Green Line to Camping: Greenbelt Park
ANY METRO RIDE can seem like an adventure these days. But Washingtonians often forget that when you get bored of wonk-watching in the urban jungle, you can head to the real wilderness. Just swap your briefcase for a backpack and head to Greenbelt Park, a year-round campground a mere 13 miles from the White House — and an easy walk from the appropriately named Green Line.
A quick mile-and-a-half hike from the College Park station down Paint Branch Parkway will deliver you to one of Greenbelt’s 174 campsites. They almost never fill up (although reservations are available). And at $16 a night, camping via public transportation is a bargain getaway.
“I felt really caught off-guard when I got to the park,” says Luke Black, a traveler who chose to camp in Greenbelt while in town for a conference. “The whole trip to the park is urban, and then suddenly you are in the forest.” Encircled by subdivisions and highways, campers close their eyes at the end of the night to the orange glow of city lights.
But don’t let the park’s proximity to civilization scare you away.
“While this is an urban park, it’s unique in the sense that it provides a natural shelter,” says park administrator Frank Young, referring to the forest’s ability to buffer campers from the sounds of the highway that cuts the park in two.
The sights are definitely straight out of the Discovery Channel. Greenbelt Park’s hills provide ample refuge for red foxes and an abundance of whitetail deer. You can keep an eye out for them as you explore more than 10 miles of hiking trails and running paths. Also on view right now: gorgeous wildflowers.
Although Greenbelt certainly won’t be confused for Yellowstone, its modest 1,100 acres of reclaimed farmland showcase nature’s ability to recover. About 100 years ago, farmers plowed and tilled fields of tobacco and corn on this land until the soil was worn out and depleted. Yet, in time, the forest began to regain its vitality. (Makes you wonder what would happen if we wanted to turn Tysons Corner into a national park.)
There are two Metro stops within reach of the park, Greenbelt and College Park. Illogically, Greenbelt is the farthest away of the two and lacks direct access — unless you’re into trespassing and stream-hopping. From College Park, the route to the campsite features a fine array of pleasant diversions sprinkled along the roadside trail.
Ellen Linson Swimming Pool has way more than 50-meter lanes. There’s a volleyball court, basketball hoops and a bike rental service, which comes in handy if you’re interested in cruising the trails up to Lake Artemesia or down the Anacostia tributary trail.
The pool is also adjacent to an 18-hole Frisbee golf course and hosts a Saturday morning farmers market, which makes it possible to buy supplies on the way to the campsite.
The beauty of Greenbelt Park’s proximity to the heart of Washington is that even if you don’t bring your trail mix, you could hop back on the Metro and head over to U Street for brunch after “roughing it” the night before.
But for Black, a trip to Greenbelt Park was simply about stepping out of his routine: “I wanted to camp in the city, even if that is sort of an oxymoron.”
GEARING UP
The Greenbelt Metro station isn’t the closest one to the park. But you might want to swing by there anyway, because it’s just a short walk from the College Park REI (9801 Rhode Island Ave., 301-982-9681), where you can rent gear for your trip, including tents, camp stoves and sleeping bags. The store is organizing a volunteer outing to Greenbelt Park on National Trails Day (June 6) for trash pickup and more.
Written by Express contributor William Shubert
Photos courtesy William Shubert
