Splish, Splash
Washington's Watery Side

There is a time when there is no gridlock in Georgetown. Early on Sunday mornings, the SUVs and designer cars are still in their garages, their owners generally sleeping in before drifting out in search of the Sunday paper and carry-out lattes.

The activity then is on the river, where Virginia Avenue meets the Potomac. Drivers stop to let a mother Mallard waddle across the road with her chicks toddling behind her, then pull in at Thompson's Boat Center.

On the dock, staff gives advice as they efficiently push kayaks and canoes into the water and into what passes for rush hour on the Potomac. Scullers skim across the surface as they pull purposefully upstream and classic cabin cruisers putter too slowly to leave a wake as paddlers move from the shore to the river's channel. Fish break the smooth surface as they jump for a morning snack of flies and mosquitoes.

It's hard to think of downtown Washington has having a wet and wild side, but the Potomac, from the Arlington Memorial Bridge all the way up to the Great Falls of the Potomac is ideal for boaters, particularly the self-propelled variety.

With a generally gentle current, even novice kayakers and canoeists have easy going. This Sunday morning, a young woman draped in the dark veils of the East tentatively maneuvered the paddle of her kayak. It was her first time on the water, she said, and within a few minutes she was crossing the water with generally accurate strokes.

Washington from the water is a lot different from the city from the GW Parkway or the Whitehurst Parkway. Jets taking off from National Airport wish they had the grace of the osprey that swoop down to snag a fish. The noises of the parkways are muted by the trees on the riverbank and the quacking of ducks as they dodge the splashing paddles of enthusiastic, but inexperienced, kayakers. A family trolling in their bass boat tolerates the commotion. The towers of the USA Today and Gannett buildings look more like models from a Christmas train garden than monuments to the information age.

Directly across from the Boathouse is Theodore Roosevelt Island. The 88-acre island is said to have inspired the set design of Gilligan's Island. That might be an urban legend, but the island is as far from the concrete government buildings on shore as New York Avenue is from a country lane.

Landing on the island is as easy as beaching the kayak on a strip of sand and stepping out. Once ashore, explorers wander along two and a half miles of hiking trails that meander through dense woods. A red slash through the trees marks the flight path of a cardinal. A small snake sunning itself on the rocks by the water's edge slithers away in annoyance when hikers approach. Rangers struggle to move a hissing snapping turtle that chose to bury her eggs on the path's edge.

In the midst of all that bucolic atmosphere, the Roosevelt Monument is a sudden, and not very welcome, surprise. The forest in the center of the island has been replaced with a massive concrete plaza purportedly honoring a man who cherished the wilderness. A 23-foot statue of the President sits at the head of an oval terrace that sport two raging fountains that are crossed, in turn, by two massive bridges about two lanes wide. A couple of SUV's could roll across them with ease. That's about as close to nature as the monument gets.

Fortunately, the trees and underbrush hide the monument from view. A few steps down the trail, hikers are surrounded again by wild blackberry bushes and butterflies flitting through honeysuckle. Back on the river, the current works with paddlers to get them back to the Boathouse.

If getting near the water is more desirable than getting on it, parks on both shores of the Potomac make that easy. Rock Creek Park follows a tributary of the Potomac from Fogy Bottom into Maryland. Hiking and biking trails run alongside the creek. Over 30 species of fish call the creek home, something anglers appreciate.

The bulk of the park is in northwest Washington, above the National Zoo. Near the mouth of the creek, the park intersects the C&O Canal Towpath at the Georgetown Visitor Center. From April through October, mule-powered canal boats give rides on the canal at Georgetown and the Great Falls Visitor Center about 15 miles upstream.

Paddlers can rent canoes and boats and put in on the Potomac at Fletcher's Boat House on Canal Road off MacArthur Boulevard. The water downstream is pretty navigable, but upstream, things get very different very quickly. The official Park Service brochure says, "The Potomac River must be considered extremely dangerous at all times. River currents are strong, deceptive, and unpredictable."

Just the sort of conditions serious whitewater kayakers adore. The Great Falls of the Potomac creates class V and VI rapids, something amateurs should not even think about trying. As waterfalls go, these aren't impressive for their height. It's the power and beauty of the river as it tumbles across massive granite boulders that look like building blocks scattered by a petulant giant.

Swimming and boating in the falls is out of the question, although every year, people ignore the warning signs forbidding it, and every year, several people drown. Viewing the falls is another matter. Both shores offer great views for those willing to clamber over the boulders. The marked trail leading from the C&O Towpath is appropriately named The Billy Goat Trail. Great Falls Park on the Virginia shore has more traveled trails as well as developed overlooks and picnic areas. Pick which side to view from, since there is no way to cross the river without backtracking to the American Legion Bridge on I-495.
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