Scott's Run Falls — Attraction in McLean

My family and I love Scott's Run and I would love to give it 5 stars, but if I'm being honest, it doesn't really even deserve 4. I've been coming here for at least 10 years (probably closer to 15) and I think the turning point was during the height of the pandemic, but it has gone way down hill. The amount of trash that is just left everywhere is disgusting! While we were there, two separate families showed up with trash bags to clean up some of it (a huge thank you to those people!) and even then, there was still a lot of trash remaining. The second big detractor is the parking situation. Since Great Falls Park has gotten so expensive, the free hikes nearby have grown exponentially more popular, but the parking lots for those hikes are small. The Scott's Run lot has a no parking lane (I believe it's a fire lane), but the entire thing gets filled up with parked cars, which makes leaving the park fairly hazardous. It took me a while to shimmy back and forth numerous times to make my way out of my parking spot, only to then be stuck in the parking lot, blocked in by MORE cars entering the lot that was already over-filled. The car in front of me and the one behind me got into a heated argument, and I was reaching for my phone wondering if I needed to dial 911. It was tense to say the least. For reference, we arrived at 9:30 on Saturday morning and parked in the last actual open parking spot. We walked to the falls and the kids played in the water for a bit. We got back to the car around 11:30. Despite all of that, the hike is easy and fun, the creek is great for kids, and the waterfall is beautiful! I will never go on a weekend again, but I still plan to return...

8/22/19 Was our first family visit. We took our 3 year old daughter and our 1 year old son down to the falls WITH a stroller. I do not advise this unless you have a tank of a stroller like we do. We have done some really difficult hiking with that beast and this one was the hardest. You will find a very steep rocky trail to and from the falls. As a 350 pound man pushing a 40 pound toddler up those trails I'm sure people thought I was an idiot but we knew what we were doing 🤣. That trail will make fat people reconsider diet choices 🖐. The water in the area is pristine and uber clear. Never in my life did I want soo badly to jump in and start taking huge gulps lol. This place is very popular with local teens and was pretty busy on this day. I was highly impressed by the absence of litter in the area with all the teens having overrun the place. Great job keeping it clean guys! Do not set your gps to take you to the falls themselves or you will wind up in someones driveway considering trespassing. Instead, set it to take you to the nearby parking area just south of the falls. We did not see any public restrooms anywhere so go before you arrive. We look forward to going back to explore more trails in the area but probably will avoid the falls until our...

Fantastic trail with a scenic view of the Potomac and a waterfall to marvel at. It's a mostly dirt trail with a moderately challenging uphill and downhill portion before reaching the river and waterfall. There's no swimming or wading allowed, and Fairfax is trying to enforce this but each time we visit there's always some people who don't follow the rules. If you choose to wade or swim, do so at your own risk. Parking can be an issue as it gets filled up quickly depending on the time and the day, and that blind curve when exiting is absolutely nerve wracking. I hope one day they would put some speed bumps to force people to actually slow down when approaching this area, or at least have a mirror to help see around the corner to make sure it is safe to go.

And a note deserving of its own section: PLEASE clean up after yourself if you choose to have a picnic here or otherwise. If you bring something in, please make sure to bring it back out. Don't leave trash or any articles that would desecrate the nature preserve. We've seen plastic bottles, used hand towelettes, and even a whole abandoned styrofoam cooler left near the river. It's an absolute shame that people would be careless enough to allow...