Update: May 18, 2013

We’re continuing to restore the maps of our running routes which you’ve been looking for! The archived versions of these maps are still available.

In time, we hope to re-issue these routes as a very sweet runner’s atlas. So we encourage you to check back occasionally, and see how that turns out!

Washington DC is a terrific running city, full of parks, bike paths, trails and bridges. Such features are most pronounced west of Rock Creek, where the Atlantic Coastal Plain ends and the Piedmont Plateau begins.

We have broken down the routes into three categories: Runs originating from Georgetown, runs from Pierce Mill in Rock Creek Park, and runs from Capitol Hill (3rd and Pennsylvania Ave, NW).

Recommendations? Rock Creek for its shade, its hills, and its trails. The C&O Canal has the rare advantage of being a route that is flat, dirt, with no interruptions.

All these routes are reasonably safe – though one should exercise caution at all times, and especially at night, in the woods, and around busy traffic areas, both auto-like and human-like. Have fun and don’t get lost!

Many thanks to David Keating, John O’Donnell, Gerry Ives, James Scarborough, and Josh Adelman for their help in developing this list. Carpe Viam!

Even More Maps, Resources, and References

Rock Creek Park, courtesy of the National Park Service

Kyle Yost 20 Miler, water available at 4, 7, and 13 miles

Google Map Pedometer, great for mapping routes anywhere!

MapMyRun, a suite of applications which use built-in GPS technology with the ability to map, record and share routes and workouts in an online searchable database

OpenStreetMap, a collaborative project to create a free editable map of Washington, D.C. and the rest of the world.

OpenLayers, an open source JavaScript library that makes it easy to put a dynamic map in any web page, using geographic data loaded from any source