-inch Rodman Cannon
audio
150th Ohio National Guard Infantry Monument
audio
25th New York Volunteer Cavalry Monument
audio
4th Infantry Division Memorial
audio
98th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument
audio
Abner Cloud House
audio
Abner Cloud Mill
audio
Accokeek Creek
audio
Accokeek Creek Boardwalk
audio
Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd
audio
American Armored Forces Memorial
audioAudio & media
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Learn more
Beavers can get a bad rap. Some people consider them pests because they dam up waterways and take up a lot of space. But beaver activity creates habitat for a diversity of plants and animals and helps improve water quality. So it’s worth it to work with beavers and coexist. Beaver are ecosystems engineers that have a positive ripple effect on our environment.
Memorials for the Future, is a competition that aims to rethink the way we develop and experience memorials in Washington, D.C.
The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail is comprised of a developing network of locally managed, land and water trails between the mouth of the Potomac River and the Allegheny Highlands. The trail passes through portions of five regions with distinct physical features and landscapes in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Residents and visitors can explore a variety of historic and natural landscapes within the trail corridor.
In celebration of the 55th anniversary of the National Trails System Act, learn more about these significant trails and their history.
Learn about current and projected rates of sea level rise in the greater DC area, based on local water level data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Follow these tips to make your visit to Fort Washington Park memorable.
Planning a visit to Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm? Follow these ten tips for a fantastic farm day!
Make the most of your visit to Piscataway Park with these ten tips.
How Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
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