View of the picnic area from the Quantico Cascades Trail trailhead in Prince William Forest Park

Length: .8 mile, one way
Time: 30 minutes (one way)
Difficulty: Strenuous

The Quantico Cascades Trail (Cascades Trail for short) starts at Parking Lot E on Scenic Drive and heads straight downhill to Quantico Creek, ending at a very underwhelming cascade, or as the Prince William Forest Park map calls it, waterfall. The trailhead is a little difficult to find. Parking Lot E actually has a picnic area, and the trailhead is located behind the picnic tables. It is marked with a large information panel.

The hike starts off on a short segment that connects to Lake One Road. Jog to the left on the road for about a tenth of a mile and look for the Cascades Trail on the other side of the road. The Cascades Trail is downhill from there, but you won’t get to the steep part until reaching the intersection with the North Valley Trail.

Lake One Road in Prince William Forest Park

Confusion may arise near the North Valley Trail intersection when you see a sign that identifies the Cascades Trail as the Geology Trail, one that is not mentioned on the park trail map. I’m not exactly sure what the Geology Trail is, but you will see a number of wayside exhibits about geology along the Cascades Trail, so I assume the two trails are one in the same. Regardless of the name, continue straight across the North Valley Trail to begin the steep descent to the bottom.

Trail in Prince William Forest Park identified as the Geology Trail

It is a .8 mile hike to the cascades, and unless you simply haven’t seen much in life, they are going to be a big disappointment. To make matters worse, the trail comes out above the first cascade, so you can’t even get a good view. I suppose you could Lewis-and-Clark-It™ to the base, but that was more than I was willing to do at this point. There are more cascades downstream, and you can continue on the trail to the south, but the view is blocked by trees. I saw nothing to warrant the effort to proceed farther unless you are heading that way as part of a longer hike.

Uppermost cascades at the end of the Cascades Trail in Prince William Forest Park

The return to the top is a little tricky. How, you might ask, seeing that there was only one way to the bottom. As it turns out, the Cascades Trail passed two intersections that you probably didn’t notice, one that was blocked off with tree limbs by the National Park Service and one that merged from behind you at such an angle that it was impossible to see. However, when standing at the bottom, the southern end of the blocked trail is not blocked and is now clearly visible, and on the way up it is impossible to miss the trail that merged at the sharp angle.

Start the return trip from the wayside exhibit titled The Power of Water. Turn so that your back is to the creek and you will see two trails. The one on the left is the official Cascades Trail. The one on the right is the blocked trail, which turns out to be an extremely steep shortcut. It reconnects with the Cascades Trail near the top of the hill. I suppose the National Park Service blocked the trail to keep people off of it, but there are no such barriers at the bottom, so feel free to take whichever you like.

Two choices for the hike back to the parking lot

If you hike back on the official Cascades Trail, it forks just around the corner, with the branch to the left being the one that you passed on the way down. Stay to the right to get back to the parking lot. I don’t know where the trail on the left goes, other than it follows a small stream and is overgrown.

Regardless of which route you take, you have an extremely difficult quarter-mile hike back up to the intersection with the North Valley Trail. This is the steepest hiking trail I came across at Prince William Forest Park, and I hiked all but a few miles of the available trails. Once at the North Valley Trail, the rest of the hike back to the parking lot is just the reverse of the way you came down.

Steep hike back to the parking lot along the Cascades Trail in Prince William Forest Park

I hiked the Quantico Cascades Trail as part of an 8-mile loop hike that starts at Parking Lot E on Scenic Drive. For those who want to tackle a highly interesting hike, from Parking Lot E, cross the road and look for the Mary Bird Branch Trail and take this to Old Black Top Road. Turn right on the road and head towards the Turkey Run Ridge Group Campground. Find the Turkey Run Ridge Trail and hike south until it ends at South Valley Trail. Take a left on South Valley and hike north until you get to North Orenda Road, at which point you must jog to the right for a quarter mile in order to reconnect with the South Valley Trail. South Valley comes to a final end at Pyrite Mine Road. Take a right over the bridge and the road naturally becomes the North Valley Trail. North Valley passes through the ruins of the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine and eventually comes to the eastern terminus of the Quantico Cascades Trail. Take this back to the parking lot. For more information on any of the trails mentioned above, click the links to read a detailed trail review.

Loop Hike Map (click to enlarge)

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