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River Bend Estates, Maryland, United States

Fort Foote Civil War Ruins

Civil war bunkers, cannons, building and views!

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    This guide contains photos
 (1 vote, 1 review)
Difficulty: Easy
Length: 1.7 miles / 2.7 km
Duration: 1-3 hours
Family Friendly • Dog Friendly
 
Overview: Cannons, bunkers, buildings Oh My!

The perfect Civil war park without the crowds.

Plenty of huge cannons to defend Washington on the Potomac river entry. Lots of cannon emplacements, interpretive signs, and real civil war bunkers! The ammo dump is currently off limits.

There are great water views with a building by the water, and a short half mile hike to a view of the bridge crossing to Alexandria.

This park is definitely a hidden jewel.


Tips:

  • instead of using the trailhead, use the secret trail entry point for more water views
  • walk down to see the building at waters edge
  • watch the sunset at point 13

Points of Interest

Parking
map

parking lot and trail head

parking lot and trail head.

you could start at the trail head, but instead follow the gps track down past the bathroom on the road.

there is another side entrance with more views of the water. so this will have you do the trail in a clockwise loop, at some points in this loop you have to double back to complete the loop.
Viewpoint
map

road view

road view past the restrooms, continue here to enter the secret path with more views by the water
Viewpoint
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road view past the restroom area

road view past the restroom area. keep walking past this to get to the secret trail.
Viewpoint
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secret trail entry point

this is the secret trail entry point.

hard to find, it is overgrown.
Water
map

water view

great view of the potomac river

this is also a popular fishing point

a bit messy however.
map

side hike to the cannons

this is a side hike to the cannons...

you have to backtrack a bit from the water to find the entry point, but you can spot the overgrown trail here.

have to go a little uphill, then you will be on the outer cannons trail
Building
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Cannons, emplacements, and bunkers OH MY!

numerous cannons, cannon emplacements, and bunkers here
Building
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more cannon emplacements and a locked bunker

heres a locked bunker (can you find it?) it has a grate on it, and is the ammo storage bunker. its in a mound so you cant see it like the others. (its at the mound at the end of the last emplacements).

shine a flash light in there for a picture.
Viewpoint
map

walk downhill towards the water edge

this is a walk downhill towards the water. theres a concrete table to the left, and a building at the bottom of this downhill slope.

also theres some anchor blocks along the way. the trail is a bit steep and lots of fallen trees in the way.
Building
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old lookout building

this is an old building (with lots of assorted graffiti artists known here).

worth the hike down to here, has some great water views.
Information
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down the long walk

down the long walk here, this leads you to another water view, and a view of the far city and the bridge.
Information
map

road ends here, continue on trail

road ends here, continue on the trail
Water
map

water view

great water view of the bridge and far city of alexandria.

could watch sunset from here too
Pictures in this guide taken by: indiana_jones
Reviews
indiana_jones
5 stars for the great civil war ruins and cannons!
Visited on Apr 24, 2011

by indiana_jones on Apr 25, 2011

Fort Foote Civil War Ruins Trail Map


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About the Author

indiana_jones
indiana_jones
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2 year Iraq vet / volunteer / electrical engineer / mechanic / explorer father / ex-husband / friend. my...

Fort Foote Civil War Ruins 3 Day Forecast

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