District of Columbia trails · Valley Trail
Valley Trail
A 2.4-mile out-and-back in District of Columbia, with 154 ft of climbing. Reaches Pulpit Rock. Managed by the National Park Service.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the first third — 63% of the ascent, between mile 0.0 and mile 0.8. It gives back about 255 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Pulpit Rock (arch)
Heads up
Getting there
Bike Trail #4 access. 38.93746, -77.04882 · 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 4.8-mile round trip takes roughly 1 h 56 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 8:32 a.m. — 11 h 08 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Black Horse Trail + Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail + Valley Trail — 0.9 mi loop, 153 ft gain
- Valley Trail + Foot Trail #9 + Western Ridge Trail — 2.5 mi loop, 442 ft gain
- Valley Trail + Unnamed trail + Western Ridge Trail — 2.5 mi loop, 434 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Western Ridge Trail — 0.2 mi
- Bike Trail #5 — 0.3 mi
- Mount Pleasant Heritage Trail: Village in the City — 0.8 mi
- Columbia Heights Heritage Trail: Cultural Convergence — 1.1 mi