Two Great “Hike & Hang” Outings in the DC Area

I’ve already mentioned how much I love a good hike and aprés hike combo.  Hitting the trail then heading to a nearby spot for food, drinks, and hang time is a pretty great way to enjoy a nice day out.  Over Labor Day weekend, we discovered a couple of new (to us) hike/hang options in the DC area that I highly recommend!  Here are details for both…

 

Manassas Battlefield National Park & The Winery at LaGrange

Hike: At Manassas National Battlefield Park, you can walk through expansive fields and in the woods and get a history lesson all at once. The site of two Civil War battles is as scenic as it is informative. You can see remnants from that time, like cannons and fences, as well as memorials constructed on the site, and read about their significance on information panels. Trails also wind through woods edging the fields for longer hikes — 40 miles within the 5100-acre area. There are also exhibits in the Visitor Center for even more insight into the area’s past.

Hang: The Winery at LaGrange is about a 15-minute drive from Manassas Battlefield in Haymarket, VA. It’s in a lovely setting amid leafy trees with a sweeping  view of the grapevine fields just beyond the area scattered with picnic tables.  There is an outdoor tasting area as well as an indoor tasting room, and several flight options are available as well as single glasses and bottles of wine.  They have a small food menu of cheese, meats, bread, and crackers, and when we visited there was also a food truck on site selling tacos and quesadillas.  BYO food is permitted, so you can plan a picnic, just no outside alcohol. And bring the whole fam along– kids and leashed dogs are welcome.

Manassas National Battlefield Park
Where: 6511 Sudley Road | Manassas, VA
When: Park grounds open daily, dawn to dusk. Visitor Center, 9:30am – 5pm
Admission: Free

The Winery at LaGrande
Where: Haymarket, VA
When: Sunday-Thursday, 12-6pm | Friday-Saturday, 12-8pm
Admission: Free

 

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Roosevelt Island & Island Time Bar and Grill

Hike: Theodore Roosevelt Island is perfect for a nice, little dose of nature and active recreation close to DC (technically, in DC since it’ s within the Potomac, but you access it from Virginia). Its 91 acres are located amidst a woodsy setting accessible by a long wooden footbridge crossing the river.  Vegetation grows thickly along two and a half miles of dirt and boardwalk paths looping through the preserve, all of them flat and easy to traverse, though parts can get muddy.  Smack in the middle of it all is a stone tribute to Roosevelt, a 17-foot bronze statue of Teddy himself, large fountains, and tall granite slabs inscribed with Roosevelt’s tenets on conservation. The memorial makes the park very DC, like a little annex of the National Mall.  The park’s parking lot can fill up on nice days, but another option is to park in Rosslyn (or Metro there),  then walk toward the Key Bridge, where a short connecting trail leads you on a footbridge across the parkway to the parking lot at  Roosevelt Island.

Read more about Roosevelt Island on KidFriendly DC

Hang: Less than two miles from Roosevelt Island is Island Time Bar & Grill. I found out about it from an IG reel posted by @nova_noms, where they called it a “secret waterfront bar.”  And it really is!  Located at Columbia Island Marina, right off the George Washington Parkway near the 14th Street Bridge, you wouldn’t know it’s there just driving by, since it’s not visible from the road.  The small cafe with a great outdoor space is situated further back on the island overlooking the Pentagon Lagoon and Boundary Channel.  The vibe is very easy-breezy, with lots of tables in a patio area and in the grass, and boats docked at the marina.  Corn hole and a ping pong table are set up for anyone to play, and there’s space for kids to run around (supervised, of course). They have a decent-sized menu that includes sandwiches, a few salads and pizzas, and typical bar appetizers as well as a tiki bar serving cocktails and other drinks.  It’s family-friendly, and dogs are welcome, too!  Hanging out there is so nice and relaxing and makes you feel miles away from the city.  The one downside: It’s apparently only open seasonally, from April through September.

Roosevelt Island
Where: 700 George Washington Memorial Pkwy | McLean, VA
When: Open daily, dawn to dusk
Admission: Free

Island Time Bar & Grill
Where: Columbia Island Marina, GW Pkwy | Arlington, VA
When: Monday-Friday, 12-7pm, Saturday-Sunday, 11am – 7pm
Admission: The cost of your meal/drinks