Washington, DC: South Fork Quantico Creek Loop
Go ahead: Bag work early and swing off the Beltway for a quick 4-mile hike or trail run through the rolling piedmont of Prince William Forest Park.
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Trail Facts
- Distance: 6.1
Waypoints
SVT001
Location: 38.5806694030762, -77.3927917480469
Pick up orange-blazed High Meadows Trail heading W. Footnote: In WWII, these forests were used as a training camp for spies
SVT002
Location: 38.5810394287109, -77.395751953125
Hard L; drop down from ridge draped in white and red oak, and over two streams
SVT003
Location: 38.5767402648926, -77.3989868164062
Cross wooden bridge in stream-lined hollow and climb over a mound sloping into South Fork Quantico Creek
SVT004
Location: 38.5742416381836, -77.4018936157226
R onto white-blazed South Valley Trail; dense ferns on path
SVT005
Location: 38.5738296508789, -77.4041519165039
Head up and away from stream on moderate ascent
SVT006
Location: 38.5769271850586, -77.4089050292969
Deep cover of young beech and yellow poplar grow in damp creek soils. In 100 yds., cross large wood bridge built by the Sierra Club based on a Michelangelo design
SVT007
Location: 38.5779991149902, -77.4102783203125
Waterfall rolls from inky-black Lake 5 over small dam; to W are fields and rustic houses of Happy land Cabin Camp 5 (reservable, some year-round); camp and dam built by CCC in ’30s. Follow creek N past boulder piles
SVT008
Location: 38.5851783752441, -77.4124984741211
Turn R onto Mawavi Rd. (gravel track) and ascend
SVT009
Location: 38.5885200500488, -77.4066390991211
Turn R onto park’s Scenic Rd. and wind along plateau
SVT010
Location: 38.5860481262207, -77.3995513916016
Road curves S on head of thin ridge back to WPT 2; retrace route to car