Washington’s Fitness Monuments

Politics might be the focus of our nation’s capital, but D.C.’s greatest resource is adventure. 

Ride

Rock Creek Park 

Consider this D.C.’s Central Park, only bigger, with 1,700 acres of hiking and biking paths. Hike the creekside Valley Trail. 

Run 

The National Mall 

It’s two miles from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, with the Washington Monument, the Reflecting Pool, and Smith­­sonian Castle in between. 

Air It Out 

American Parkour Academy

Drop by for backflip classes in the first parkour training center in the country. 

Cool Off

Key Bridge Boathouse

Rent a kayak and paddle around Theodore Roosevelt Island. 

Go Green

Great Falls Park

This 800-acre play­ground is 30 min­utes from town and has 15 miles of hiking trails in the rocky Mather Gorge and more than 200 trad and top-rope routes on 60-foot-high walls.

Drink

Port City Brewing

Hop across the ­Potomac River to Alexa­ndria, Virginia, and grab a porter from this local fixture, which won Small Brewery of the Year at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival. 

Get Social

Capitol Hill Bikes

CHB’s 11-mile shop ride snakes along singletrack at Fort Dupont and finishes at District Doughnut.

Eat

The Dabney 

Chef Jeremiah Langhorne goes all in on the locavore movement, sourcing fare from the mid-Atlantic and cooking it over the embers of an open fire. Order the oysters and hearth-roasted vegetables. 

Local Joe

Mary Breed, masters national champion road cyclist

“When I’m looking for a fast place to ride, I crank out laps at Hains Point (8), an island in the middle of the city with a three-mile loop and little traffic.” 

Local Pro 

Michael Wardian, ultrarunner and marathoner

“I could run the Potomac Heritage Trail ­every day. It’s gnarly, full-on rock hopping with decent climbs. Start at Roosevelt Island and run it to Chain Bridge, then pick up the Towpath back for a six-mile loop along the river.”