District of Columbia trails · Tidal Basin
Tidal Basin
A 1.9-mile loop in District of Columbia, with 27 ft of climbing. Reaches Bathing Beach and other beach/lake destinations. Managed by the National Park Service.
Length
1.9 mi
Elevation gain
27 ft
Difficulty
Easy
Max grade
5%
Steepest mile
+27 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
0.0 mi
Shape
loop
Bikes
no
Horses
no
Managed by
National Park Service
Elevation profile
Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 2.2 miles.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Bathing Beach (beach)
- Tidal Basin (lake)
Getting there
Unnamed trail junction — parking nearby. 38.88214, -77.03342 · 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.
Loop options
- Unnamed trail + Tidal Basin + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail — 1.2 mi loop, 49 ft gain
- Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Unnamed trail + Tidal Basin — 0.9 mi loop, 13 ft gain
- Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Tidal Basin + Unnamed trail — 1.0 mi loop, 28 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Shaw Heritage Trail: Midcity at the Crossroads — 1.6 mi
- T. Roosevelt Bridge Crossing — 1.8 mi
- Bike Trail #6 — 2.0 mi
- Bolling AFB Waterfront Trail — 2.0 mi