Fort Totten

See the Civil War Defenses of Washington Park Map web page for an interactive fort location map.

LOCATION

There are two entrances into Fort Totten Park, both on Fort Totten Drive. I started at the entrance where the National Park Service information panel about the fort is located, which is near the intersection of Fort Totten Drive and Crittenden Street. Use 4812 Fort Totten Drive NE for GPS, as that is the address of a house across the street from the entrance. The other entrance is just down the street near the intersection with Allison Street. When I visited the gates were locked, so I had to park on the street and walk in.

Entrance into Fort Totten Park

WHAT TO SEE

Walk into Fort Totten Park on the paved path at the entrance near Crittenden Street. At the top of the hill is a second information panel, and it is here that the path becomes a gravel road that skirts the forest, looping south and coming back out on Fort Totten Drive at the second entrance. The fort is in the wooded area to your right, and there are numerous trails that people have cut to the fort that lead up and over the walls and into the interior.

Wall of Fort Totten

It appears that people used the fort for mountain biking, and to combat this the National Park Service has laid down trees and other debris on the paths to keep bikers out of the fort—the walls probably make good jumps. The NPS asks visitors to stay off of the walls and out of the fort interior and to remain on the gravel path that circles the fort. However, for those who don’t want to abide by the rules, the vegetation is not that thick, so you can climb the walls and walk around inside.