An Insider’s Guide to Rock Creek Park: The Largest and Oldest Urban Park in America

First Published on RootsRated.com You don’t need to venture far from DC proper to escape the urban environs and instantly become absorbed with nature. If you want to stay within the city limits, you can hit up Rock Creek Park, a 32-mile trail system weaving its way through the woods of Washington and on to Montgomery County, […]

DC’s Best Day Hike: Billy Goat Trail

Published First on RootsRated.com The Billy Goat Trail near Great Falls is easily one of the best nature hikes near DC. It’s especially worthwhile if you’re looking to get a half-day dose of the outdoors and some exercise without the commitment of driving too far outside of DC, northern Virginia, or southern Maryland. There are three main trails—A, […]

8 Awesome Green Spaces Within DC City Limits

First Published on RootsRated.com Living the city life doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to forgo outdoor green space—it may even make you crave it more. But, when you live in the city, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of everyday life, skyscrapers, and pavement, pavement, and more pavement, it can sometimes be easy to let slip from […]

Beach Camping on Maryland’s Assateague Island

First Published on RootsRated.com It almost sounds mythical—wild horses, campsites just steps from the shore, permission to build fires inside the perimeters of a U.S. National Park—but on Maryland’s Assateague Island, this is just what you’ll find. It’s easy to fall in love with this island. Who wouldn’t bask in the joy of building a post-dinner bonfire […]

Where to Stand Up Paddle in the District

First Published on RootRated.com Stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) is one of the newest water sports to gain favor in the United States. In a relatively short amount of time, it has joined the ranks of kayaking in terms of popularity for inland and coastal water sport. You can’t look at a body of water in the […]

Five Ways to Get on the Water in Washington

First published on RootsRated.com To a Taoist, water is considered an aspect of wisdom. To Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, being in the water ‘…is normal for me. It’s my home.’ To most of us living in the mid-Atlantic area during the dead of summer, any way onto the water amounts to ten degrees off of the maximum […]

Easy Labor Day Camping Spots Near Washington, DC

First published on RootsRated.com Early September just might be the best time of year to go camping in the greater Washington, DC area. The weather is still warm enough to wear light clothing while hiking, boating, and lounging at camp, but it is not so hot that you feel as though you might wilt beneath the sun. Bugs […]

Best Outdoor Date Spots in the District of Columbia

First Published on RootsRated.com Summer is the season of love. In autumn in Washington, DC, it is a nostalgic, playful, and happy time of year. Endless sunshine, boundless waterways and nature trails, and warmth lasting well into the evening provide a perfect setting for a day-long date—and when the sun falls into the horizon, and the technicolor […]

See the Entire Country in One Day: 50 States and 13 Colonies Ride

First Published on RootsRated.com   Alright, so you’re not really going to ride your bike all the way across the country in one day, but you can certainly ride around DC and pay homage to all the states on the highly popular 50 States and 13 Colonies Ride. This ride is legendary and certainly worth […]