Discussion: Bethesda MD

My other half is moving to study at the NIH for some of his PhD from April. He is a keen Orienteer/runner/cyclist, anyone based in that area and have recommendations for places to run/areas to avoid(!) Thanks

Your better half is moving into some of the best orienteering/ cycling/ running area in America at the best time of year. However you are writing on a weekend. Those government employees mostly do Attack Point when they are at work. Be patient.

For O: QOC has a solid spring schedule, and DVOA does, too.

For Running: UltraSignup has a nice event finder. Plug in location, limit distance, and you'll get a great selection of events in the area. I really like Athletic Equations races. Such nice folks!

There are probably some local running groups, too, but I'm in Philadelphia area, so am not well connected down there. Find a local running store, and you'll probably tap in pretty quickly.

LOL Gord. I live in Bethesda (as does Mr. Attackpoint) and I, at least, am not working at my government job today but AM on AP. :-)

Places to run -- there are tons. For paved trails, there is Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park on the weekends (no vehicles); the Rock Creek Trail, which is many miles long; the Capital Crescent Trail, all of which are close to Bethesda (the latter has its trailhead in downtown B'da). I know there are others but I don't run them very often anymore.

Unpaved trails: many miles in Rock Creek Park; Seneca Greenway Trail (many many miles); Muddy Branch Trail (many many miles); the C&O Canal towpath; Great Falls Park, MD (not as many miles but still a bunch, and very nice) -- just to get started.

Biking -- again, Beach Drive in Rock Creek on the weekends. Western suburbs from Bethesda have very popular road biking routes, but they are shared with drivers. There are probably others who are better able to answer that part.

Orienteering -- near Bethesda is Great Falls, MD (national park service): very nice open woods & surprisingly tricky terrain; on a much lower scale of quality are Cabin John Regional Park (also a good and long trail system there) and Wheaton Regional Park. There are a few smaller parks mapped as well in the vicinity.

Re. local running groups, the Montgomery County Road Runners Club is HUGE and has multiple smaller groups that focus on speed, marathoning, trails, etc. Nadim & I run with the Winter Trails sub-group. They also put on races all year round and most are free for club members.

Most areas are pretty safe. There are a couple places where you want to be careful with what you leave in your car, but even the best places have random crimes (my car was broken into in a nice, popular park, so it happens everywhere).

Ken? Nadim? There are a handful of us in this area who read AP and the others can probably add to this list.

Agreed with peggyd - lots of great areas.

I highly recommend Rock Creek, Great Falls, C&O canal trail, Potapsco MD, Cabin John (running).

Within an hour you can hit so many different and awesome areas. Also, most of the orienteering maps (QOC) also are great places to trail run as well as orienteering.

If your other half isn't planning to have their own vehicle, for orienteering events, he could probably catch a ride with someone in the area. I also recommend looking into different options to rent/use a vehicle to get a little further away as many trails aren't easily accessible using public transportation.

Additional Links to consider for longer trail runs/hikes:
https://www.hikingupward.com/maps/full_map.asp
https://www.hikingproject.com/

I also recommend EX2 for trail races. I have enjoyed the few I have participated in.

I personally haven't found any places to specifically avoid with the exception of a few areas in DC proper (but I wouldn't want to run/bike there because of all the roads, traffic, and stop lights.

Awful area. When you cross the Potomac driving on Beltway you can sense EVIL.
VERY frightening and VERY real...

I would recommend commuting from Frederick, or maybe even further that direction

Clare, yurets is a troll.

Listen to the others!

Obviously, you can cross the Potomac driving on the beltway in two locations and various directions. Where do you sense the EVIL, yurets? Just trying to glean further insights into you psyche. There may be a localized electromagnetic effect you are experiencing.

I would say the western crossing of the Potomac is pretty evil. Traffic seems always to be chocked up there.

Chocked up or choked up? The latter would be more evil.

That's tricky. Lets just say that vehicles are chock-a-block pretty well all day everyday.

@j-man: that story happened in summer 2017, as I was driving with cats in my car. They went crazy when we approached the bridge on I-495W. They have the supernatural 6th sense.

Pink, remember you can vote your way into socialism, but you have to shoot your way out.

yurets is only a troll if he lives under the bridge, not driving over it.

There's definitely lots of great areas. So far I'm most familiar with Rock Creek Park for running, and Rock Creek Trail/Sligo Creek Trail (both paved) for biking. All of these are gorgeous places!

Thanks guys looking forwards to coming over and visiting :-)