The Conservasionist President

We were walking through the forest yesterday thinking of how lucky we are that there are still wild places in this crazy built upon world. In that spirit, we are dedicating this President’s Day to the conservationist president, Theodore Roosevelt, to whom six national park sites in part or whole, are dedicated. Without him, we’d be […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

5 Day Trips in 5 States Near Washington, DC

First published on RootsRated.com Washington DC’s central location in the mid-Atlantic makes it a perfect jumping off point to many awesome day trips in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia. Here, we bring you some of our favorite excursions in the area. Some are great for water lovers, some perfect for hikers. All are, […]

Washington, DC’s Annual ‘Jazz in the Garden’

What: Jazz in the Garden When: Friday Nights, May 22 through August, 2015 Where: National Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC DC’s annual Jazz in the Garden festival kicks off in the District on May 22 and the locals are… jazzed. This beloved Friday tradition brings together people of all ages and interests to soak in live local jazz music, and […]

One of DC’s Great Urban Myths: The Origin of the Term “Lobbying”

Without a doubt, one of the best-known historic landmarks in the US Capitol City is the Willard Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue — the walls hold a lot of secrets. It is also the backdrop of one of the great legends of Washington, DC. As the story goes, the political term “to lobby” was coined in the […]