Prince William Forest Park is the largest protected natural area in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region at over 13,000 acres (53 sq km). As its name suggests, it is is a heavily wooded area that is criss-crossed by numerous streams and creeks, most notably Quantico Creek.
There are over 37 miles of hiking trails in the park and this past Tuesday I walked a little over 6 miles (10 km) along some of my favorite trails. I knew that I would not see very much wildlife, but I really wanted to stretch my legs on a beautiful, sunny winter day. Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, where I most frequently go to photograph wildlife, is part of a flat, coastal plain, but Prince William Forest Park is hilly—according to my iPhone I climbed the equivalent of 19 flights of stairs that day.
Some of the trails at Prince William Forest Park get mucky after a rain and I encountered two-board walkways like the ones in the first and last photos below at several spots while wandering about in the park on Tuesday. There were also some small bridges across streams (see second photo) and one larger bridge across Quantico Creek (see third photo). It really enjoyed checking out all of the different means that were in place to assist hikers in crossing wet areas and photographing subjects that are not my “usual” ones.
Prince William Forest Park is administered by the National Park Service and is wonderfully maintained. The trails are kept clear and are well-marked. I visit it most often in the spring, when wild flowers begin to appear on the forest floor and dragonflies start to emerge. If my memory serves me well, the earliest that I have seen dragonflies in my area was around the beginning of April, so I am waiting patiently for that time to come as we move through winter.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 