A Lovely Stroll through Huntley Meadows

Type Of Exercise: Walk
Walk Stats:
Distance: 4.13 mi
Duration: 1h 20 mins

This morning I found myself walking the sylvan trails of Huntley Meadows. The area was once a “meandering” of the nearby Potomac River, but was later made an orphaned lake as thousands of years passed and the river “straightened out.”

Having focused my tiny adventures in South Alexandria for the last couple of days, I’ve discovered that a TREMENDOUS amount of land in this area seems to have been owned at one point in history by George Mason and his family. George Mason was a founding father and was essentially George Washington’s next door neighbor.

So, surprise, the land that Huntley Meadows sits on, originally belonged to the Masons. The nearby Huntley Plantation and Huntley House was built by George Mason’s grandson about 20 years after he died.

Gradually the land was sold off to farms and then the US Government bought a significant portion of it in the 1940’s. The government used it to test asphalt for roads, as anti-aircraft battery to defend the capital, and finally as a facility for “highly classified radio communications research.”

In 1975 it was sold to Fairfax county for the immense sum of $1.00. Yep, just a buck. The Coast Guard, however, maintains a presence on a portion of the land, which is still restricted to the public.

Jessi and I find ourselves walking in this park frequently. The park supports a tremendous diversity of plant and wildlife. Among the residents of the park are numerous great blue herons, egrets, green back herons, alligator snapping turtles, painted turtles, frogs, toads, and snakes of various species. I’ve never NOT been blown away by the beauty when I go to this park.

The park has a few small trails and a gorgeous boardwalk that allows visitors to hike over the marshlands. Along the boardwalk are observation points, way-sides, and an observation tower. In the morning, the park is often occupied by small armies of nature photographers with tripods and very large telephoto cameras. I took a picture of their ranks and posted it below.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I can never visit this park without thinking of a dear friend, who passed a few years ago. He came to the park nearly every morning and graced us with his witty observations and beautiful photos on Facebook. We held a memorial hike through the park shortly after he passed.

Once again, the lighting was ideal for pictures over the water and on the trail. The surrounding woodlands glistened with the sparkle of hundreds of HUGE spider webs. Despite the photographer army, it was quiet on the trails. While passing one photographer making his way to another observation point, I heard him telling a story about another photographer, who dropped their tripod in the marsh and had to retrieve it.

Time was running out, so I made my way out of the park along the trail next to it’s winding entrance road began to make my way home.

Here’s a link to the park for anyone interested in checking it out: Click Here