On our way to Washington DC and after we stopped at Antietam, we decided to make a quick stop at Great Falls, which is 15 miles outside of DC and part of the George Washington Memorial Highway. Great Falls is along the Potomac River where it narrows and travels through the Mather Gorge. It is a very picturesque area with cascading rapids and waterfalls. We rendezvoused with my co-worker at the park, and maybe stopped for about an hour to enjoy the three lookouts along the path on the river. 

The rendezvous was a little difficult, seeing that there was significant DC traffic, and we had not picked a designated meeting spot- and of course there was no cell service in the park. This was a bit surprising seeing how close we were to the Capital! The only place we could find service was on the farthest lookout (#3). Once we met up with our friend, we explored all three lookouts, however it decided to downpour rain each time we left one of the lookout points. So we did a bunch of standing under trees and dodging raindrops, until we left the last lookout that was farthest from the cars- then the sky really opened up. We were so soaked- like to the point when you take a step and water is gushing out of your shoes wet. Of course, we needed to get our national park passports from the car, so we ran through the rain and puddles to the visitors center for the stamp and back to the car. Truly a great idea to have an extra zip lock bag in the car to throw your phone, keys, passport etc. to keep dry!

Although it was rainy and we got soaked, the overlooks were very impressive and beautiful. It seemed like it would be a really nice place to escape DC and have a picnic or get into a little nature. I wish we had more time to explore, but I would definitely go back again. I bet it must be nice with a dramatic sunrise or sunset

-GW

America the Beautiful Park Total: $60