To avoid the entry fee ($20 a car) and a sometimes long line to get in, you might leave your car at Riverbend Park in Virginia, about two and a half miles north of the entrance to Great Falls Park (suggested donation: $2). There are overlooks on both the Maryland and Virginia sides of the Potomac the Virginia overlook, in Great Falls Park (a National Park Service site), provides a better view of the falls in their entirety. The raging torrent drops 47 feet over a series of slanted rock walls. No list of waterfalls in the area would be complete without Great Falls. Photograph by Rob The Greatest: Great Falls There are two parking areas the second lot you come to when going west on Georgetown Pike is closest to the trailhead.Īfter the hike: Try the brick-oven pizza at Rocco’s Italian Restaurant in McLean. The hike is popular all year-round, so you’ll want to get there early to find a spot for your car. But once you reach the falls, you’ll need to stay out of the water: The current on the Potomac here can be very strong and dangerous. On the way to the waterfall, you’ll cross a stream by walking on a row of round concrete pads. Several longer loop hikes can also be created by connecting various trails-all of them well marked-in the nature reserve. This beautiful small waterfall adjacent to the Potomac River can be reached easily via a simple one-mile trail. Serious hikers can try an 11-mile loop that continues downhill to a swimming hole (no views of the falls here) and returns via the Overall/Beecher Connector and the Beecher Ridge Trail.Īfter the hike: Hit Skyline Brewing, near the park’s Thornton Gap entrance, for what’s on tap that day-perhaps a Shenandoah Wheat or White House Honey Porter (so named because it’s the same recipe made in the White House kitchen under President Obama). It’s mostly downhill to the falls, but that means it’s an uphill trek back to the car. A little farther along the Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail, there’s a view of the bottom portion of the falls. A short side trail leads to a view of the top of the falls. The hike starts from the Hogback Overlook on Skyline Drive, at mile marker 21, and follows the Appalachian Trail to the Tuscarora–Overall Run Trail. With plentiful precipitation, though, it’s spectacular. Yet timing is everything: If there hasn’t been any recent rain, it can be a mere trickle. Overall Run Waterfall, at 93 feet, is the tallest in Shenandoah National Park. Where: Overall Run in Shenandoah National Park. (It requires a handicapped license or tag.)Īfter the hike: Take a dip in Hunting Creek Lake in Cunningham Falls State Park-the lake has two small beaches. For that, use the parking area on Foxville Road. The waterfall also can be viewed via a quarter-mile, handicapped-accessible boardwalk. Or combine the two trails to make a loop-start with the Cliff Trail and return via the Lower Cliff Trail. The longer Cliff Trail includes a few fun rock scrambles and is about three-quarters of a mile. From the main lot in the William Houck Area, you can take an easy, lower path of crushed gravel that’s only a half mile long. (The park advises against this.) There are two paths to the falls in Cunningham Falls State Park. Unlike a straight shower of water, a cascading waterfall meanders over sections of rock-inspiring some visitors to climb up the rocks to sit beneath the spray. Where: Cunningham Falls in Thurmont, Maryland.Īt 78 feet high, Cunningham Falls is Maryland’s highest cascading waterfall. After the hike: Sip some Sauvignon Blanc or Old Rag Red at Sharp Rock Vineyards in Sperryville.
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