Starting near Cleveland Park, this trail goes south through the southern half of Rock Creek Park and terminates at the Lincoln Memorial.
Start: Sidwell Friends School
End: Lincoln Memorial
Length: Approx. 0-13.5 miles
MAP
ROUTE GUIDE
This route begins at the rear entrance to Sidwell Friends School. This is on 37th St. in the little area that is sandwiched by Sidwell and Hearst School.
The starting location of the route
Cross the street so that you are on the Hearst side of the road. You should see this sign. The trail goes past this sign down the stairs behind it.
Hearst field is beyond this sign
Go down the steps
Where the red circle is, is where you want to aim for, because there is a staircase here that is the next part of the trail.
Across the field are another set of steps
After going down these steps (and one more flight below it), you will exit into a cul de sac.
You get to a culdesac
Go straight down the road until you get to an intersection (Springland & Reno).
Cross the street at the bottom of the hill
Once you cross the street, go straight towards Tilden Rd. and you will see the entrance to Melvin Hazen. It will be marked by this large sign.
Thus marks the entrance of the Melvin Hazen trail
Into the depths
Go down this trail. It’s pretty straightforward with minor junctions, but for the most part it’s intuitive to tell which is the main path.
One of the few junctions
Bridge means you’re close to the end of the 1st leg.
The trail will end at the back of a parking lot. Or, to be more specific, the 1st leg of Melvin Hazen will end at the back of a parking lot. Melvin Hazen is about .8 miles long, with .3 of it in the 1st leg and .5 of it in the 2nd leg. The two legs are divided by a bit of road.
The first leg of Melvin exits to a parking lot
Once you exit the 1st leg and run to the road ahead, you will see the entrance to the 2nd leg directly across the street. There is a crosswalk a block up to the left that I recommend you take, but you can also just take your chances and J-walk.
However, I really do not recommend it. There are few roads that are consistently very busy in DC and the time spent looking for a safe opening in traffic will be greater than the time it would take to run up to the crosswalk.
The entrance to the second leg is directly across the street
Close-up of the entrance
The second leg of Melvin Hazen is about half a mile long and will take you to the bottom of Tilden, by Beach Drive. It’s all downhill (approx 160 ft drop) but some parts can be slightly steep and you will be required to cross some streams.
Melvin Hazen is initially very steep
Still of Melvin Hazen
One of the streams you must cross
Melvin Hazen will finally exit into a field. You need to keep to the right and cross a bridge. However, there are bathrooms on this field if need be.
Melvin Hazen trail will exit to this field. The bridge circled in red is where you have to go. However, bathrooms/water are to the left.
The bridge you must cross
Cruise down this street for a bit until you see this bridge:
Go down Beach Drive then make a right onto this bridge
Make a right onto this bridge. When I went running (May 2017), there was a lot of construction, but this loop is still doable.
The second bridge you cross
On paths like these, the side dirt road is easier on the knees
The key is to follow the creek. The creek will take you all the way to the rear entrance of the Zoo, so if in doubt, take whatever road keeps you close to the creek.
After you cross the second bridge, you’ll reach a complicated intersection (by Porter/Klingle).
Take the left path- remember to follow the creek.
Bang a left at this junction
Follow the path to the left over the bridge.
Cross yet another bridge and now you’ll find yourself on a trail parallel to Beach Drive.
This is what the Beach Drive trail looks like
Almost a mile into this part of the route, you’ll reach this tunnel. Follow the asphalt path to the right here.
However, for whatever reason, the tunnel remains a viable alternative in this route. It is not recommended because the sidewalk is narrow and dangerous, but the tunnel will take you to the same place.
Stay on the road and go right to the tunnel
Run straight through the stop sign.
Forward
Cruising down Rock Creek
Stay on the trail that runs with rock creek and you’ll get to this bridge. You’ll automatically merge onto it.
Go right onto this bridge
In just a little bit, you’ll get to this junction. Take the left path.
Take the left path
Straight through
Stay on the asphalt trail through this little playground.
Soon you’ll get to this bridge. Make sure you cross it and do not go into the woods. If you do, you will get onto the Dumbarton Loop.
Go left over the bridge
Now you will be on a sidewalk running parallel to Rock Creek & Potomac Pkwy. If we stay on this road for 3 miles, we will get to the Lincoln Memorial, so it’s pretty intuitive from here.
Stay parallel to Rock Creek & Potomac Pkwy
At one point, you will be forced to go right onto a bridge. Don’t fret, just cross and continue to run in the direction you were.
You wil be forced to go right onto this bridge
At this junction, you want to cross the street then go left at the fork.
Cross the street and go left at the fork
About 2 miles into running parallel to this road, you will get here:
Go straight through the intersection then left
Just go straight through the intersection and keep following the road by going left. As we enter downtown area, you will begin to see landmarks like the Watergate and the JFK.
Take the left path to stay on Rock Creek & Potomac Pkwy
Forward past the Watergate
At this point, the Potomac River will be on your right. You will be able to see it. If you continue to run such that the Potomac River is to your right, you will go straight to the Lincoln Memorial- very simple.
If you stay on the Potomac, the Lincoln Memorial literally comes into view.
NOTES
Although the initial part of the run is a very steep downhill (and as a result will be a steep uphill on the way back), the rest of the run is very flat and very fast because it is on asphalt and has no lights.
As a result, this trail is great for muddy days or days when you want to hammer out some fast miles. The downside, though, is that it’s all asphalt and hard on your knees, so as a result not great to run all the time.
This run is pretty “meh” in my opinion, solely because it is very bland. There isn’t much change in scenery and most of the scenery is just cars being loud and obnoxious in your ear while you run alongside them. Plus, there are lots of cyclists constantly passing you on these asphalt trails.
However, don’t let this distract you from the fact that it is a good trail for running fast, especially if the boring background doesn’t bother you (and once you get to downtown DC, it won’t be boring anymore).