District of Columbia trails · Black Horse Trail
Black Horse Trail
A 1.6-mile out-and-back in District of Columbia, with 98 ft of climbing. Reaches Pulpit Rock. Managed by the National Park Service.
Elevation profile
Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 1.7 miles.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Pulpit Rock (arch)
Getting there
Foot Trail #18 access — parking nearby. 38.95352, -77.04382 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:08 a.m., the sun rises at 6:35 a.m. and sets at 7:40 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:07 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 3.3-mile round trip takes roughly 1 h 19 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 7:55 a.m. — 11 h 45 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Bike Trail #2 + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Black Horse Trail — 2.9 mi loop, 410 ft gain
- Black Horse Trail + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Valley Trail — 0.9 mi loop, 153 ft gain
- Black Horse Trail + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Bike Trail #3 — 2.5 mi loop, 288 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Brightwood Heritage Trail: Battlegound to Community — 0.6 mi
- Western Ridge Trail — 1.0 mi
- Valley Trail — 1.1 mi
- Bike Trail #5 — 1.4 mi