Starting Location Anglers Parking, 10790 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac MD 20854
Milage 4-miles
Surface Gravel/paved
Be aware construction may still be taking place on MacArthur Blvd. – please allow an additional 15 minutes for travel to this location.
Meet at the parking lot across from Old Angler’s Inn: 10790 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac MD 20854. Please do NOT park at the Inn; even though they are closed on Mondays, stay on the west side of MacArthur. If this lot is full, there is a larger second lot just up the hill on the same side of the road, connected by a dirt driveway, but also accessible from MacArthur. We will have Explorers signs at both MacArthur Blvd entrances.
Our walk/hike is about a 4-mile loop using the Towpath and the Olmstead Island Bridges and Boardwalks to the Great Falls Overlook and then returning via Berma Road. From the parking lot, we will first cross the canal on an open, wooden bridge just below the lot, and follow the Towpath passing through striking Widewater up to just past milepost 14, where we will take the trail spur that crosses over a series of bridges and boardwalks that ends after about a 0.25 mile at the Great Falls Overlook. We then return to the Towpath and go back south about 1/3 mile to the large Stop Gate wooden bridge where we will go up the stairs and cross over the bridge to access our return on Berma Road, a mostly shaded, old gravel road (now more of a trail), closed to motorized traffic, that looks down on the towpath. The Berma Road path ends back at the parking lot.
Explorers have the option of foregoing the Great Falls Overlook and just turning around at the Stop Gate bridge – reducing the round trip to about 3 miles. For those wanting a longer walk, you can continue another 1/3 mile past the Olmstead Island Bridges on the Towpath up to the Great Falls Tavern Visitors Center (and rest facilities).
