East Potomac Park

Physically a stone’s throw from the National Mall, as tourists go, East Potomac Park may as well be in Siberia. A very pleasant, green, cherry-blossom-lined Siberia that is a lovely spot for walking, fishing and general gamboling (not that you can’t do any of that stuff in the real Siberia). A 5-mile paved trail, great for cycling or in-line skating, runs around the park’s circumference, paralleling Ohio Dr. The center of the park is the East Potomac Park golf course. The park sits on a finger of land that extends southward from the Tidal Basin into the Potomac River. On foot, you can access it by following trails that lead from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial under the bridges. If you drive out this way, you can park on the shoulder of Ohio Dr.