GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL PARKWAY

VIRGINIA

The George Washington Memorial Parkway was designed to serve as a pastoral gateway to Washington, DC, bringing people closer to nature and history while welcoming visitors and serving as a commuter route. The G.W. Parkway, as Washington-area residents refer to it, has two main sections: the 25-mile Virginia section which runs from Mount Vernon south of Alexandria along the Potomac River to the Washington Beltway, northwest of the capital city, and in Maryland, the Clara Barton Parkway which parallels the Potomac River for seven miles. Driving the entire length of the G.W. Parkway, drivers can observe the changing nature of the Potomac River from tidewater to roaring falls, all within a major metropolitan area.

The first 16-mile leg opened to the public in 1932 with construction money from the Bureau of Public Roads. The Parkway was then proclaimed “America’s Most Modern Motorway.” Shortly after its opening, Congress gave the Parkway its current name, expanded its length and mission. In the 1950s and 1960s, construction on the parkway extended northward, traversing more difficult terrain than the original southern leg. In 1970, 6.8 miles of the Maryland section was completed. Today, the Parkway is a 7,600-acre national park protecting the landscape and native habitat of the Potomac shoreline. There are more than 25 sites associated with George Washington’s life.

DID YOU KNOW

• Theodore Roosevelt Island, a unit of the Parkway, is an 88-acre preserve of marshland and forest providing a serene location in the middle of one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the nation.
• Besides George Washington, two more U.S. Presidents are honored within the parkway’s borders -- at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove and at Theodore Roosevelt Island.
• The home of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton and the site of the 19th-century Chautauqua Assembly, now called Glen Echo Park, are parkway management units located on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.
• Sections of George Washington’s tidal Potomac farmland are contained in G.W. Parkway property as Riverside Park, Fort Hunt Park and Collingwood picnic area.
• Thousands of bicyclists use the Mount Vernon Trail, which runs 18.5 miles from Mount Vernon to the Key Bridge, a connection into Washington, D.C.

DON'T MISS ATTRACTIONS

• Great Falls Park, Virginia, provides a dramatic and panoramic overlook of the most wild and rugged series of falls on the Potomac River. Located nearby are a Visitor Center, trails, picnic areas and snack bar.
• The U.S. Marine Corp War Memorial and Netherlands Carillon contain a statue depicting the World War II flag raising on Iwo Jima honoring the sacrifices of U.S. Marines since 1775. The 50-bell carillon is a gift from the Dutch citizens to the United States in appreciation of support during World War II.
• Providing a panoramic view of Washington, D.C. from its front portico, Arlington House was the home of Robert E. Lee and his wife Mary Custis Lee from 1831 to 1861. Surrounded by Arlington National Cemetery (managed by the Department of the Army), Arlington House visually links the Lee and Lincoln Memorials, connected literally via Arlington Memorial Bridge and into the Cemetery via Memorial Avenue. The Women in Military Service for America Memorial is located at the end of Memorial Avenue at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Several smaller memorials grace the avenue’s flanks.
• Belle Have Park/Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve provides visitors with trails, a picnic area and a marina. Dyke Marsh is a swamp forest and cattail marsh and provides a nesting or feeding area to more than 250 species of birds, including herons, ospreys and red-winged blackbirds.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PRIORITIES

A Cooperative Agreement partnership among the National Park Service, Montgomery County, MD, and the State of Maryland is underway to stabilize and rehabilitate Glen Echo Park. The $18 million agreement commits each partner to a $2 million per year expenditure over a three-year period to rehabilitate 20 structures (nine listed on the National Register of Historic Places) as well as repairs and improvements to the cultural landscape and area paving.

A repair-and-rehabilitation project of approximately $600,000 is underway at the Overlook at Great Falls Park, VA. This project will significantly improve both the experience of visitors to the park and the condition of natural and cultural resources in the most heavily used area of the park. The new system of trails, walkways, overlooks, and other facilities will provide all park visitors with enhanced opportunities to appreciate the park’s spectacular scenery, in a manner that will significantly lessen the safety concerns that currently exist with visitors hiking along the shoreline adjacent to the falls. When completed, the project will help reduce off-trail use, improving visitor safety, and minimizing damage to the fragile natural and historic resources in those areas.

Click a photo to view larger version.

LINKS:

George Washington Memorial Parkway»

Partnering & Managing for Excellence Report»

Previously Featured Parks»