Walk 14: Berma Road Variations: The Valley and The Woodlands Trails

Bringing across the beauty of an East Coast hardwood forest in a photograph is one of my goals and so far it's a totally unmet goal. What appears to be a great scene when you are out walking doesn't seem to translate very well into two dimension pictures.

The woods along The Valley trail.

In a variation of the Berma Road walk, you can pick up any one of three wooded trails off to the right that climb the bluff and wind up linking with each other at the top. When Sarah and I did these trails, they were totally deserted even though the Berma Road itself was crowded. The reason why is the Park Service has hidden the start of the wooded trails where few people can find them

About 100 yards down the Berma Road, you will see a large concrete pad with poles sticking up. My theory is that is has something to do with controlling the gates on Washington Aqueduct. If not, it serves the purpose of obscuring the start of The Valley trail and The Woodland trail.

The Valley trail follows, naturally, a gently sloping valley with a stream at its base. The maps put it at something just over half a mile before you reach the Goldmine Loop trail. At this junction head to the left and follow the loop trail until you come to the Woodland trail that leads back down.

For some reason, the woods change fairly dramatically when you reach the top of the bluff. Here there is little underbrush and the forest floor is covered with grass.

Practical information; Park across MacArthur Boulevard from Angler's Inn in one of the two parking lots. The Berma Road trail leads off the upper lot. When you hit the fenced, concrete pad with poles, head around the right hand side, or forest side to find the variations. Using The Valley Trail, Goldmine Loop and The Woodland Trail coming down, the distance is probably about 2 miles.