Great Falls on the Potomac

Great Falls on the Potomac

Great Falls Park, Virginia. 9200 Old Dominion Drive, 20 minutes from downtown. The Potomac tears through a series of cascades and rock shelves, dropping 76 feet in less than a mile. The roar reaches you before the view does.

The Falls View overlook puts you above the torrent — basalt walls, white water, spray lifting your hair. The River Trail follows the gorge downstream through a narrower path where the canyon walls rise in browns and greens. Swallows skim the surface. Late spring for dramatic floodwater; fall for maples blazing against gray rock.

Parking fills on weekends — arrive early. Falls View loop is mostly paved and easy; River Trail has rocky stretches and stairs. No swimming in the river. Watch footing near the edge — the stone is slick. $20 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass.