Billy Goat Trail Section A East End Trailhead — Attraction in Potomac

First, our group had a great time hiking the Billy goat trail around Bear Island.

We parked at the trail head near Angler's bridge. There was a parking lot, bathrooms, and water fountains.

This hike itself comes in two parts. The west side of Bear island is 2 way, along a historic canal tow path, where you can see old canal locks and structures, which were interesting. We didn't see any signage as to the history of the structures, unfortunately. Adding historic signage would make for a richer experience here. This side is crushed rock, quite wide, and essentially flat. Plenty of walkers, cyclists, and dogs. Benches every so often. Goes by a nice pond with access to the bank (tried skipping some stones). Quite busy, but turtles in the canal didn't mind, and saw a heron overhead.

At the north side of Bear Island, there is a breakaway off the tow path and the Billy goat trail proper starts. This second section down the west side of Bear Island is one way. It starts off easy, with shaded walking through forest on bare earth. There are good views of the Potomac and lots of big rocks to lounge on for a picnic. The ground gets increasingly rocky as you go, first walking over and around small rocks in the ground, then flat scrambling on top of larger rocks, and culminating with a more technical rock scramble up a rock face (the "50' traverse", about 30 degrees off vertical). There's a bail out path after this to go back to the tow path and skip the last third of the west side, which our group took since we were out of water and the kids were getting tired by this point (we hiked for about 3 hours in total).

We had 6 and 8 year old kids, and 4 able-bodied adults (including an inexperienced hiker). We took 4 bottles of water, and ran out as mentioned (80 degrees, sunny) - otherwise we might have gone further. The 6 year old needed some help on the technical rock scrambles, but the 8 year old was fine (we still spotted her though). Adults were fine.

If hiking with elderly, young children, or hikers with limited mobility, the technical rock scrambles may present a challenge. Think climbing up a steep staircase on hands and feet, skipping a few steps here and there. Hikers with limited endurance may need to rest here and there. If your group isn't doing too well, there is signage at the rock scramble sections, and you can always just back track through the forest to the tow path if things seem unsafe or impractical for your group.

We did accidentally wander off-trail a few times, because in some areas the trail is not obvious. It is marked with sun faded blue paint strips on the sides on trees and rocks, but these can be difficult to spot sometimes. It would be better to mark with colored ribbon tied to the trees (you can see these from any direction and as the wind blows them they flutter, making them easy to spot).

The rock scrambles would be more accessible to more hikers with a rope or chain assist line (which could be ignored by more capable hikers if desired).

I would also have appreciated having the rock scrambles marked on the trail maps at the start of the trail to help plan things instead of just running into these areas on trail.

All in all, we had a great time, and would definitely do it...

Best accessed at the Anglers Inn @ Great Falls NP, MD. Plenty of free parking. Will be crowded on weekends. Follow the Bermma Path paralleling the C&O towpath 1.5 mi upstream (r) until you can cross a bridge. This will be the start of the TH for Section A. There will be 3 markers. Complete each and you'll eventually loop back to the C&O and a quick return to the lot. ~3.7mi Rated moderately difficult. Due to its length, the many rock scrambles & maneuverings, plus the infamous 50' vertical rock climb, you can expect it to take a lot more out of you than it indicates. The scenery is beautiful and the scrambles are fun, while tracking the blue blaze keeps ya on your toes. Be sure you get to Great Falls. They're super impressive & powerful. It's a...

Amongst the most heavily traveled hiking areas in the DC region. Parking lots in and around Great Falls fill up extremely quickly and nice days. Cost to enter the park at the National Park entrance is about $20/car.

The Billy Goat Trail is nearly 5 miles round trip, is extremely rocky, fun for kids and young adults but can get crowded to the point of having a line of folks waiting to pass at times. Highly recommend going in the middle of the week to avoid the weekend and holiday...