Tagged : recreation

A whopping 97% of DC residents live within a half-mile (or 10 minute walk) of a park.  The ease of accessibility, amenities and quality of the city’s parks has earned DC a third place on a list of the best cities for parks in the nation.  Park Score 2015 analyzed the 75 largest U.S. cities and their ratio of parklands.  DC ranked #3 after Minneapolis and St. Paul tied for first place.    Map technology and demographic data were analyzed to determine how well each city is meeting the need for parks.  After DC, San Francisco and New York round out the Top 5.  A high of 21.9% of DC acreage is parkland.

In fact, the Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall boosts the amount of DC parks.  DC has 8,513 acres of parks throughout the city.  The oldest park is

Get your green on for March 17, St. Patrick’s Day!  With less than a week to go until St. Patrick’s Day, the metro DC area is preparing for celebrations across the region for a very popular time of year for DC residents who enjoy tipping a few Irish ales, listening to live music, and noshing on hearty fish ‘n’ chips and Irish beef stew.  It’s a day when everyone in the nation’s capital is Irish.  We compiled a list of Irish bars in DC and Virginia to help you choose where to celebrate the holiday.

A perennial favorite for 40 years, The Dubliner is an Irish pub on Capitol Hill.  Long a drinking hole for Senate staffers and tourists, The Dubliner is one of the area’s oldest Irish pubs and steps away from the U.S. Capitol.  Many of the friendly staff hail

One mile from the U.S. Capitol is a quaint neighborhood with brownstones, restored townhomes and a place where neighbors meet in the park to talk while their children play on the playground or dog owners chat with each other while their pooches run around and get some exercise.  It’s a wonderful neighborhood popular with residents of DC called Lincoln Park.  The urban park is located in this Capitol Hill neighborhood bounded by 11th Street NE and SE on the west, 13th Street NE and SE on the east, East Capitol NE on the north, and East Capitol SE on the south.  It is 4 blocks northeast of Eastern Market, the robust farmers market and crafts’ vendors, as well as indie coffee shops and bookstores.

Lincoln Park isn’t just a name; it’s an actual park.  It has

Called the skinniest park in Virginia, the 100-foot wide Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail is one of the longest parks in the area.  It was built on the road of the former Washington & Old Dominion Railroad.  The rail trail is 10 feet wide and this is the space used for walking, jogging and bicycling.  The entire 45 miles of trail is paved with asphalt and a painted yellow centerline conducive to safe running and cycling.  Next to the W&OD Trail between Vienna and Purcellville, there is a 32 mile gravel trail for horseback riding.  

The 45-mile multi-use trail goes through both densely populated urban and suburban communities as well as through the rural countryside of Northern Virginia.  The park is open all year.  It begins from Shirlington near