We got up at about 6.30a and had a light breakfast and got cleaned up. After spending some time with Maria, Jim’s wife, and Grace, his daughter, we set out for our adventure. We left his house around 8a in Spotsylvania and drove for about an hour to Great Falls, Maryland. When we arrived the sun was shining and the air was nice and crisp. A few cirrus clouds were in the area but were non-threatening. We found a parking space close to the front and loaded our packs with food and gear.

As we made our way to the trailhead, we noticed that few people we here at this time. This was great, especially for being a Saturday! The towpath that took us to the trail was flat and was comprised mainly of dirt and small pebbles. If you were running or biking, this is the path you would want to be on. After a short walk of about 100 yards we came to the Olmstead Island Bridges. We went as far as the first bridge and took these two shots.

We resumed our walk to the trailhead. A little further down the way I shot these photos.

To put in perspective, we were on the Maryland (North) side of the Potomac. To the South, or across the river is Virginia.

After a brief walk we came to Section “A” of the Billy Goat Trail. The trail immediately started out rocky and somewhat flat. After A few minutes of hiking it became obvious that the description of the trail was very accurate. There were large boulders around the first bend of the trail and to our right was a drop off of about 50 feet. I noticed a section near the edge that was clear of trees. Across the way on the Virginia side were some rock climbers practicing their skills.

As I got closer I realized that we could actually make our way down to the river. The water was warm and mostly clear. At this point I was not considering going for a swim…yet. Here I had Jim capitalize on this photo op for me.

On the way back up I found this little guy in my path.

After a little ways this seemed like another good place to take a picture.

Remember the description of the precipice in the first paragraph? Here it is. And here is me climbing it. It is right after Sandy Landing. It is not as bad as it looks. It was actually easy compared to some other sections of the trail.

A view from the top.

The next section proved to be difficult because a lot of the boulders were more vertical and had very little flat surface area on the top, hence the name Spitzbergen Cliffs. This was abetted by a collection of 10 or so hikers milling and finding their way around. Sorry, no pics of this. It was not a time for photos.

Once we reached the bottom of this section of the trail we found ourselves on a small beach. The name of this beach was Purplehorse Beach. Why? I am not sure. Maybe the people that named it were tripping. I do not know. This was a nice spot to catch your breath and if you wanted, to take a dip. I did the former.

We left this spot to carry forward up and around the slippery, sandy, rocky bend. We went up, down, and around to find ourselves next to the bed of a stream that fed into the Potomac. The last two shots I recommend for a wallpaper for your desktop ;)

We hiked on for a little way further over more rocks and down to a dry stream bed and back up the other steep side. We took a break and grabbed a snack. No sooner than we got going we rounded a corner and Section “A” was finished! YAY! These are a few shots of the section of the canal that they call “Widewater.”

We walked most of the way back on the towpath. However we did manage to make a detour and extend our hike to another section called “Overlook Trail.” This trail was only 0.4miles. Thank goodness! We were beat and it was practically 80 degrees straight up for the first 30 feet! After that it was mostly clear and flat. There we natural steps along the side of a few ravines that we crossed. These are a few shots of the Potomac from a semi clear area on the trail.

As we returned to the start of the towpath we could see that the lovely weather had brought out the crowd. The place was buzzing with singles and couples, young children and older folks, pet owners, and non pet owners, bikers, walkers, and runners.

I recommend this hike to those that are confident in their physical abilities and the park itself to anyone who enjoys being in and around nature and people.

Cost to park: $5

Directions:    Exit 41 off of 495. Bear left. Turn left at MacArther Blvd. Drive to the end.

Other info:    You can access all three sections of the Billy Goat Trail from here. Kayakers and small game fisherman are welcome. The park has no trashcans. Whatever waste you generate you take home with you.

Billy Goat Trail Map