HIKING VIRGINIA

Scotts Run Nature Preserve offers northern Virginians a relaxing way to spend some time in a deep-forest atmosphere of oak, beech, and tulip poplar. The small streams that spill off high river bluffs nourish carpets of ferns, grasses, and wildflowers. The most spectacular stream is, of course, Scotts Run, with its 30-foot multilevel waterfall that breaks just before the stream joins the Potomac River. Once known as the Burling Tract, named for one of its owners, this preserve is now linked with Riverside and Great Falls parks farther upstream as a link in the Potomac Gorge biological system, a complex of plants and animals–some globally rare and found nowhere else on earth–that eke out a life along the turbulent Potomac River.

THE RUNDOWN

Start: Parking lot off Georgetown Pike (VA 193) at Swinks Mill Road

Distance: 3.0-mile loop

Hiking time: About 2 hours

Difficulty: Easy to strenous, ranging from wide, graded trails, to steep climbs between Potomac River bottomland and upland forests

Trail surface: Dirt footpaths and dirt roads wind through hardwood forest with some stands of eastern hemlock, tall river bluffs, wildflowers, rock outcroppings, riverine flats, and upland forests.

Land status: County park

Nearest town: McLean, VA

Other trail users: Joggers, crosscountry skiers, dog walkers, and mountain bikers. Swimming is prohibited.

Accessibility: None

Canine compatibility: Dogs permitted

Trail contact: River Bend Park, (703) 759-9018, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks

Schedule: Open year-round, a half-hour before sunrise and a half-hour after sunset

Fees/permits: None

Facilities/features: None other than parking

NatGeo TOPO! map: Falls Church; trail map can be downloaded from www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks

From I-495, take exit 44. If traveling north on I-495, turn left off the exit onto Georgetown Pike (VA 193). In 0.7 mile, at the intersection of Swinks Mill Road (on the left), turn right into Scotts Run Nature Preserve parking area. GPS: N38 57.591′ / W77 12.328′. DeLorme: Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer: Page 76, A4.

You work up quite the appetite exploring Scotts Run Nature Preserve, what with negotiating steep hills, narrow billy goat—like paths, and a nest of trails through the upland forest. So I was half expecting the pronouncement, delivered in no uncertain terms, that my assistants—my niece and nephew—were hungry. They demanded food, and I, sensing their growing resolve, made an executive decision. Lunch all around, I muttered.

On a rocky point near Stubblefield Falls, where mayflies swarm heavy off the marshy shoreline, we found shelter from both insect and sun under a scrubby tree. Out came sandwiches, drinks, cheese-on-cheese crackers. I stifled a mutiny over mustard (no one told me they didn’t like mustard) by pointing to a cryptic rock carving—some long phrase, partly weathered, carved in neat block letters, referencing trade imbalances, nature, and logic (clearly not ancient Native American writings, I told my disappointed niece and nephew). While they busied themselves, I scraped mustard off the white bread. My cell phone chirped and I took the call. Ahhh, nature.

When a child screams, instinct kicks in. “Her mom’s gonna kill me,” I panicked. Out loud, I yelled, “What’s wrong? Are you OK?” She screamed again.

I followed her pointing finger and at first saw nothing. Then a rock about 50 yards offshore moved. Or, the rock didn’t, but the snakes did. Five—no, six, seven, eight—black, oily water snakes adjusted their suntanning positions on a rock dam. The rock dam where they lay stretched far downstream, but these snakes felt uncomfortably close. Quietly, one slipped from off its perch and moved closer.

It’s not unusual, in springtime, for the common variety water snakes—the dark brown–banded water snake and its lighter-shaded cousin, the northern water snake—to siesta on exposed rocks, bridge abutments, even dams. These are nonpoisonous, members of the colubrid family. They give birth to live young in the spring, and together the whole clan haunts rivers, lakes, and pond shorelines looking for food. Youngsters are skinny and harmless looking. Elders tend toward the heavy side, their thick heads, muscular jaws, and rows of sharp teeth conveying a slightly more sinister intent.

At this point, it should be established that I am, for better or for worse, a tree and rock guy. I get excited about rocks folded and broken by violent collisions of continental plates. I think it’s cool that shale, subjected to extreme heat hundreds of millions of years ago, turned first to slate, then schist. And how schist, so hard it withstands the steady flowing drumbeat of the Potomac River, comprises the bedrock underfoot at Scotts Run Nature Preserve. I thrill at identifying an eastern hemlock along Scotts Run, at spying mountain laurel breaks on that same steep streamside hill. Wildflowers peaking through soggy ground rot in a cove forest make me downright giddy.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying I am not a snake guy. Snakes make me shudder. That said, I understand leaders should wear a brave face. I regained some composure and made a mental checklist of snake facts and myths. Only about 10 percent of snake species worldwide are poisonous. One of them, unfortunately, is a water snake: the cottonmouth, or water moccasin. Fortunately, you’ll find them no farther north than the Dismal Swamp in southeast Virginia, some 200 miles away. Even there, they’re rare. Standing where I was, on the shore of the Potomac River, I reasoned I was relatively safe.

Snakes are nearly always smaller than you remember. Water snakes, in particular, average only about 3 feet in length. Naturally, the snakes I saw swimming against the current were 10 feet long. But maybe not.

Finally, snakes do not poison people with their breath. They can’t charm prey to prevent flight. And snakes do not swallow little children whole. A water snake’s diet consists of insects, crayfish, small fish, and, occasionally, small mammals.

That final thought jerked me back to reality and I quickly checked on my two small mammals. They weren’t in immediate danger of being charmed, choked, breathed upon, coughed on, or sprayed (water snakes emit a foul, musky scent when handled), or—God forbid—swallowed whole, but I still played it safe. Saying a short prayer to St. Patrick, he who droveth the snakes from Ireland, I shepherded the kids off the rock. I may have even muttered “cool” once or twice to show I wasn’t unhip.

I do recall declaring snake-viewing hour over. As I shoved lunch leftovers into a backpack, my nephew stated that a water snake would make a great pet. I tried distracting him.

“Look at this cool tree,” I said. He ignored me. He’ll probably grow up to be a snake guy.

MILES AND DIRECTIONS

0.0Start at set of interpretive panels at the Scotts Run parking area at Swinks Mill Road. Follow a wide gravel road downstream (north) along Scotts Run. For the next 1.9 miles, the trail is part of the blue-blazed Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (PHT). Note: Be prepared to cross Scotts Run several times before reaching the Potomac River.

0.4Cross Scotts Run and follow a dirt road uphill.

0.5An interpretive panel on the right side of the trail at the base of a set of wooden steps marks a side trip to ruins of a home belonging to the Burling family. The ruins consist of a chimney and house foundation.

0.6Descend to the Potomac River and the scenic 30-foot waterfall that marks Scotts Run’s confluence with the Potomac. From the falls, turn downstream (east) and follow the Potomac Heritage Trail.

0.9Turn right (south) and climb a steep hill alongside a small tributary of the Potomac. After a brief climb, veer left (east) to cross the tributary and climb the blue-blazed Potomac Heritage Trail up a set of stairs built into the hillside.

1.0A hike along a cliff rim ends at a Potomac River overlook on the left. The panorama includes Stubblefield Falls directly in front and Turkey Island upstream left. Continue straight (east) along the blue-blazed Potomac Heritage Trail.

1.3Merge right (south) and uphill with an old dirt road following the blue-blazed Potomac Heritage Trail.

1.5Reach a four-way trail junction and turn right to visit another Potomac River overlook. The blue-blazed Potomac Heritage Trail turns left at this four-way junction.

1.7Reach the Potomac River overlook. Return and retrace your steps to the four-way junction with the Potomac Heritage Trail.

1.9After returning to the four-way junction, turn right (south) and follow a dirt woodland path.

2.0At a fork in the trail, turn right (west). This dirt trail starts as a wide double track but soon becomes a singletrack woods path and crosses a small stream.

2.1Turn left (south) at a T junction. Note: Taking a right turn at this junction leads to another Potomac River overlook.

2.3Turn right (west) at a T junction. Within 0.1 mile, cross straight through a four-way trail junction.

2.7Follow the wide dirt footpath as it swings left (south) past a trail board for the Burling home ruins. Note: An unmarked path veers right here and leads to the ruins.

3.0Arrive back at the Scotts Run parking area.

Wildflower and birding walks, watershed cleanups, and shoreline plantings are scheduled at Scotts Run by Riverbend Park, (703) 759-9018.

Arlington and Alexandria Bed & Breakfast Network, (703) 549-3415, www.aabbn.com. Assists with reservations for area bed-and-breakfasts.

Old Brogue Irish Pub, Great Falls, (703) 759-3309, www.oldbrogue.com. Traditional Irish fare and live entertainment.

Deli Italiano, Great Falls, (703) 759-6782, www.deliitaliano.com. Grab a sandwich before heading into the park, or a slice of pizza afterward.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC), Vienna, (703) 242-0315, www.patc.net. The PATC Map D covers Scotts Run, as does the PATC guidebook.

8. SCOTTS RUN NATURE PRESERVE