Along the Potomac: Mount Vernon, Great Falls and Harpers Ferry

Route description

Cross Memorial Bridge from the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery, where paths climb to Arlington House and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then follow the George Washington Memorial Parkway south along the river, through Old Town Alexandria, to Mount Vernon, about 25 km. Commercial vehicles are not allowed on the parkway, and parking in Washington is hard for RVs, so large rigs are better left at a campground outside the Beltway.

Mount Vernon deserves half a day: the mansion tour, the outbuildings and gardens, the museum, the tomb and the farm site by the river. Buy timed tickets ahead in spring, when school groups arrive. Then drive back north on the parkway, cross the Beltway and take VA-193, Georgetown Pike, to Great Falls Park, about an hour. Georgetown Pike is a narrow, winding historic road with no shoulders.

At Great Falls the Potomac pours over jagged rocks into the narrow Mather Gorge; the overlooks are a short walk from the visitor center, and the River Trail follows the cliff edge downstream. From there take VA-7 west to Leesburg, a colonial town with a walkable center, surrounded by the vineyards, orchards and horse farms of the Loudoun County hills.

Continue on VA-7 and VA-9 and follow US-340 to Harpers Ferry, about 40 minutes. Parking in the lower town is very limited, so use the national park visitor center lot and the shuttle bus. Walk to The Point, where the Shenandoah meets the Potomac, cross the footbridge to the C&O Canal towpath in Maryland or climb to Jefferson Rock on the Appalachian Trail. The trip is about 160 km.