Nadge, the hiking dog, with his pal, Larry Gross, enjoys the view at Great Falls. Visit the Photo Place

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Guidebook: Great Falls, great hikes

'Hiking Virginia,' by Bill and Mary Burham, is an excellent reference book for outdoor adventures. By Paul Sullivan Guidebook: Great Falls, great hikes

Date published: 12/11/2004

IF YOU WANT to see this state, want to meet its sights and people, the very best way to do it is also the slowest: You have to walk it. And if you want to walk it, you need a guidebook, and I have discovered the best of the best of those guides.

"Hiking Virginia: A Guide to Virginia's Greatest Hiking Adventures," by Bill and Mary Burnham, picks the finest of the hundreds (probably thousands) of places to hoof it in the Old Dominion. From northernmost Potomac to far southwest, the Burnhams take readers to a select few dozen of the best footpaths to discover the state's tremendous diversity, awesome beauty and meet some of its kind and gentle folk.

But I get ahead of my story.

Growing up in Northern Virginia long before it became a metropolis of its own, I often drove out to the Great Falls of the Potomac River, one of the most spectacular vistas in Virginia (even if it is shared with Maryland).

For the past year, I have intended to revisit Great Falls but--as these things go--hadn't gotten around to it.

But things converge. A few weeks ago, someone gave me a copy of the Burnhams' meaty hiking guide. I perused its pages and came to an abrupt halt atthe trail following the Potomac River gorge alongside and past Great Falls, down the racing waters of Mather Gorge, then looping back past the 19th-century ruins of the Patowmack Canal. If there is a trail that has it all, this is it: scenery, history, nature, accessibility.

So why not walk it? Larry Gross and I had kicked around that notion, so I called. "Do you think I can bring Nadge?" he asked. Nadge (say "Naj") is Gross' sturdy Lab and where one goes, so goes the other.

"Well," I said, "The guidebook I'm trail-testing for this outing says leashed dogs are allowed, so let's do it."

As trails go, this one is not physically demanding. For those who feel they haven't hiked without greater physical challenge, the Billy Goat Trail, a rock scramble on the opposite side of the river in Maryland, should fill the bill.

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Date published: 12/11/2004