Nature Trail map (click to enlarge)

Length: 1-mile loop
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: Easy with a moderate hill at the start and end

The Nature Trail is a 1-mile loop that covers the wooded area located on the opposite side of Dancing Marsh from the George Washington Birthplace memorial area. It can be accessed by crossing the footbridge over a small cove on Popes Creek near the Washington Birthplace memorial area, by hiking to it on the Dancing Marsh Trail, or from the Popes Creek Picnic Area, which is where I started the hike. You can also combine the Nature Trail with the Dancing Marsh Trail to form one, large loop around the entire area. Together the trails form a Figure-8, with the Dancing Marsh Trail on the southern end of the loop and the Nature Trail on the northern end.

If you are at the picnic area and are simply interested in hiking to the Washington birth site, located just past the picnic pavilion is one of two trailheads for the Nature Trail. From here it is only a few minutes down the trail to the aforementioned footbridge that leads to the birth site and the Colonial Farm. If you continue past the bridge you will be hiking the Nature Trail in a clockwise direction.

I chose to hike the Nature Trail in the counterclockwise direction by taking the trailhead located on the left side of the parking lot, and this is the direction in which I will describe the hike.

Nature Trail trailhead at the Popes Creek Picnic Area parking lot, George Washington Birthplace National Monument

A wayside exhibit at the start of the trail describes the terrain as flat but rough enough that wheelchairs are discouraged. The picnic area is at a slightly higher elevation than the immediate grounds surrounding it, and there is a moderately steep hill at both trailheads, but other than this the Nature Trail is flat as described. The route is well marked, and there are no side trails that you can make a wrong turn on and get lost.

Nearly the entire trail is in the woods and shaded from the sun, so there is no real need for sunscreen and a hat. There is, however, a lot of vegetation, including poison ivy, plus eastern Virginia is one, big Tick City, so stay on the trail and away from any brush. The path is wide enough to walk on without touching anything.

Typical terrain of the Nature Trail at George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Wayside exhibits are posted along the way. They are written as if George Washington himself wrote them, just like the park film shown in the Visitor Center that was narrated by “George Washington.” I am not sure if these are passages from a memoir or something the National Park Service made up based on what George might say, but regardless, the signs are interesting in their descriptions of life on the farm and how early settlers used the land, plants, and animals to survive. If they are indeed the words of Washington, then they are all the more interesting.

Wayside exhibits along the Nature Trail at George Washington Birthplace National Monument

The Nature Trail merges with the Dancing Marsh Trail at .6 mile into the hike at a boardwalk through the marsh. From this point until the next intersection with a footbridge across Popes Creek, the two trails share the same path, this being the middle section of the Figure-8. If you take the boardwalk, you will be on the Dancing Marsh Trail and heading back towards the Colonial Farm, so be sure to stay off this and continue straight…unless you want a photo of the marsh. The Nature Trail immediately heads back into the woods, so the only opportunity for a clear view of the marsh is to walk out onto the boardwalk.

Intersection of the Nature Trail and Dancing Marsh Trail at George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Dancing Marsh at George Washington Birthplace National Monument

The second intersection is at the footbridge over the cove on Popes Creek, which comes at the .75-mile mark. Taking the bridge puts you on the Dancing Marsh Trail, so stay straight to finish the Nature Trail and return to the picnic area.

Footbridge between the Washington Birth Site and the Popes Creek Picnic Area, George Washington Birthplace National Monument

The trail runs along Popes Creek for a short stretch after the bridge before heading back into the forest.

A short stretch of the Nature Trail runs along Popes Creek, George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Not long after passing the footbridge is the Log House. You can see it from the trail, but to get to it you must take a short detour. The Log House was built in 1932 and was originally a gift shop, restaurant, and inn for park visitors. The operation was never that successful, and by World War II it was closed. Today it is an event and conference facility.

Back of the Log House at George Washington Birthplace National Monument as seen from the Nature Trail

The trail ends at the picnic area near the pavilion, climbing another moderate but short hill just before spilling out onto the open grounds. From the footbridge it is only a ten minute walk to the end of the trail.

Hill on the Nature Trail at the Popes Creek Picnic Area, George Washington Birthplace National Monument

The Nature Trail does add some historical perspective to a visit to George Washington Birthplace National Monument thanks to the interpretive signs along the route. Furthermore, you can always imagine that a young George once walked the same grounds. Even though he moved to Mount Vernon when he was three years old, his family owned the property until his father died in 1743, and he returned to the area a number of times.

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