Alexandria has an abundance of National Parks within driving distance. These parks are perfect for exploring with your family, your friends or even on a solo venture. Lace up your hiking boots, pack your gear and get ready to start your own journey…
1. Belle Isle
Lancaster, Virginia | Drive Time: 2.5 Hours
This state park boasts eight different types of wetlands, inhabited by bald eagles and white-tailed deer that visitors can see on a hike or bike ride along nearly 10 miles of trails traversing the park. During summer months, the park offers guided canoe trips. Nearby, you’ll find the Bel Air House overlooking the Rappahannock River. Designed in 1942 by an architectural historian from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, this home is a reproduction built using materials sourced from historic buildings in the area.
2. Grayson Highlands
Abingdon, Virginia | Drive Time: 6 Hours
This park is a wondrous display of scenery, set near Virginia's two tallest peaks, Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, along the Appalachian Trail. Hikers will enjoy its many miles of hiking trails that lead to such natural spectacles as waterfalls and the surrounding beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, as well as sightings of the wild horses that inhabit the area. Park goers who love flowers will want to go the first few weeks of June, when pink rhododendrons are in full bloom along the Rhododendron Gap Trail.
3. Natural Bridge
Natural Bridge, Virginia | Drive Time: 3.5 Hours
A fantastic display of natural architecture, Natural Bridge is a massive 215-foot limestone arch estimated to be hundreds of millions of years old. A riverside trail leads to Lace Falls, a spectacular waterfall that’ll make you want to take all the photos. At night, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in special Dark Sky Night programs, led by park rangers and astronomy volunteers who teach you all about the night sky and its many constellations.
4. Prince William Forest
Triangle, Virginia | Drive Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
This oasis is less than an hour’s drive from DC, making it perfect for a short getaway. Originally called Chopawamsic Recreation Area, the park became the site of a children's “relief” camp in 1936 during the Great Depression. It was renamed Prince William Forest Park in 1948. Today, the 15,000-acre piedmont forest boasts 37 miles of hiking trails and 21 miles of bicycle-accessible roads and trails, campgrounds and over 100 cabins.
5. Patapsco Valley
Ellicott City, Maryland | Drive Time: 2 Hours
With 200 miles of scenic trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding and a river for fishing or canoeing, Maryland’s oldest state park is a great place to explore and be active. The park also features historic ruins, including the Elk Ridge Furnace, which produced cannons and ammunition during the Revolutionary War, as well as those of the former riverside mill town of Guilford.
6. Gambrill
Frederick, Maryland | Drive Time: 2 Hours
Nestled in the Catoctin Mountains, you’ll find 16 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding, picnic areas and a freshwater pond filled with fish. From the elevated points of High Knob, you’ll enjoy breathtaking views of the Shenandoah Mountains.
7. Greenbelt
Greenbelt, Maryland | Drive Time: 30 Minutes
With a 172-site campground, three picnic areas and nine miles of trails for hiking, running and mountain biking, the park offers a perfect escape from the city life. Special events, tours and lectures give insight into local wildlife and their patterns, habitats and benefits, so park goers can immerse themselves in both the educational aspects as well as the restorative.
8. Assateague
Berlin, Maryland | Drive Time: 3.5 Hours
Maryland’s only oceanfront park, Assateague State Park is located on a barrier island and offers two miles of spectacular beaches, as well as secluded coves perfect for exploring by canoe or kayak. Marsh areas in the park are home to deer, water birds and wild horses.
9. Oxon Cove Park + Oxon Hill Farm
Oxon Hill, Maryland | Drive Time: 30 Minutes
The park and farm offer hands-on programs and other activities that give a peek into farm life and the ways it has changed over the centuries—as well as how the park evolved from a plantation home during the War of 1812 to a hospital farm and, finally, into a national park.
10. Piscataway
Fort Washington, Maryland | Drive Time: 45 Minutes
Home to bald eagles, beavers, deer, foxes, ospreys and a great deal of other wildlife, Piscataway Park offers access to a public fishing pier and two boardwalks over fresh water tidal wetlands, as well as numerous nature trails, meadows and woodland areas. Also on the parklands is National Colonial Farm, a historic farm museum that demonstrates 18th century agriculture and a certified organic farm used for demonstrational and educational purposes.