A recreated Union encampment, a wooded creek valley, and a memorial with 184 memorial units: Arlington offers different ways to explore history and landscape. If you like to take a closer look, forts, museums, memorials, and nature centers each have their own focus.
Civil War History and Remembrance
Fort C.F. Smith was built in 1863 as part of a ring of 68 forts intended to protect Washington, D.C. Today, the Fort C.F. Smith Visitor Center offers the opportunity to learn about the Civil War history of Arlington County. The fort is considered the best-preserved Civil War fort in Arlington and is among the best-preserved forts in Washington’s defenses. The exhibition tour begins in a recreated Union encampment, complete with uniforms visitors can try on and explore.
The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington focuses on a different perspective on history. It was founded to honor the journey of Arlington County’s African American population toward freedom. Queen City was once a thriving African American neighborhood in Arlington and had its own fire department. The Ball-Sellers House also brings history to life through tangible details: visitors can see original logs covered with clay plaster. It was also the first property in Arlington to receive a memorial marker for enslaved people, dedicated in 2023. Boundary markers from the original District of Columbia are also located in Arlington County.
At the Pentagon Memorial, the placement and orientation of the 184 memorial units tell the story of each victim’s age and location at the time of the attack. A 24-minute audio tour covers the events at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the history of the building, and the design of the memorial. At the DEA Museum, touchscreens and interactive activities introduce the history of its predecessor agencies and the different career fields at the DEA.
Creek Valleys, Trails, and Nature Watching
At the Gulf Branch Nature Center, natural and cultural history come together: the center offers exhibits and displays live animals. Trails from there follow Gulf Branch through an Arlington natural resource conservation area to the Potomac River. Exhibits and landscape thus form two different parts of the same nature experience.
You can also explore a nature center and trails together at Long Branch. The wooded creek valley is home to raccoons, foxes, flying squirrels, and salamanders, among other wildlife. The Long Branch Nature Center offers programs and special events year-round, including story times, hikes, nature walks, and campfires. The trails at Long Branch connect Glencarlyn Park with the W&OD Trail. If you’re weighing nature watching, guided activities, and trail connections, you’ll find different options here, without any of them promising the same experience.
At Long Bridge Park, the nearly three-quarter-mile-long esplanade offers views of the sports fields, the Potomac River, and the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary. The Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center offers another side of the park: it houses the only 50-meter swimming pool in Arlington County. The esplanade and the center represent different ways to experience the place.
Finding Your Way
The DEA Museum is located at 700 Army Navy Drive, directly across from Pentagon City Mall. It is also one block south of the Pentagon City Metro Station on Hayes Street. These details help you find your way around a visit to the museum; its interactive offerings inside provide a different focus from the historical exhibits at the forts.
Arlington County has a clear rule about where bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters are permitted: they may be ridden on roads, sidewalks, and paved trails, but not on natural-surface trails. The Washington Boulevard Trail connects the Arlington Boulevard Trail with Columbia Pike and runs along Washington Boulevard. For planning your route, it’s worth distinguishing between paved routes and natural-surface trails.
Events can also shape the character of a visit: the Arlington County Fair is an annual, week-long fair. If you’d like to include it, check the event dates in advance.
Discover more destinations: Arlington, Campbell, Essex County, Dinwiddie County, York County, Warren, Hopewell, Tazewell.
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