(VA) (Smithsonian Associates) Discover the spring splendors of the Potomac Gorge, a 1,900-acre natural area spanning Maryland and Virginia that is one of the most botanically diverse places in North America. Hike north from Turkey Run Park along the Potomac Heritage Trail on a wilderness adventure inside the Beltway as you admire lush upland forests and floodplains brilliantly decorated by Virginia bluebells and other spring ephemeral wildflowers. Keep an eye out for great blue herons and other native fauna in the temporary pools and side channels and in the Potomac River itself. Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the adventure.

Study leader Melanie Choukas-Bradley, a naturalist and the author of six regional nature books, has explored the Potomac Gorge from Great Falls to Theodore Roosevelt Island for a forthcoming book, and this trek covers one of her favorite sections.

Repeated on April 4th