Anacostia Riverwalk Trail
The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is a growing network of trails along the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. When finished, it will be about 25 miles long and stretch to the Washington Channel waterfront. The north end connects to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System; the south end connects to the Oxon Hill Farm Trail; and the west end links with Rock Creek Park trails and the 14th Street Bridge.
Today, 14 of 19 planned segments are complete, for a total of roughly 16 miles of trail. The project began as part of the 2003 Anacostia Waterfront Initiative. The plan called for trails on both sides of the river and along the Southwest Waterfront. Over the years, many existing paths were incorporated, including River Terrace, the Navy Yard Promenade, and several waterfront segments, plus bridges like Sousa, Francis Case, and Ethel Kennedy.
The Navy Yard Promenade opened in 2011 after a fence was removed. By 2020 about 13 miles were finished, with more than 2 miles under construction. A section under the 11th Street Bridge was closed in 2014 for cleanup of a former gas plant site and reopened in February 2021 after vegetation had time to establish.
The trail was built in pieces by different groups, so it includes paved multi-use paths, on-road routes, sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and riverfront promenades. Surfaces vary from asphalt to concrete, brick, or boardwalk.
The route starts in the north near the Prince George’s County line, passes through Kenilworth Park and Anacostia National Park to Poplar Point, then runs along South Capitol Street to the Douglass Bridge, crosses to the Washington Channel, and heads north along the Channel to the Tidal Basin. Future plans call for more connections to the Capitol and to the National Arboretum. In 2018 the trail became part of the broader Anacostia River Trail Network, which links several other trails.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:05 (CET).