The Outdoor Playground for Our Nation's Capital

When it comes to satisfying the sports enthusiast, Montgomery County, Maryland, the gateway region to our nation’s capital, would be hard to beat.  The county is located between the beautiful Potomac River on its western boundary and the Patuxent River on its eastern boundary, with an abundance of state and regional parks dotting the area. In fact, there are 417 parks, covering over 37,000 acres, managed by Montgomery County, and thousands of acres of parks inside Washington, DC, as well. You can be sure that if you’re looking for things to do in DC, then you’ll never be at a loss for outdoor activities of which many are either in the capital or just a short drive away!

For the cyclist, you can easily complete a century ride without ever leaving the county. With over 90 miles of designated bike lanes, bike-friendly shoulders, and separated bike lanes, along with nearly 70 miles of signed, shared roadway, and more than 250 miles of paved paths, you can put in a 100-mile ride without ever seeing the same scenery more than once. Though the concentration of trails is in proximity to Washington, DC, you can easily traverse the county from south to north along the stunning Potomac Heritage Trail. One can cover 50 miles, in one direction, along the gorgeous landscape of the Potomac River without ever leaving the county. Finally, you don’t even need to own a bike, since the DC area is serviced by the Capital Bikeshare program, which puts over 3,000 bikes at your disposal for rental.

Maybe two feet, rather than two wheels, is your mode of transit for outdoor activities. If that’s the case, then whether you hike, jog, or run, there’s a managed trail for you to enjoy. The county maintains 31 picturesque trails, which vary in the intensity required to cover them, from the casual hard-surfaced, flat path to more rigorous challenges along natural surface trails that can exceed 15 miles and more. On the more casual side, there are miles and miles of flat, paved paths throughout the city parks as well as outside the city, where the county maintains HeartSmart Trails of generally a mile or less in length, following a level, paved path. For the more adventurous hiker and runner, there’s a plethora of what the county calls Best Natural Areas. These are wild sites, such as wetlands and forests, with a diversity of native plants and spectacular topography in some of the county’s best natural areas. Finally, if your mode is four feet rather than two, you’ll find that many of the trails also accommodate horseback riding as well.

Could it be that your outdoor action includes bringing along a bag of clubs? Well, the county and the city have you covered there as well. The county maintains nine public courses and the city has dozens of courses, of which three are publicly owned within the city itself. That’s enough to put you on a different course every day for at least a month! One of the busiest and most striking of those courses is the East Potomac Park Golf Course, located in East Potomac Park in the heart of DC. This course has something for everyone, including an 18-hole and two 9-hole courses, a two-tiered, 100-stall driving range, and a miniature golf course. Of course, it has all the amenities as well, such as putting greens, three practice holes, and a pro shop and snack bar. Then, there are the sights, which are nothing short of spectacular, and include a view of the Washington Monument. A golfer never had it so good!

If a racket is what you’re never without, the county and city are also awash in tennis courts. The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation maintains over 130 tennis courts throughout all of its wards, as well as their showcase facility, the 48,000 square feet Southeast Tennis Learning Center. The county, for its part, maintains 127 regional, local and neighborhood parks with courts, which are all free-of-charge. If you just picked up a racket and need instruction, the county covers that as well, including private lessons by county-approved instructors.

Of course, these are only a few of the more popular outdoor activities in which you can immerse yourself in Montgomery County.  It is truly an outdoor playground for our nation’s capital, and with so many hundreds of parks, anyone living in and around the area will have access to plenty of outdoor activities and things to do in DC!