6 Things You Didn’t Know About Rock Creek Park

Winding through the middle of D.C. is an expanse of green so massive it could fit New York City’s Central Park twice. This urban oasis is Rock Creek Park. Just moments away from The Silva, Rock Creek Park is a 1,700-acre backyard right here in Adams Morgan. The park is filled with history, secrets, and some of the best activities to get Washingtonians outdoors without having to leave the district. Here are six of our favorite things you probably didn’t know about Rock Creek Park.

It contains an old spy station.

On the edge of Rock Creek Park sits an unremarkable shed where intelligence officers used to keep an eye on the comings and goings of the Hungarian and Czechoslovakian embassies during the height of the Cold War. 

There’s a golf course, tennis courts, planetarium, amphitheater, and so much more.

There’s much more to Rock Creek Park than the National Zoo. Find an open court (there are 32 in all) to practice your backhand. Clear your work calendar for a round of golf. See the stars in the planetarium, or on stage at the amphitheater. The possibilities are endless. 

Roads in the park are closed to cars on weekends.

Select roads in the park are closed to cars every weekend so bikers, rollerbladers, joggers, and walkers can take the open road in peace. Good news for pedestrians, this could become a permanent feature soon.

Teddy Roosevelt went skinny dipping there.

Teddy Roosevelt loved to hit the trails with his colleagues and went on one of his classic “scrambles” in Rock Creek Park. He lost a ring near Boulder Bridge (that may still be out there somewhere!). Roosevelt even took the French Ambassador to the United States, Jean Jules Jusserand, skinny dipping in Rock Creek. Jusserand now claims the “best obscure memorial” in D.C., located in Rock Creek Park.

You can find stacks of artifacts from the Capitol.

You may have known about the old Capitol columns at the National Arboretum, but did you know there are more architectural artifacts from the Capitol hidden in plain sight in Rock Creek Park?

You can rent a horse, or hoof it yourself.

Go on a trail ride in the middle of D.C., take lessons, or even volunteer at Rock Creek Horse Center. Not into horseback riding? You can also lace up your boots and explore 32 miles of trails on foot.
Now’s your chance to have Rock Creek Park in your backyard. Click here to be the first to live at The Silva, Adams Morgan’s most highly anticipated apartment community.