Alt Text Map of Rock Creek Park and surrounding roads, sites, Metro stations, and parks in Washington, DC. Bodies of water are shown in blue, parks in green, streets with white lines, and the rest of the map is beige shaded lightly with gray to represent the topography. Extended Description Rock Creek runs almost vertically from the top corner of Washington, DC down its height to meet the Potomac River, which cuts across the lower left corner of the map. This description will begin in the south and work northward up Rock Creek and Rock Creek Park to follow the numbering system of the picnic areas before briefly touching on some of the surrounding features in the rest of Washington, DC. Rock Creek Park: Southern Half Rock Creek meets the Potomac River near the Thompson Boat Center and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Georgetown Visitor Center, close to the lower left corner of the map. The Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway runs alongside the creek for the lower half of its length. Rock Creek Park narrowly encapsulates either side of the creek and this road. The bottom half of Rock Creek Park encompasses the Godey Lime Kilns, Devil’s Chair Bridge, Edgewater Park Police Stable, Exercise Course, Park Administration in the Klingle Mansion, and Bluff Bridge. Several parks branch off Rock Creek Park to the west. About a quarter up the creek’s length is Montrose Park, which has tennis courts and restrooms. Montrose Park also connects with Dumbarton Oaks Park, which abuts the US Naval Observatory. On the far side of the observatory, the Kahlil Gibran Memorial is in the Normanstone Parkway. Continuing north, Rock Creek passes the National Zoological Park, Klingle Valley Park, Woodley Playground, and the Piney Branch tributary and parkway, which branch off to the east. Just north and west of this are the Melvin C. Hazen Park, which has restrooms. Rock Creek Park: Northern Half In the area of Piney Branch, the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway ends, and Beach Drive picks up the trajectory. Twenty-nine numbered sites in either blue or black circles begin here, near Peirce Mill with area number 1, and near the northern border of Washington, DC. Black circles with numbers represent picnic areas where no permits are needed. Blue circles with numbers represent picnic areas where permits are needed. Also in this area are the Jules Jusserand Memorial, restrooms, tennis courts, and Peirce Barn, which also has restrooms. Just north of this section, Rock Creek Park flares out to encompass the Broad Branch tributary and road to the west and Rock Creek to the east. Several color-coded trails begin near this area as well. The green Western Ridge Trail runs just east of Broad Branch Road, and the neighboring White Horse Trail, indicated in brown, winds together with the Western Ridge Trail up to the northern border of Washington, DC. Black Horse Trail, indicated in purple, begins at Boundary Bridge at the top of the map, crossing the river at Riley Spring Bridge and Rolling Meadow Bridge, and passing through Milkhouse Ford to end at the junction of Beach Drive and Ridge Road. The Valley Trail, indicated in orange, begins near the Jules Jusserand Memorial and meets Rock Creek and a stretch of Beach Drive marked in yellow, which all run alongside the creek to the top corner of Washington, DC. The yellow band represents sections that are closed on weekends and holidays, and it is intermittent over a few stretches. Military Road cuts across Rock Creek Park about a third of the way up these color-coded trails. Between the Western Ridge Trail and White Horse Trail to the west and Rock Creek to the east are the following sites south of Military Road: Maintenance Yard, Horse Center, and Nature Center and Planetarium, which has visitor information, restrooms, wheelchair access, and a bookstore. Between Military Road and the northern border of Washington, DC are Fort DeRussy, Milkhouse Ford, Park Police Stables, Bingham Drive, Pinehurst Branch with some surrounding foot trails, restrooms, Riley Spring Bridge, and Wise Road. Sites to the east of the creek and south of Military Road are the Carter Barron Amphitheatre; the 16th and Kennedy Area with parking, restrooms, tennis courts, a tennis stadium, and ballfields; and Park Police Rock Creek Station with information. North of Military Road are Miller Cabin with restrooms, a Public Golf Course, Rolling Meadow Bridge, Sherrill Drive (marked in yellow), and more footpaths. At the Maryland border, the boundary of Rock Creek Park meets Rock Creek Regional Park, which continues northward along Beach Drive and follows Rock Creek past Meadowbrook Riding Stable. A trail winds through this section, heading north through Rock Creek Regional Park to the edge of the map. West of Rock Creek Park Theodore Roosevelt Island sits in the Potomac River near where Rock Creek meets the Potomac River. Three bridges, the Key Bridge, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Bridge, and Arlington Memorial Bridge, cross the Potomac River, which separates Washington, DC from Virginia and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Major sites and parks in the southwest quadrant of Washington, DC include Old Stone House, which has a bookstore; Georgetown Waterfront Park; Georgetown University; Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park; Whitehaven Park, Glover-Archibald Park, Palisades Park, and Battery Kemble Park, all with footpaths; Washington Cathedral; Bryce Park; and American University. Sites in the northwest quadrant include the Washington Cathedral, Fort Reno Park, Fort Bayard Park, Little Forest Park, and several Metro stations. East of Rock Creek Park The National Mall and Memorial Parks, which include the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, and United States Capitol, stretches east off of the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Most of the sites in the southeast quadrant of Washington, DC are Metro stations and traffic circles. The northeast quadrant includes Meridian Hill Park, Howard University, McMillan Reservoir, Trinity Washington University, the Catholic University of America, Fort Bunker Hill Park, Barnard Hill Park, Fort Totten Park, Fort Circle Park, Fort Slocum Park, Fort Stevens Park, and Battleground National Cemetery. Dozens of streets and Metro stations are labeled throughout the city. Legend A scale in the lower left corner of the map measures 0.5 and 1 kilometers and 0.5 and 1 miles. The legend reads as follows: Dotted line for Foot trail, Dashed line for Horse and foot trail, Solid line for Bike and foot trail, Green line for Western Ridge Trail (green blazes), Orange line for Valley Trail (blue blazes), Yellow line for Weekend/holiday road closure, Dashed purple line for Black Horse Trail, Dashed brown line for White Horse Trail, Medium green area for Rock Creek Park, and Light green for Other NPS property. Six symbols are listed next, representing Restrooms, Wheelchair accessible, Bookstore, black circle with white number for Picnic area (no permit needed), blue circle with white number for Picnic area (permit needed), and Metro stations.