Length: 5.5 mile, one way
Time: 3 hours
Difficulty: Mainly easy to moderate with some strenuous hills to climb
The Western Ridge Trail runs along the western border of Rock Creek Park from north to south. I started my hike at the northern terminus, which is at the northwest corner of the park near Boundary Bridge. There is a parking lot off of Beach Drive at the Washington, D. C.-Maryland border. Park there and walk back out to the street and you will see the trailhead on other side.
For those who just want to hike one way, be sure to have a ride waiting at the end at Picnic Area #1 near Peirce Mill. You can also hike back to Boundary Bridge via the Valley Trail. This forms a 12-mile loop, which is probably too adventurous for most people, but if you have the stamina and seven hours to kill, it’s a great hike.
The hike starts off up a moderate hill that continues for a mile. The reason for this is that the trail leaves Rock Creek behind, and creeks, streams, and rivers are always at the lowest point on the landscape. The trail is a wide gravel path, free of rocks and roots, so other than heading uphill it is easy to hike. Horses are allowed on this section, and it remains a wide trail all the way down to near the Rock Creek Nature Center. Also, except for a stop at Peirce Mill at the southern end, the trail is entirely in the forest, so there is no need for sunscreen.
A half mile from the start, the Western Ridge Trail crosses Wise Road and continues on the opposite side. This is a very busy road, particularly at rush hour, so be careful when crossing. A few minutes later is the intersection with an unmarked trail that leads to the left towards the Riley Spring Bridge. Keep straight to stay on the Western Ridge Trail.
The trail reaches the apex of its climb a half mile past Wise Road, then heads downhill, this time towards another creek, Pinehurst Branch. Not long after beginning the descent is another unmarked intersection with a trail that leads to the left towards some of the picnic areas along Beach Drive. Again, keep straight to stay on the Western Ridge Trail. You will also begin to see green blazes (paint splotches) painted on the trees and sign posts. Green marks the route of the Western Ridge Trail.
At 1.1 miles from the start, the trail reaches Pinehurst Branch, a small creek that eventually empties into Rock Creek. There is no bridge, so you must cross over by walking on stepping stones.
Just after crossing the creek is a four-way intersection with the Pinehurst Branch Trail. This runs east to west along the creek. A right turn takes you to Oregon Avenue and across a finger-like strip of Rock Creek Park all the way to Western Avenue. A left takes you to Rock Creek. Of course you want to stay straight. A directional sign is posted at the intersection.
From here on down to Bingham Drive, the route gets confusing because there are a number of unmarked intersections and the trail map is simply not detailed enough to help out. The first intersection comes about .2 mile after the Pinehurst Branch Trail. The trail map makes it look as if you simply continue straight to stay on the Western Ridge Trail, but you really must take a right. There is a post with a double green blaze on it, which indicates that a turn is in order, with the top blaze angled to the right.
A second intersection comes a hundred yards later, but this time there are no green blazes to indicate which way to turn. Stay straight, heading towards two trees on the right side of the trail that have grown together (there’s another double tree a little farther down on the left side of the trail).
The next turn is within eyesight of the Oregon Avenue-Nebraska Avenue-Bingham Drive intersection where all three roads come together around a traffic triangle. Just prior to this, the hiking trail crosses a paved trail. While both end up at Bingham Drive, it is the paved path that leads to where the Western Ridge Trail crosses the road, so take a left.
No sooner do you turn than the paved path splits. Stay straight to reach the crossing point near Picnic Area #12. The fork to the left is the Rock Creek Trail, which runs parallel to Bingham Drive and never crosses it.
You are now on a paved hiker-biker trail that passes through a forest with trees so tall and straight that it looks like a telephone pole farm. It is also quite hilly in this area.
In .3 mile the trail dead ends into Horse Stable Road. This is where the park police keep their horses. You’ll need to jog to the left towards the corral for fifty yards and then take a right on the gravel road that runs alongside the corral. This soon turns into a dirt path that heads back into the forest.
If you did the Milkhouse Ford Loop Hike, the next intersection will be familiar. It is marked by a post with a green blaze and a yellow band. The Western Ridge Trail veers to the right. Two-tenths of a mile later is another intersection. Take a right and head towards Oregon Avenue. (If you want to see the remains of an earthen Civil War-era fort—Fort DeRussy—take a left. The fort is five minutes down the trail.)
At Oregon Avenue the trail becomes paved once again. Follow this downhill towards Military Road, cross the street, then continue up a strenuous hill for another tenth of a mile until you come to the Rock Creek Nature Center. Be on the lookout for a directional sign next to the parking lot and follow the trail towards Pierce Mill and Bluff Ridge. You have now traveled approximately 2.6 miles, the halfway point on the hike.
The trail leads through a thin stretch of woods and quickly comes out on a hill overlooking Glover Road, a field where Picnic Area #14 is located, and on the other side of the field, Ridge Road and Picnic Area #13, which is your destination. Look for the covered pavilion and walk towards it.
Once at Picnic Area #13, turn left and look for a trailhead that continues into the forest. You’ll see a green blaze on the tree at the start of the trail.
In a couple of minutes you will come to Grant Road. The trail continues on the exact opposite side of the street, though it is a little hard to see until you get to the other side. Continue south until coming to a horse trail, which is easy to identify because it is a wide, gravel road. Take a right on the trail.
You only remain on the horse trail for fifty yards before turning off to the right to continue on the hikers-only section of the Western Ridge Trail. A NO HORSES PERMITTED sign marks the intersection.
In a quarter mile (3.4 miles into the hike), the hikers-only trail once again merges with the horses-allowed segment. In fact, if you had stayed on the horse trail to begin with you’d be in this exact same spot.
Continue south for another quarter mile until you reach Equitation Field. Here you will find a corral where people can practice horsemanship, as well as Picnic Areas #25 and #26.
The trail splits just past the corral. To the left is a wide gravel path that leads to Boulder Bridge. Horses are allowed on this trail. Take a right to stay on the Western Ridge Trail, then fifty yards farther at a second fork take a left. You can see green blazes on the trees.
From Picnic Area #13 up until this point the terrain has been fairly level and the trail surface free of rocks and roots, but now things begin to get rather hilly. Small rocks on the trail act like marbles, so be careful that your feet don’t slip out from under you when heading down one of the hills.
At 4 miles into the hike the trail comes to the backside of Picnic Area #27 on Ridge Road. Walk out to the street and look to your right for a guardrail—the trail continues just before the guardrail. You will now be heading down a very steep hill that doesn’t end until the trail comes out at an intersection with Broad Branch Road and Beach Drive.
Once at Broad Branch Road the route becomes a little confusing. You will find yourself on a paved path. Follow this down to the marked crosswalk and head towards the street that you will see to your right. While as wide as a city street, this becomes a parking lot and dead ends a hundred yards up ahead.
At the end of the road the trail continues as a paved path that follows Rock Creek. There is also a dirt trail that runs parallel to the paved path for those who don’t want to walk on asphalt. The dirt trail is right next to Rock Creek, plus you don’t have to worry about getting run over by a biker.
The next point of interest is Peirce Mill, which comes at the 4.6-mile mark on the hike. The mill is open on certain days of the week, including every Saturday and Sunday. Also on the property is the Peirce Barn, which functions as a visitor center. Inside is a book and souvenir store, and you can watch a fifteen-minute film about the mill. For more information visit the Peirce Mill web page here on National Park Planner.
Continue south on the paved path and in a hundred yards you’ll pass under the Tiden Street bridge and emerge at Picnic Area #1. If your plan was to only hike one way, this is the end of the line, though it is not officially the end of the Western Ridge Trail. The trail continues for another half mile, but you then have to turn around and come back to the parking lot. I recommend calling it quits here. If you want to complete the trail in its entirety or hike back to the Boundary Bridge parking lot on the Valley Trail, continue reading.
Hike across the picnic field towards Rock Creek and proceed south (take a right at the creek). At the far end of the picnic area is the intersection with the Melvin Hazen Trail. From here you should be able to see two footbridges, a large one used by the paved hiker-biker trail and a smaller one for the hikers-only trail. You want the small bridge.
As you cross the bridge, notice the trail sign posted on the far side. According to the sign, a strenuous version of the hike forks to the left and a moderate version to the right. The moderate trail proceeds up to and follows a ridge above the strenuous trail, and the two parallel each other until merging back together near the Bluff Bridge at the very end of the Western Ridge Trail. The strenuous trail, which I took, is really more straight ahead than to the left, and by strenuous, the sign is not referring to an extremely hilly trail, but to the treacherous terrain that lies ahead. The trail is very narrow, filled with rocks and roots, and has a steep drop off on one side. It would be easy to trip and fall down what is close to being a cliff and end up dead in Rock Creek.
After hiking a half mile from the parking lot, you finally reach the end of the trail at Bluff Bridge. To get back to the parking lot, cross the bridge, turn left on the multi-purpose trail, and follow it all the way back to the picnic area. This is much faster and much easier than hiking back the way you just came.
If you plan to hike back to the Boundary Bridge parking lot, also cross the Bluff Bridge and take a left on the paved path. However, instead of hiking all the way back to the picnic area, be on the lookout for an intersection marked with a Valley Trail sign. The Valley Trail is the dirt trail to the right that leads up to Beach Drive. See the Valley Trail report for details on that hike. It is about 6.5 miles back to the parking lot.
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Last updated on June 30, 2020