Free Places to Paddle in DC
Earlier this summer we wrote about the top five things to know about SUP in DC. In it we mentioned that widely accessible, free public access to our rivers is not easy to come by. So, we thought we’d highlight the areas where you can find these launch sites around town.
We know many folks launch from unimproved spots along the rivers, which we never recommend or advise. These sites, however, are all legal put-ins in DC. If you have your own equipment, here are the free public put-ins you should know about.
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River gets a bad rap thanks to decades of abuse, inequality, and the unjust systemic discrimination of communities surrounding it. But local community groups and volunteers have spent years fighting for environmental justice and restoring the river, and it’s made a remarkable comeback. While there’s still more work to be done, the Anacostia is a beautiful place to recreate and today, it’s where you’ll find most of DC’s free public put-ins.
Anacostia Park: The Anacostia Park boat ramp is a popular place to launch. While you do have to share the put-in with boaters, there is ample parking here and easy access upstream toward Kingman and Heritage Islands and the National Arboretum on river left, and Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens on river right. Here you’ll likely only encounter other paddle craft for much of your trip. You can also paddle downstream from the put-in toward National’s Park. To put in you can use the boat ramp or the dock itself. There isn’t a lot of water movement here so it’s not unusual to encounter debris. Tides and storms also play a factor there.
Anacostia Community Boat House: The Anacostia Community Boat House is an association made up of about 10 member organizations that host many community programs and events. The boathouse allows SUPs to launch from their location during the on-water season. The gate is generally open all day but can be locked during the mid-day hours. If you’re paddling in the off-season, we recommend reaching out the boathouse to inquire about access and hours.
Diamond Teague Park: Diamond Teague Park and Marina is located across from National’s Park in the Navy Yard neighborhood and is helped maintained by the Earth Conservation Corps in memory of Diamond Teague. There’s a long floating dock for paddle craft with several different access ramps. Parking in the Navy Yard can be tough (and it’s mostly metered) even during weekdays so that would be one of your biggest considerations if picking this launch spot.
National Arboretum: We love the National Arboretum, but we can’t quite say the same for the public dock installed there in 2018. It was a collaboration between the Anacostia Rivershed Society, REI, and Friends of the National Arboretum, and while we love the idea of an access point here, it doesn’t quite work out in our opinion. The dock itself hasn’t been well-maintained and the stairs are awkwardly placed. If you’re accessing the dock from the Arboretum, the closest parking is at the Asian Collections and you’ll need to walk a twisty-turny pathway about a quarter of a mile to the put-in. If you do this, it’s important to note that the Arboretum is gated by the dock and is only unlocked from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Alternately, we suppose you could paddle to the dock and make the Arboretum your destination, though you’d need to consider what to do with your gear and how to secure it.
Kingman Island: Kingman and Heritage Islands are manmade islands built from material dredged from the Anacostia. They have an interesting history and they’re home to a unique ecosystem and hundreds of species of birds and other wildlife. You access the islands from RFK parking lot 6. From there, it’s about a quarter of a mile walk to what they consider a public launch site. While boating is an approved activity here and dock access to the marshland is provided on the boardwalk connecting the two islands, it’s pretty unusable for paddlers. We’ve only ever been there at low tide when the dock is about 5 to 6 ft. above the waterline, but we’re certain you’d have challenges accessing it even at high tide. Anacostia Green Boats, which operates during the summer months and is a pretty cool initiative you should check out, may use a different launch site along a muddy beach at high tide. If we ever paddled here, this is where we’d prefer to put in, though we’re not certain it’s a public launch. If you’re set on launching at Kingman Island, we’d recommend reaching out about alternate put-ins.
We recognize that Bladensburg Waterfront Park is a great place to launch and many of the locations we mentioned can be accessed on a paddle from this put-in, so we’ll briefly mention that here. But it’s not in DC proper, so we’ll cover this spot in a later post.
Potomac River
Before you start arguing with us about launch sites along the Potomac, keep in mind three things: We’re covering only authorized put-ins, we’re talking DC-specific, and they’ve got to be free of charge. With those parameters in mind, you really only have one option.
Fletcher’s Cove: Try as we might, we couldn’t think of any other spot where you can paddle for free on the Potomac River in DC. Fletcher’s Cove is owned by the National Park Service but operated by Boating in DC, and this is one of its only locations where launch fees are waived if bringing your own gear (though their signage does indicate a $5 launch fee - you may want to call to confirm). There’s ample parking in either the upper parking lot or the lower lot, which you access by going through a 7 ft. clearance tunnel under the C&O Canal. At low tide the passageway between the dock and the river is shallow and narrow. Navigate carefully. We recommend most paddlers go downstream. Upstream you’ll find more turbulent water as the river narrows and depending on the time of year, this requires an inherently buoyant PFD. Since this location is run through a boathouse, we recommend checking on off-season access.
Now, you do have a few other options for accessing the Potomac, you just have to drive across the river to Virginia where you’ve got Columbia Island Marina and Gravelly Point, with a few other options further downstream toward Alexandria. More on those in a later blog post!
Washington Channel
The Washington Channel is an approximately two mile channel that runs parallel to the Potomac between the Southwest Waterfront and East Potomac Park. It ends at the outflow of the Tidal Basin and empties into the Anacostia at the end of Hains Point. There’s one public access point here.
Day Dock: There is a free, public day dock in East Potomac Park where only non-motorized boats can be launched. It’s open from sunrise to twilight every day from April through November and on weekends in March and December. This dock floats about 18 inches off of water level so while not as significantly tall as the Arboretum and Kingman Island docks, it’s still something to keep in mind.
Remember, just as we all have a right to enjoy our land and water, we also have a responsibility to protect them so that everyone can access, explore, and enjoy. This is why we only promote authorized launch sites so that we don’t erode banks, trespass, or put in jeopardy anyone’s safety. When you’re out there, consider making it a practice to safely pick up trash at these launch sites or along your paddle route.
We acknowledge that water access is far from perfect in DC, but we’re encouraged by rumors of more access points in the works. We hope to have more launch site updates in the near future!
Have we missed any free public launch sites in DC that you’ve used? Pop them below so we can all learn together.
