Years ago, while driving back from Mt. Vernon I notice what appeared to be a massive fort on the other side of the river. I checked around, and learned the site was appropriately named Fort Washington Park.
The location didn't get much in the way of mentions (guide books appeared to ignored it; nobody every suggested it), so while it was on my To Do list, it wasn't high on it.
Today, I finally dragged my visiting parents and brother and sister-in-law to the park.
Holy smokes! We have a friggin castle just 20 minutes from my house! OK, maybe it's not a castle, maybe it's a stone fort. But still, it's huge, and impressive looking and you can roam all around it.
How is this place not more well known?? It seems like the perfect place to bring kids to see a giant structure and get steeped in history.
Besides the fort, there are a number of other military buildings to oggle and trails to hike. The Ranger at the visitor center did a terrific job of explaining the site, and there were a few folks in costume in the fort to explain further details. I was bummed that we couldn't stay for the Ranger lead tour at 2pm.
We saw nearly half a dozen deer today, and a few potentially interesting birds. You can also fish in the park. So if the the man made structures don't do it for you, there's always the wildlife.
This place is definitely a hidden gem. It may have take me nearly 14 years to discover it, but I'm glad I finally did.
Even more photos
The location didn't get much in the way of mentions (guide books appeared to ignored it; nobody every suggested it), so while it was on my To Do list, it wasn't high on it.
Today, I finally dragged my visiting parents and brother and sister-in-law to the park.
Holy smokes! We have a friggin castle just 20 minutes from my house! OK, maybe it's not a castle, maybe it's a stone fort. But still, it's huge, and impressive looking and you can roam all around it.
How is this place not more well known?? It seems like the perfect place to bring kids to see a giant structure and get steeped in history.
Besides the fort, there are a number of other military buildings to oggle and trails to hike. The Ranger at the visitor center did a terrific job of explaining the site, and there were a few folks in costume in the fort to explain further details. I was bummed that we couldn't stay for the Ranger lead tour at 2pm.
We saw nearly half a dozen deer today, and a few potentially interesting birds. You can also fish in the park. So if the the man made structures don't do it for you, there's always the wildlife.
This place is definitely a hidden gem. It may have take me nearly 14 years to discover it, but I'm glad I finally did.
Even more photos
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