With fifty percent of the Difficult Run hike following the Potomac River at one of its most scenic spots, it's easy to see why so many people make Great Falls Park one of their favorites. Just 2.8 miles from the Scott's Run Nature Preserve, this is one of two scenic loop hikes just outside the Capital Beltway.
The trail is hard to spot in places because of blow downs, just follow the blue blazes. The trail passes over a small footbridge and a paved road, then continues just to the right on the other side.
Continue on the blue blazed trail as it follows the river before arriving at Patowmack Canal ruins. In 50 yards, turn right over the footbridge then left following the blue blazed River Trail. The trail will descend over a large footbridge before arriving at the main picnic area of Great Falls Park. Stay right and pass the two main scenic overlooks at Great Falls Park.
In 0.5 miles, turn right on the Swamp Trail. Follow the Swamp Trail for 0.4 miles where it ends at the next trail junction. Turn right climbing over the hill and in 0.3 miles the trail ends at the junction of the Ridge Trail.
Turn left, and in 60 yards, at the bottom of the depression, a small trail marked only by a single split rail post turns right downhill. Turn right on the trail as it heads down the ravine for the remaining 0.2 miles back to Georgetown Pike and the parking area. BE CAREFUL crossing Georgetown Pike, there's a lot of fast-moving traffic on the road.
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Reviews For The Difficult Run Hike (5 Most Recent)
This is just a hike put together and not a National Parks trail. The name is kind of deceptive,"Difficult Run Hike" is the combination of several trails. Make sure you follow the instructions starting with where to park. There are many places to pick up the "Difficult Run Trail" and starting at a different location will probably send you in the wrong direction on Difficult Run Trail. The scenic views are on the `Ridge Trail If you want to see the scenic overlooks of the Potomac, make sure to print these instructions or just hike the Ridge Trail.
If you follow markers for the Difficult Run Trail you will hike along the Difficult Run river and never see the the scenic views of the Potomac River. You will have a good hike along but it is out and back, not a loop.
I'd suggest renaming this to the Difficult Run and Ridge hike to separate it from the marked trail.
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Date of Hike: Saturday, January 14, 2012
We hiked Difficult Run and Scott's Run Nature Preserve on 01/14/12. Started on Difficult run at 9:00 Am and took about 3 hrs and 15 min with taking over 100 pictures. The Trail is Very easy with so much to look at on just about the entire hike. The Trail is still closed for just a very small area that it seemed everyone just walked past including us. I am sure it would have been an issue if it was raining or just rained that night. But it was very easy for us to cross the washed out area. We finished the hike at around 12:10 and went right over to Scott&rsquos Run. We arrived at the lower parking lot of Scott&rsquos Run at 12:25. Now Scotts run is a little more difficult to map. After crossing the first concrete posts we made our way to the 2nd set of concrete posts crossing the stream. We did not cross the stream we just kept going straight on the fading trail following along the left side of the stream. As they said in the review this may not be for kids or people with dogs. But we had a great time doing some climbing on the boulders. After getting to the waterfall and crossing the stream we hiked along the Potomac as the map directs then made a right going uphill to the flag post. We kept straight for a while until we made a right to follow the trail to get to the Burling House Ruins. After the Ruins we turned back to get to the main trail we just came from and followed the trail back to the parking area. Finished the hike at 2:20PM so just under 2 hours with GPS saying we hiked 3.33 miles.
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Date of Hike: Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Difficult Run trail is still washed out and officially "closed". You can either ignore the signs and climb down and around, bushwack up the hill and go around, or turn around. I ignored the signs. Be careful if you climb down...the river is very deep there and I wouldn't trust the rocks on the down river side, some of them look like they could easily come loose so test carefully. The River Trail is now blazed green. You can still see a few faded blue blazes here and there. Lots of traffic on the River Trail closer to the visitor center. Swamp Trail is appropriately named. :) Nice hike without having to drive far. I had to whack a loose husky on the head with a trekking pole when it came running up to my leashed dog. My dog will attack and defend against even "friendly" dogs, so the whack on the head was getting off lightly. Please keep your pets leashed people.
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Date of Hike: Sunday, October 23, 2011
I have hiked most, if not all, of the trails in and around Great Falls Park, but have never done the Difficult Run hike in it's entirety until this hike. It's a great local hike, and as a previous reviewer posted, some areas are so remote that you forget you're right outside the Capital Beltway. I did this hike alone, walking briskly, and it took me about 2.5 hours. This includes stopping several times for photo opportunities. I have also done a majority of these trails with my son starting as early as age 4. Distance on this hike is the only thing to really consider as far as bringing children. There are a couple climbs, but nothing too earth shatteringly difficult.
As a parking alternative (if you don't mind the $5 donation to the NPS) you can park in the first lot inside Great Falls Park (immediate sharp right-hand turn after the entrance station). From the end of the parking lot, proceed towards the bathrooms on the trail which leads to the right of the parking lot, then turn right onto the Old Carriage Road. From there, follow the Difficult Run Hike in a counter-clockwise direction until returning to the Great Falls parking area you started in.
As the prior reviewer noted, there is a section of trail which was washed out during the storms associated with Hurricane Irene. The extent of the trail damage is just that little section where the trail seemingly disappears into the hillside. Depending on water levels, you may or may not be able to hike down into the creek bed to navigate past the missing trail section, not that I would advise in doing so.
The are some great views along Difficult Run, most notable are the views just upstream of the confluence with the Potomac where the Run carves through rock and giant boulders while making its way to the river. Along the River Trail overlooking the Potomac and Mather Gorge there are more great views, especially since the leaves have started to fall. Last but not least are the falls overlooks once you return to the Great Falls park visitor center area.
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Date of Hike: Sunday, October 02, 2011
First, thanks for all the great info and amazing detail in your guide. I headed down there on a cool Sunday morning and, as I have seen on many local trails since all the recent water and wind, I was disappointed to find that a very key 30-foot section of the Difficult Run trail was completely washed away, leaving a sheer vertical drop. I generally obey "trail closed" signs" but usually only after I poke ahead a few feet and see if it's just a little debris or a more serious issue. I thought about just running the entire route in reverse, but thought I might encounter similar obstacles. So, I instead hiked up to the ridge trail and then down to the confluence, which is what I wanted to see most anyhow. I was able to hike right to the opposite side of the "gap". For me, the most amazing spot was just before Difficult Run turns north and enters the Potomac. A magical little bend in the river that feels as remote as any spot I've hiked in the US (if you pretend the DC-bound jets roaring overhead are not there). Aside from the one gap, otherwise well marked and maintained trails and at 7am on a chilly 43-degree morning, surprisingly uncrowded. I did find the "no golfing" rule posted at the parking lot to be a bit humorous. Will definitely go back and explore the rest.
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