Sport & Outdoor
Family FavoriteSmithsonian's National Zoo
FreeGiant pandas, elephants, and 2,000 animal residents in Rock Creek Park, one of America's best zoos, and it's free.
Photo: Cornflower123, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureFamily FavoriteFree
Rock Creek Park
Beach Dr NW, at Tilden St NW (Peirce Mill) · Washington, DC
Why you should go…
Rock Creek Park is a 1,754-acre wooded valley along Rock Creek, created by Congress in 1890 and run by the National Park Service. You can hike, bike or ride its trails, picnic, and play the park's golf course or rent a horse for a trail ride. Peirce Mill, a water-powered grist mill built in the 1820s, stands at Tilden Street and Beach Drive. The Nature Center and Planetarium building is closed until further notice for remediation.
- #urban park
- #hiking trails
- #national park service
- #historic mill
- #horseback riding
Good to know
General sport & outdoor guidance
Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.
Weather calls the shots
Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.
Shoes, water, sun cover
The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.
Parking and launches fill early
On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.
Daylight shrinks in shoulder season
Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.
What's around here?
The closest stops to Rock Creek Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
1.9 mi awayMore like this
- NightlifeFree
Adams Morgan
FreeBar-hop, eat and browse vintage and record shops along 18th Street and Columbia Road, lined with rowhouses and murals.
2.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Nightlife
- MuseumsLocal Gem
Saint John Paul II National Shrine
FreeA Washington DC shrine and museum dedicated to Pope John Paul II, with exhibits on his life and papacy.
2.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
- SightseeingIconic
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
FreeWalk through the largest Roman Catholic church in North America, with its mosaic domes, Crypt Church and dozens of chapels.
2.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
- Sport & OutdoorOutdoor Adventure
Key Bridge Boathouse
Under $25A Georgetown boathouse on the Potomac renting kayaks, canoes and paddleboards with guided tours available.
3.9 mi awayMore like this
- Sport & OutdoorIconic
National Mall
FreeWalk the long green lawn from the U.S. Capitol toward the Lincoln Memorial, past monuments, memorials and Smithsonian museums.
4.8 mi awayMore like this
