Capital Nature

Rock Creek Park: A Virtual Exploration
2025-11-17 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
(DC) (Smithsonian Associates) Rock Creek Park is the oldest urban national park in the country and covers twice the size of New York’s Central Park. This forested gem running through the heart of Washington, D.C., has delighted residents long before it was declared a national park by an act of Congress in 1890—and continues to offer a welcome destination for outdoor lovers.
Drawing on vivid photographs and her knowledge of Rock Creek Park through the seasons, author and naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley introduces the story and natural history of a national park landscape as old as Yosemite. Learn about the Indigenous peoples who hunted, fished, and quarried on the land; the presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, who enjoyed recreation here; and the flora and fauna that find a wild refuge in their urban surroundings.
