The area within a single day’s drive of Washington, D.C. is utterly rich with natural resources for recreation and industry. Host to mountainous Appalachia, seasonal beaches on the warm Atlantic, the city itself lies on one of the mighty rivers of North America that empties into the largest estuary in the United States and once …
Janes Island State Park is on the bay side of the Maryland Eastern Shore, offering 30 miles of salt marsh water trails and 7 miles of sandy beaches accessible only by boat. Date(s) 2021-09-03 to 06 Type Weekend Trip Activities Beach, Boating, Car Camping Transport 3 hours by Car (from DC Chinatown) Conditions Partly Cloudy …
Trip Report: 2021-09 Janes Island State Park, MD Read More »
On the face of Green Mountain, a synclinal ridge that separates Fort Valley and Little Fort Valley lies a network of trails maintained by a dedicated volunteer group, running through the Virginia wilderness. Access to this part of the National Forest is a little out of the way and much of what I make use …
Trip Report: 2021-05 George Washington National Forest, Lee District, VA Read More »
White Grass Ski Touring Center is a cross-country ski resort about three hours outside of the DC metropolitan area. Nestled right outside of the Dolly Sods Wilderness and the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the resort is uniquely positioned to access hundreds of miles of trails across the Canaan Valley for virtually unlimited exploration during …
Trip Report: 2020-12 White Grass Ski Touring Center, WV Read More »
Sugarloaf Mountain is a monadnock, an isolated small mountain that rises abruptly from level farmland in Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. It is described to be either an outlier of Catoctin Mountain, or the root remnant of an ancient Appalachian land mass. Privately owned by the Stronghold Corporation, the mountain park is open to …
Meneka Peak is one of the peaks on Green Mountain, a synclinal ridge that separates Fort Valley and Little Fort Valley, frequently called a “valley within a valley” as the entire area lies within the region between the two arms of the Blue Ridge mountains in this part of the Shenandoah Valley. The peak itself …
The Dolly Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest is located in eastern West Virginia, just north of Seneca Rocks. It hosts a unique biome, well known for its open expanses of sphagnum bogs, heath shrubs, and stunted red spruce on its windswept open-topped mountain meadows. The high altitude draws foliage seekers in early fall, …
Assateague Island National Seashore is operated by your National Parks Service. It offers great opportunities for wildlife and nature lovers, fishermen, and families to enjoy a treasured natural resource. Assateague is renowned for its native wild horses, diminutive in stature as an adaptation to the nutrient sparse brush on this barrier island. This location is …
Trip Report: 2020-06 Assateague Island National Seashore, MD Read More »
Seneca Rocks is a unique rock formation in the unparalleled beauty and mountains of West Virginia. Come along with me on a day trip through the mountain heart of the state and a neat point of interest on the ride home that’ll take you back to one of the good memories of a time lost …
Trip Report: 2020-08 Seneca Rocks, WV and Stephens City, VA Read More »
Janes Island State Park is a lesser-known strip of public land on the bay side of the Maryland Eastern Shore , just outside of the lights and attractions of the coastline, but it has a beach of its own and a bit of Maryland history. Catch a crab or a ferry to Smith Island. Or …
Trip Report: 2020-09 Janes Island State Park, MD Read More »
