Alexandra Rackoff is a mother of two, a medical student and a nature lover. She has wonderfully offered her experienced insights of family hikes in the DC area!

I love hiking with my kids. They are two and four and they are so happy to walk through the woods. My four year old has eagle vision, can find a bug or snake that I never would have seen. First thing he wanted for his birthday: binoculars. He loves to learn the names of plants and birds (the few that I can remember), and to talk about the animals of the forest, what they eat, how they feeds their babies, their opinions on the war in Iraq, etc.

My two year old gets this look of rapture when she sees an ant or a bunny. One time we were hiking in Shenandoah National Park and we stumbled onto a flock of tiger swallowtail butterflies just hatching out of their chrysalises. They started to fly around us and my little girl stood still and as these beautiful creatures surrounded her in the woods.

The DC area is a perfect climate for hiking with kids year round. In early spring, treasure hunt for the first fragile wildflowers that bloom and die, soaking up the sunlight that trickles down to the forest floor. The hot, humid summer days make our local woods lush and green and the animals are active. In fall, the woods are beautifully awash in gold and rust. Winter makes for a fun tramp through the snow as the soft sunlight filters through leafless branches.

I love hikes for getting the kids out of the house and I love showing them some of the things I think are so cool about the world. For free. While getting exercise and fresh air. Without having to fill out any medical forms or coordinate pick up/drop off. Hikes also build focus, attention span and analytical scientific thinking skills.

Sounds great, right? So what concerns might you have? Hello, it is freaking hot and humid out there! So go early or late, hike under shade trees or on trails that pass a cool river. Just getting out of the sun and off the concrete lowers the temperature 10 or 20 degrees. Worried you will get devoured by those sadistic skeeters? 5% Deet solutions like Off! Familycare are acceptable to most pediatricians. Not sure what poison ivy looks like? Leaves of three, let it be. (See graphic.)

Finally, you just don’t know where to go? Gotcha covered. Here are some easy, close trails good for little ones and big kids alike.

Audubon Woodend Nature Sanctuary
8940 Jones Mill Rd, Chevy Chase, MD Map
(301) 652-9188
Great trails through the woods and around a pond, set in 40 acres. There is a bird blind on, climbing trees, a hedge maze, and beautiful grassy fields for a picnic. We recently saw a baby deer with spots and then a female deer, each no more than four feet away.

Brookside Nature Center
in Wheaton Regional Park
1400 Glenallan Ave. Wheaton, MD Map
(301) 946-9071
Many of us have been to Brookside Gardens and to the wonderful butterfly exhibit, but if you go farther down Glenallan Rd., there is another parking lot and another building, with a few trails into the surrounding woods. We love the Self Guided Nature Trail, with posts numbered 1-10 and a booklet guide.

Rock Creek Park
Map of the Park
Features, Directions from DC, MD, VA
Visitor Information (202) 895-6070
One nice trail starts in the parking lot just south of Wyndale, crosses the creek and splits off into the woods. Many other trails branch off the paved path.

Locust Grove Nature Center ‘
in Cabin John Regional Park
7777 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, Maryland Map
(301) 299-1990
Trails leave from the nature center, including a cattail trail and a Cabin John trail that connects to the playground on Tuckerman Road.

Roosevelt Island
Trails, map and directions
The parking lot is right off of GW Parkway, heading north, between 66 and Key Bridge. Many trails, with views of DC and visits by kayakers.

Black Hill Regional Park
Lake Ridge Drive, Boyds, Maryland Map
(301) 916-0220
Over 10 miles of unpaved trails through the woods, plus storytime on a boat on the lake, and great picnic/playground spaces.

Have any questions for nature-mama Alexandra? Drop her an email at Alex (underscore) Rackoff (at) yahoo (dot) com.