"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness." - John Muir

Along the Maryland shores of the Potomac, easily accessible for those in the Montgomery County and Northern Virginia suburbs and Northwest Washington, DC, is literally a playground and training site for trail running. Even road runners can have fun in the parkland between Carderock and Swain's Lock on the Canal.

This area along the Potomac offers almost everything for the athlete who enjoys working out, outdoors. Just walking along the canal, one can see rappelling, whitewater kayaking, flat water canoeing (in the river or the canal), hiking, biking, all sorts of running, and all sorts of vistas not available elsewhere in our region. One can see the powerful, thundering spilling of the River over the Great Falls and a mile away hear virtually nothing looking across the Potomac River at the rocky wall on the Virginia side. Still just a mile away, a runner can be in the woods and not be aware of even being in the proximity of water. Perhaps one of the most impressive sights is to watch others try to capture it all. It can be daunting to pass an artist with pastels or oil in hand as they start to capture it all on the easel and two hours later view the image they will take away of our shared treasure.

For runners there are many options in this area.

The Billy Goat Trail--all three sections--has already been reviewed. Running the Billy Goat Trail--which can be done--is great practice for those preparing for a rocky trail race or perhaps an adventure race. Running and hiking the Billy Goat is also a great way to mix up a training session. Try doing the Billy Goat as a warm-up or cool-down before or after a nice trail run on the Canal's towpath, the Gold Mine trails, or trails up above the tavern.

The Gold Mine and connecting trails are perfect for trail running. There are more than six miles of blazed single track dirt trails in the wooded area bordered by Old Anglers Inn, the river, MacArthur Boulevard and the formal Great Falls Park area. There are gentle hills, great scenic views, wildlife, mixed hardwood and softwood trees, but no gold anymore.

Essentially, the Gold Mine trail is the center, connecting loop in this area that connects to the Canal, Berma Road, Anglers, MacArthur Blvd, and Great Falls Park via at least seven spurs. Running combinations of spur trails and loops, and the Gold Mine trail can easily provide an hour or two of pure trail running. But the fun does not have to end there.

After running the Gold Mine, one can easily drop down to the Tavern area of the Park and run upstream beyond the most northern part of the parking lot and either access the Ford Mine trail, recently re-routed and blazed for a few more miles of fun, or cross the Canal and access the River Trail (just a short ways up from the concrete platform across from the tavern on your left).

The River Trail adds about a mile going out. So if you run the River Trail and loop back on the towpath you have added an extra two miles to your workout.

The Ford Mine trail on the east side of the Canal offers more opportunities for trail running. It is easy to add a few extra miles back in this section. It is also possible to add a combination of local roads (and at times a short section of River Road) to get to Swain's Lock, the long way, for a larger loop back to the Tavern area. Using combinations accessible via the Ford Mine Trail can provide several additional miles of trail running.

There is, of course, the towpath along the Canal, which offers a nice flat surface, mile markers, great scenery and access to everything. After an hour or two of trail running or perhaps following a nice five to ten mile workout which has taken the runner upriver, running back along the canal can be very pleasant.

The combination of possibilities for running is what really adds to this beautiful local treasure. Some may want to try the following (starting out of Anglers).

Run the upper Billy Goat section upstream around Bear Island (access this section of the Billy Goat off of the towpath on your left after crossing the wooden bridge below the Angler's parking lot and before the widewater section of the Canal) . After coming out the other end of the Billy Goat, run upriver and then cross over to the Tavern area and access the Gold Mine Loop (right before and behind the Tavern). Take the Gold Mine Loop up and at the first intersection bear left, at the next intersection bear right, pass the next intersection and then go down the Woodland Trail back to the Angler's Spur. This is probably a five to six mile or so run, maybe longer when the canal, park area, and canal crossings are factored back in. Given the Billy Goat's rocks, give this well over an hour.

Next go back up the Angler's Spur but do not take the Woodland spur as you did coming in. Go to the Gold Mine and take a left. You will go past the Woodland Spur, another spur, maybe two more, and then the Gold Mine Spur to the Tavern (the sign is broken). Drop down to the tavern. Go toward the parking lot but avoid its hard surface. Instead, run on the grassy area toward the concession stand and shortly you will notice an unblazed trail section and then a blazed trail. Follow this along the Canal and then toward the right. The single track opens up to a double track section while climbing the hill. Take this for a mile and notice the occasional houses and some type of government facility (fenced in). You can go on, explore some unofficial trails, run on the neighborhood streets after a while or turn around. You can go back out the way you came or take the left about 50 yards before the trail gets close to the canal. Either way you will get back to the big parking lot.

Go back to the Gold Mine Spur. Climb up, bear to the left and after a mile or so go past the Falls Road and Rockwood Spurs. This time take a left on the Valley Trail. The Valley Trail is a great, mostly downhill way to finish off a nice session of trail running. Taken together, these two out-and-back loops will take most of about three hours. That's three hours of trail running on rocks, on single and double track dirt trails, on the canal and on a dirt road (Berma). What great practice, specific training, or simple play.

There are, of course, endless possibilities of combinations. Some may want to add biking, paddling, hiking, rappelling, climbing, or orienteering. Take a few moments to take in the sites as well. Once in a while you can see a skilled kayaker going down the falls which is an amazing site. Run out to the overlook. If you don't see a kayaker, look down at the base of the falls on the rocks. There is almost always a few heron here and there looking for a snack.

There are year-round restrooms at both Angler's (porta-potties) and Great Falls (heated restrooms open year-round) and drinking water (well water) at Great Falls. During the season in the daytime, both Great Falls and Swain's Lock open their concession stands. In addition to buying popsicles, you can rent canoes at Swain's Lock. There is a water fountain right behind the concession stand at Swain's.

Try the other two sections of the Billy Goat Trail. Do some speedwork on the Towpath. I probably should not recommend this but some do timed repeats on the Billy Goat. Bring your bike, rent a canoe and get in some tri training time or adventure racing prep. Run a few Gold Mine loops then hop on your bike for an out-and-back up to Riley's Lock. Try the overlook trail off of the Canal and Berma Road. Got a kayak, well you get the idea.

There really was gold in the hills here 100 years ago. Now there is another type of gold if you like exercising outdoors.