Great Falls Overlook Trailhead, Olmsted Island Trail, Potomac, MD 20854, United States
Geo Location
Lat long (38.9966,-77.2483489)
Great Falls Overlook Trailhead - Featured Reviews (98)
First time in the US and thought it would be fun to go for a nice walk after a meeting in our suits and bags. This place taught me the shire scale of america and the beauty of nature! So the suits and bags were a poor choice. It was a beautiful walk seeing animals that we dont really get to see in the UK was extremely exciting! If your visiting Washington DC, i highly recommend popping in here.
The Billy Goat trail offers some challenges but rewards you with breath taking views when you overcome those. The trail gets rocky and offers some lagre rocks to climb and manuver through some of those. My personal experience is that they appear more challenging than they actually are. Although One must always respect the trail and be very careful at all time. Goofing around can cause accidents. Trees offer the shade most of the trail and breeze from the river is pleasent, can be a bit humid, but during my visit it was not uncomfortable at all. Great experience if you like outdoors but dont want to go overboard
This place is absolutely gorgeous! The overlook is accessible via the C&O canal path (best place to park is at the Great Falls Tavern, big parking lot right off the trail). The path in this portion is a bit more dirt/gravel, so not a perfectly smooth surface. I'd suggest coming early in the day (think 8 am or so) if you want to avoid large groups of people. If you're riding a bicycle on the trail, do everyone a favor and ring a bell/say on your left when you're approaching/passing people. We were almost taken out by someone who didn't announce themselves and decided to squeeze through a small area between us and another person walking the opposite direction. It's your job as a cyclist to make sure that nobody gets hurt and it doesn't take much. If you're planning on going on the Billy Goat Trail, it's a bit further down the path (you'll see a structure crossing over the trail, it's right before that). I can't emphasize this enough, please make sure you're prepared for this hike before going on it. Don't wear regular tennis shoes if you value your ankles and general well being. This trail is covered in lots of rocks and it is incredibly easy to slip on them if you're not careful. Pets aren't allowed on the trail to protect them and everyone else. Near the end of part of the loop, you come up to a large rock face on the left with the blue blaze going up the rock (picture attached). You're meant to follow the crack along the rock, there are a good amount of hand holds/places for your feet so it shouldn't be an issue if you go slowly and have the right shoes. There is no other way to continue the trail without climbing this ledge, so keep that in mind.
This is better than the Virginia side, especially during the sunset. We weren't planning to stop, but we finished our plans for the day early and decided to swing by. Was awesome to see and one of the high lights from our trip.
Great views and nice trails. The Maryland side is nicer than the Virginia side. There are bridges that span the falls that you can walk over.
First time visiting this park, access to the park wasn’t bad, the trail to the overlook was short and easy. The views of the falls was amazing!
We came to the C&O Canal Towpath (around lock 20) on weekend. The trail to get to Great Falls overlook was pretty well maintained, and the scenery along the way was also beautiful. Since the bikes couldn’t get into this particular trail, it was much more tranquil and enjoyable. Highly recommend!
A natural oasis that makes you realize the greatness of this nation (on nature's side of things) , management wise it shows the lack of funds received by NPS. If only we cared more about preserving the historical side of these trails
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Where is Great Falls Overlook Trailhead Located ?
Great Falls Overlook Trailhead Located in Potomac of Olmsted Island Trail. The complete address is Great Falls Overlook Trailhead, Olmsted Island Trail, Potomac, MD 20854, United States.
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First time in the US and thought it would be fun to go for a nice walk after a meeting in our suits and bags. This place taught me the shire scale of america and the beauty of nature! So the suits and bags were a poor choice. It was a beautiful walk
The workouts are amazing and really push you cardio-wise and you truly see the results over time. The coaches are so energetic, supportive and encouraging and help u correct your form if needed to get the best out of your workout. The studio staff
This is where section A starts. No 5G along the trail only section near the end some signal. Free parking about 40-60 spots. About 30 mins from parking to this spot. On Oct 8, 2023, about 65 F long sleeve is needed if it is windy wear hoody shorts mi
Arrived without a reservation after trying to secure one online. I told the host about trying online. Rather than tell me tough-luck-Charlie, the host found our party of three. We hit it right before the rush, thankfully. Once seated, we were well t
This has become our go-to sushi place! It does not disappoint. Great quality, great value, and wonderful staff. They also usually give out a free serving of their house special (soybean) roll and sometimes we even gotten to try another sample of the
Enjoyed Winter restaurant week with a delicious 3-course dinner of salad/soup, entree, and dessert! Reservations made via OpenTable with everything ready for us when we arrived. Table lightning was a dim (noticed a bulb out) making menu difficult to
Small cafe with speciality baked goods. WiFi is fairly slow and thereâs limited seating. I love how you can watch the baking process and thereâs so much variety to choose from. Highly recommend if you want some delicious sweets
Great place, excellent service. I ordered Ambler tagos , it's a bit too tiny but tasty. Waitress and bus person provided great services. Over all we like this place and will come back more often.
I really like this place, their kosher sections may not be big but they got what you need, the dining area is great and the staff team is knowledgeable of the locations of their products in the store. I've seen this repeat with several of the staff m