District of Columbia trails · Potomac Heritage Trail
Potomac Heritage Trail
A 9.5-mile section of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail in District of Columbia, with 255 ft of climbing. The full trail runs about 710 miles.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the middle third — 90% of the ascent, between mile 3.2 and mile 6.4. It gives back about 569 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Heads up
Getting there
Key Bridge access. About 8 min drive (4 mi) from Washington. 38.90103, -77.07034 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:49 a.m., the sun rises at 7:16 a.m. and sets at 6:31 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:58 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 15 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 19.0-mile round trip takes roughly 7 h 18 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 2:34 p.m. — 3 h 57 min before sunset.
Across the border
- Continues into VA as Tri Pedestrian Bridge Over Parkway — view on the map
- Continues into VA as Mount Vernon Trail — view on the map
Nearby trails
- Capital Crescent Trail — 0.2 mi
- T. Roosevelt Bridge Crossing — 0.7 mi
- Bike Trail #6 — 0.8 mi
- Lafayette Park Path — 1.9 mi