CAPITOL CRESCENT TRAIL LETTERBOX:
WASHINGTON, DC
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted:
June 5, 2002
Length:
Capitol Crescent Trail; 7 ¼ miles
Georgetown Branch Trail; 3 miles
Rock Creek Park Trail (from the Georgetown Branch Trail to the
Potomac River
); 10 miles
Bethesda
to Letterbox; 4 ½ miles
Georgetown
to Letterbox; 2 ¾ miles
Fletcher’s Boathouse to Letterbox; ½ mile
Difficulty:
Easy. Paved surface with a downhill
grade from
Bethesda
to
Georgetown
.
Moderate. Paved surface with an uphill grade from
Georgetown
to
Bethesda
.
Directions:
Wisconsin Avenue
runs from I-495 in the north, all the way
to the
Potomac River
south in
Georgetown
. In Bethesda, at the junction of
Wisconsin
and Bethesda Avenues is a metered parking lot where you can access both
the Capitol Crescent Trail and the Georgetown Branch Trail. The Capitol
Crescent Trail heads southwest, away from downtown, while the Georgetown
Branch Trail heads northeast across
Bethesda Ave.
through the Wisconsin Ave Tunnel. In Georgetown, take
Wisconsin Ave south
to the end and turn right. You’ll be underneath Route 29. There is some
metered parking here. Continue underneath the elevated highway, west, until you
cross under the
Francis
Scott
Key
Bridge
where the paved trail starts. To access Fletchers Boathouse,
simply follow
Canal Road north
along the
Potomac River
for a couple of miles and the parking lot will be on your left. Bike, canoe and
boat rentals are available here.
To access the Trail via the Metro;
Take the Red Line up to Bethesda Station. Take the elevator up to
street level (bikes must use the elevators) and take a right down
Montgomery Lane
. Turn left on
Woodmont Ave
which will bring you to the junction of
Bethesda Ave.
The metered parking lot is across the street, while the trail through the
Tunnel is too your left. Look for the green trail signs. Its only a little over
a ¼ mile from the Metro to the trail. For information about taking your bike on
the Metro visit; BIKE--METRO
. For other Metro information visit; METRO
.
The Capitol Crescent Trail runs along
the route of the old Georgetown Spur, a B & O Railroad Line
completed in 1910, from
Georgetown
to
Silver Spring
. Service was discontinued in 1985. The trail is paved from
Georgetown
, where it runs parallel to the
Potomac River
and C & O Canal Towpath, then curves inland to
Bethesda
. From
Bethesda
towards
Silver Spring
the trail consists of stone dust and is named the Georgetown Branch
Trail. Only 3 miles of this trail has been completed. In between, the
Wisconsin Avenue Tunnel connects the two trails. Rock Creek Park runs
from
Maryland
down through DC and is accessible from the Georgetown Branch Trail. This
is a paved trail with some on-road sections in DC (that are closed to traffic on
weekends). You can ride this trail from the Georgetown Branch Trail all
the way to the
Potomac River
for a distance of 10 miles. You also pass the start of the C & O Canal
Trail that will bring you back to the Capitol Crescent Trail if you
wish to do a loop ride. For more information on this ride See; Rock
Creek Park. For more information check out; CAPITOL
CRESCENT TRAIL , BIKE
WASHINGTON or WASHINGTON
BIKE ASSOC. . If you want to do these trails without any hills, you can
start up in
Bethesda
. Then simply take the metro, along with your bike, back to
Bethesda
. Or, take the metro up to
Bethesda
and leave your car in DC. For more information about biking the Metro, check
out the links above. See also; Georgetown
Branch Trail Letterbox
and Chesapeake
& Ohio Canal .
Note:
The MTA has presented plans to convert the old Georgetown Branch rail bed into a
transit line running from Bethesda through Silver Spring. This would require the
re-routing of the current Georgetown Branch Trail. For more information visit; MTA's
Purple Line .
Starting in
Bethesda; Near the metered parking lot, there is a large trail map, benches and
a water fountain. The Capitol Crescent Trail heads southwest, away from
downtown, while the Georgetown Branch Trail heads northeast across
Bethesda Ave
through the Wisconsin Ave Tunnel. There are mileage markers along the trail,
but they start from
Silver Spring
. The trail has a slight downhill gradient all the way. After 2 ¾ miles you
cross over another paved trail.
Note;
This trail runs from
Massachusetts Avenue
down to
MacArthur Boulevard
.
At 3 miles you go through the Dalecarlia
Tunnel, a Roman Arch brick tunnel, 18 feet wide by 340 feet long, built in
1910. As you go through the tunnel you’ll see "stepbacks", recessed
areas that allowed people to avoid being hit by a train if they were caught in
the tunnel. A ¼ mile after passing through the tunnel you come to another bench
area with a water fountain and map. You then cross over an iron bridge at the Washington
Aqueduct. The downhill gradient becomes a bit steeper at this point. Soon
you will start to parallel the
C & O
Canal
to your right. After 4 ½ miles you pass over
Canal Road
and the canal on an old railroad trestle. After crossing over, a dirt trail on
the right goes down to the canal trail. Take this trail part way down, but do
not cross under the bridge. Instead, turn left at the bottom of the stairs and
spot two trees growing from one, just off the path. In the hollow base, under a
rock and board is the Capitol Crescent Trail Letterbox. Continuing along
the trail another ½ mile brings you to Fletcher’s Boathouse. Here, you
can access the C & O Canal Towpath, rent bikes, canoes or
boats and get refreshments. The trail parallels the C & O Canal on
its left and the
Potomac River
on its right, for about a mile. It then pulls away from the canal and heads
down along the river. After about 7 ¼ miles the trail ends at a road, crosses
through a stone arch and under the
Key Bridge
and the elevated Route 29 Highway in
Georgetown.
Note;
The National Park Service is currently building the Georgetown Waterfront
Park along the Potomac River. This will provide a link between the
end of the Capitol Crescent Trail and the start of the Rock Creek Park
Trail, as well as a direct link to Georgetown and DC. The first section has
just opened in October, 2008. The final end date is projected to be in 2010.
HH
CLICK
HERE FOR MAP
CLICK
HERE FOR BETHESDA STATION METRO MAP
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
DECEMBER 29, 2008
TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION
CLICK HERE
BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE SURE TO READ THE
WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER
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