Rock Creek Park · District of Columbia

Boundary Trail

0.3 mi of trail, end to end · about 50 ft of climbing · 100 ft of descent · 191 ft–288 ft · native surface · trail class Highly Developed · hiking

237 ft 191 ft · 0.3 mi high 288 ft

Hike the Valley Trail the Park Service's write-up

dogs allowed

Start Valley Trail at Boundary Bridge

A brown side with white lettering labeled "Valley Trail". Green Trees and a trail are on the right
Valley Trail Photo: NPS Photo/ K. Cain

The Valley Trail is one of two major trails in Rock Creek Park. The trail is blazed with blue markers and runs close to Rock Creek. End-to-end the trail has a length of roughly five miles. This is not a loop trail.

One end of the trail begins at Boundary Bridge while the other end of the trail terminates at the paved section of the Western Ridge Trail between the Jules Jusserand Memorial and Bluff Bridge.

The Valley Trail is a narrow trail for a majority of it's length and is generally considered a trail appropriate for foot traffic only. There are a few sections of trail that are wide and flat and are also part of the Black Horse Trail.

Access to the Valley Trail can be found at:

Boundary Bridge

West Beach Drive NW

Riley Springs Bridge

Sherrill Drive NW

Rolling Meadow Bridge

Picnic Grove #6

Rapids Bridge

Boulder Bridge

Blagden Avenue

The Valley Trail does cross several roads which can have traffic on them. Please use caution when crossing streets.

Restroom facilities on this trail can be found at:

Picnic Grove #10 (seasonally or as conditions allow)

Picnic Grove #6

Picnic Grove #1

Accessibility The Valley Trail is narrow (3 feet wide or less) for most of the length of it. There will be a few sections of trail that are wider and flatter (6 feet to 8 feet across) that will accommodate horses as the trail is used as both the Valley Trail and the Black Horse Trail.

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 79 trails in Rock Creek ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.