White's Ford Regional Park, Leesburg

8 July 2016

Today

It's hot. My goodness, it's hot. But I would not be denied my hike.

Google Maps shows this as a big park, with a trail hugging the Potomac River, so I drove up here along quiet gravel country roads, past farms and more farms, until I found the park. It's easy to find: it's the only non-farm for miles.

I drove down the long gravel road until I came to the parking lot. I was the only soul, which felt strange on a Friday afternoon. Fortunately, the parking lot makes it clear that there's a boat launch (and makes it very clear that you should pay a fee for using it). I figured that's where the trail started, and there was nothing else but fields for miles, so I started down there.

Sure enough, a wide, raised wooden path wound down to the water, and a strip a few yards wide of muddy sand.

That was it.

I walked to the right along the beach, and while some vegetation had been stepped on to create a makeshift path, it petered out within a few dozen yards. I went back the other way, and there wasn't even a trail; just a few yards of muddy beach, if that.

Worse, on the way back, I got thoroughly lost--couldn't find the path back up--so I ended up forging through the thick vegetation in the woods back up to the fields.

So I don't quite see how this is a park you could reasonably hike. Maybe I missed something, though. Weird.