"The capital can't be taken!"
On forested hills surrounding the nation's capital are the remnants of a complex system of Civil War fortifications. These strategic buttresses transformed the young capital into one of the world's most fortified cities. By 1865, 68 forts and 93 batteries armed with over 800 cannons encircled Washington, DC. Today, you can visit 17 of the original sites now managed by the National Park Service.
I am planning to run to the 17-18 Fort that are open and available to the public around Washington, DC, Virginia and finish in Maryland.
Think having this open so you can plan the best route makes this better b
1) Fort Marcy (Started here...could be end point)
2) Battery Kemble
3) Fort Bayard
4) Fort Reno
5) Fort DeRussey
6) Fort Stevens
7) Battleground National Cemetery
8) Fort Slocum
9) Fort Totten
10)Fort Bunker Hill
11) Fort Mahan
12) Fort Chaplin (Couldn't find sign for this but went to area where it was supposed to be)
13) Fort Dupont
14) Fort Davis
15) Fort Stanton (I couldn't find sign for this one so used Fort Stanton Farm sign)
16) Fort Ricketts (I couldn't find sign for this one it was right next Fort Stanton)
17)Fort Carroll/Battery Carroll
18) Fort Greble
19) Fort Foote (Finished here, could be start point)
I used a combination of Strava and google maps to get between fort/battery locations. Just be careful to go to the Fort(park) rather than the Recreation center that hosed me a few times.
This route could get much faster and even there are some additional forts that I heard about after such as Fort Ward in Alexandria that might be fun to add on at some point
This has been on my bucket list for awhile and think will be an awesome way to showcase some of the history of the area and explore the Washington, DC area.
Good luck if you try it. Think is a fun one.