District of Columbia trails · Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
A 2.8-mile section of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in District of Columbia, with 145 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 710 miles. Reaches Bunker Hill and other summit destinations. Managed by National Park Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 67% of the ascent, between mile 1.8 and mile 2.8. It gives back about 171 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Bunker Hill (summit)
- Mount Saint Sepulchre (summit)
- Hoover Hill (summit)
Getting there
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail access — parking nearby. 38.93478, -76.98656 · 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 2.8-mile route takes roughly 1 h 06 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 7:41 a.m. — 11 h 59 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Unnamed trail + Bike Trail #6 — 0.8 mi loop, 20 ft gain
- Unnamed trail + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Lincoln Memorial — 5.1 mi loop, 142 ft gain
- Unnamed trail + Tidal Basin + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail — 1.2 mi loop, 49 ft gain