A Pathway to Discover Nature and Rediscover the River

Project Overview

The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail System will be a 20-mile interconnected system of bicycle and pedestrian paths, extending along both sides of the river from the National Arboretum to the Tidal Basin.

The trail will link 1,200 acres of green spaces, including more than 100 acres of newly created public parks, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods. The Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning and Economic Development and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) are coordinating this project with the National Park Service and other private development projects to create continuous public access along the Anacostia River.

Congress has appropriated about $10 million to the DDOT to design and build the Riverwalk. Development of the trail will occur in phases. Phase One, launched in the spring of 2006, involves the west side of the river between the Navy Yard and the National Arboretum, and is expected to be completed in 2007. Phase Two, scheduled for construction in the late summer of 2007, will create a trail on the east side of the river from Poplar Point to Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. The trail west of the Navy Yard will be built as development occurs, with a goal of completion by 2009.