Hidden Gems in Washington DC
12 places · Spots most visitors never find
Washington DC, DC
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
DC's only national park dedicated to aquatic plants features ponds of lotuses and water lilies in bloom each summer - one of the city's most underrated photographic treasures.
Washington DC, DC
Hillwood Estate Gardens
Cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post's 25-acre estate includes a formal French garden, Japanese garden, rose garden, and woodland walk - all beautifully maintained.
Washington DC, DC
Gravelly Point Park
Arguably the best commercial plane-spotting location in America - aircraft pass 100 feet overhead on final approach to Reagan National while you picnic on the Potomac.
Washington DC, DC
Rock Creek Park - Boulder Bridge
A rugged stone arch bridge over Rock Creek, hidden in the woods just miles from downtown. The boulder-strewn creek below is ideal for long-exposure water photography.
Washington DC, DC
National Arboretum Columns
Twenty-two original sandstone Capitol columns relocated to a grassy meadow create a hauntingly beautiful scene - ancient Roman scale in a quiet park no tourist crowds reach.
Washington DC, DC
Georgetown Canal Towpath
The C&O Canal cuts through Georgetown between historic rowhouses and original stone lock houses, creating a romantic 19th-century industrial waterway in the heart of the city.
Washington DC, DC
Congressional Cemetery
An 1807 historic burial ground on the Anacostia with neoclassical cenotaphs, romantic overgrown sections, and the graves of John Philip Sousa and J. Edgar Hoover.
Washington DC, DC
Peirce Mill
A fully restored 19th-century grist mill on Rock Creek, with the original millrace, millstone, and wooden waterwheel operating on weekends - a pastoral scene impossible to place in a major city.
Washington DC, DC
Georgetown Steps
The 75 steep stone steps at the end of Prospect Street immortalized in The Exorcist offer a striking urban composition - flanked by Victorian rowhouses and framing views of the C&O Canal and Georgetown below.
Washington DC, DC
Dumbarton Oaks Gardens
Sixteen acres of terraced formal gardens in Georgetown with a Rose Garden, Fountain Terrace, and Pebble Garden - among the most beautiful private gardens in the country.
Washington DC, DC
Franciscan Monastery Gardens
A tranquil Brookland estate with replicas of Holy Land sacred sites set in rose gardens, grottos, and a catacombs chapel - utterly unlike any other DC experience.
Washington DC, DC
Tudor Place Gardens
A Federal-era Georgetown estate with 5.5 acres of formal English gardens, boxwood parterres, and a bowling green that have been continuously maintained since 1816.