- State: DC
- NPCA Region: Mid-Atlantic
- Est. Date: 1890
Air Quality Conditions
View the Polluted Parks ReportVisibility
Unsatisfactory
Health
Unsatisfactory
Nature
Significant Concern
An oasis of green in busy Washington, DC, Rock Creek Park is an expansive natural oasis in the middle of the city preserving the Rock Creek Valley. The park has many public facilities, including an outdoor concert and theater venue, a tennis stadium, a planetarium, a nature center, paved bicycle paths, and foot and horse trails along the creek and through the woodland. The park has an equestrian center that offers horseback riding lessons and guided trail rides. There is also a boat center that rents bikes, kayaks, canoes, sailboats and rowing shells. The park also provides a haven for birds and other urban wildlife.
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Blog Post
Nearby Nature: 10 Easy Getaways
Need more time outdoors? You might not have to travel as far as you think.
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Blog Post
The Only National Park Planetarium
National parks are some of the last, best places in the country to experience naturally dark night skies. Only one U.S. national park site features a planetarium to help visitors…
More about Rock Creek Park
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Read more about Don't Pave Mid-Atlantic Parks
NPCA at Work Don't Pave Mid-Atlantic Parks An expensive highway-widening project would irreversibly harm more than a hundred acres of parklands, putting taxpayers at risk without solving the region's traffic problems.
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Read more about Early Birds & Night Owls
Magazine Article Early Birds & Night Owls Could a trio of devoted birders break a Washington, D.C., bird-watching record set in 1989?
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Read more about In the Crosshairs
Magazine Article In the Crosshairs What happens when a national park has too many deer?
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