National Colonial Farm — Attraction in Mount Vernon

I am the writer and photographer for National Park Planner and I visited Piscataway Park in April 2016. The park is located about ten miles south of Alexandria, Virginia, on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. Its roots go back to 1955 when Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association member Frances Bolton purchased a farm on the Potomac River across from Mount Vernon and then donated it to form the Accokeek Foundation in 1957. Members then started a campaign to purchase the adjacent land along a six-mile stretch of shoreline to keep the view from Mount Vernon just as it was when George Washington lived there. This led to the involvement of the National Park Service and the eventual creation of Piscataway Park in 1961 (it was not officially open to the pubic until 1968). It was the first and only National Park unit created to protect a vista.

The park covers around 4500 acres, but very little of this is developed for tourists, with two-thirds still in private hands. When it was established, people had residences within the park boundaries and the Accokeek Foundation was managing the National Colonial Farm, so those already in the park were permitted to stay, but no new development can take place. Only four small areas are actively managed by the National Park Service or partner organizations. Piscataway Park is mainly of interest to local Maryland and Virginia residents and is not a place on the “To See” list of tourists coming to the Washington D. C. area from around the world.

The main attraction at Piscataway Park is the National Colonial Farm, a farm still run as if it were 1770. This is located in the central area of the park. In addition to cultivated fields and farm animals are six short hiking trails, a fishing pier, and a boat dock for those arriving to the park by boat. Another short trail lies just east of the farm.

The only other places of interest to the public are the Marshall Hall area on the western side of the park, where you will find a boat ramp and a historic mansion ruin, and Farmington Landing on the eastern side, a popular fishing hole and canoe launch area. A fourth section is detached from the main park property and located across Piscataway Creek near Fort Washington Park (also a National Park unit). This section hosts the Fort Washington Marina and a short hiking trail.

For photos and complete information on visiting Piscataway Park, see the National Park Planner web...

Wonderful working farm, great family day trip from DC! Love all the animals - sheep, goats, hogs, cows, chicken, roosters, and giant squawking turkey! It's not a petting zoo, but you can get pretty close. You can also enjoy stunning views of the river and see Mount Vernon estate in the distance from the pier.

There's a gravel 1 mile loop trail from the parking lot. While there are several trails, some of them like the purple Blackberry trail can get muddy.

Lots of pot holes! So wear sneakers and bring a heavy duty stroller. You'll def feel the bumps!

All the buildings are closed due to Covid. Some of the structures are a bit dilapidated and falling apart.

Note there are no public restrooms, just portapotty's. The lady running the visitor center table was super nice and unlocked the building to let me use the restroom.

While there's no admission fee - please donate! Glad to donate $10 and helping funds go towards upkeeping the farm.

We spent about 1.5 hours leisurely walking the main trail and exploring a couple of the smaller trails with our pup and toddler. Dogs are welcomed!

There were several cars in the parking lot and didn't experience any break-ins. The area seemed pretty safe.

Highly recommend this great hidden gem park just south of...

The National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park is the cutest little place. My daughter and I went this weekend, where they were hosting two events, one for dogs on Saturday and candle dipping on Sunday. There are wonderful views of the Potomac and Mount Vernon. You can go fishing from the dock or even launch a kayak. The visitor center provides excellent information before you get started. The staff is extremely kind and helpful. Prices are great and they have a good amount of cool things. The animals at the farm heritage animals and are extremely well taken care of. There are pigs, sheep, cows, and chickens. On the weekends, the staff wear traditional colonial dress and can answer all sorts of historical questions. We have been getting a lot of rain recently so the trails were a bit soggy but not too bad. It was fairly stroller friendly if you have a good stroller but bonus if your kids can walk. I had my uppababy and it did just fine but I don't think an umbrella stroller would have done well. It isn't too much walking around the farm to see all the animals, the garden, and buildings. There are many trails around the farm for hiking and dogs are allowed. We will definitly be visiting again...