Little Falls Stream Valley Park
Massachusetts Avenue Entrance
Bethesda, MD

Ever wonder where the Little Falls creek goes? Start the New Year with a LFWA lead hike to the mouth of the creek on the Potomac River. We will meet at the Park entrance on Massachusetts Ave and follow the creek to the river. You can park at the gravel parking lot (Mass Ave and Little Falls Parkway).

It’s an easy 4.8 miles round trip, almost all on hard surfaces. Strollers and dogs on leashes are welcome. If you want to go all the way to the Potomac, there is about 100 yards of scrambling through the brush. You might want to have hiking boots if you’re going to do that.

NEW ROUTE FOR 2026!

The entrance to the towpath at Lock 5 is temporarily closed. So, this year we will be rerouting through the Brookmont neighborhood and going to Valley Road where we will cross the Clara Barton Parkway at Lock 6 where there is a pedestrian crosswalk.

Download a google map of the new route for your phone HERE.

Download a PDF of the map HERE.

RAIN DATE: In the event of inclement weather, we will reschedule for Saturday, January 3 , same time, same place.

Fall Stream Monitoring

Discover what creek critters live in the Little Falls Branch

LFWA monitors the Little Falls Branch four times a year - doing a biological census of the macro-invertebrates that live on the bottom of the creek. This count of benthic organisms - numbers of individuals and diversity - gives us a picture of the health of our creek. By mapping the data over the years, we have good assessment of how well our stream is surviving in our dense urban area. Our monitoring is done in partnership with Nature Forward (nee Audubon Naturalist Society).

This event is primarily for trained monitors. Before going into the field, new monitors should have a basic knowledge of macroinvertebrate identification and stream ecology, either from previous training or by attending the Nature Forward water quality training sessions. Please contact Sarah Morse, stormwater@LFWA.org, for information about the Nature Forward courses and volunteering.

Every fall, LFWA joins forces with the Westmoreland Hills Garden Club, the Town of Glen Echo and other area groups to clean the whole watershed. This first event is at Glen Echo. The other clean-ups are scheduled for next week.

Pre-approved for SSL hours for MCPS. Children under 14 must be accompanied by adult supervisor.

Glen Echo National Park
7300 MacArthur Blvd
Glen Echo, MD 20812

We will be cleaning the Minnehaha creek starting in Glen Echo. Park in the main Glen Echo Park Parking lot (at the corner of Oxford and MacArthur Blvd). The gathering point is on the eastern most end of the lot at the bridge which crosses the creek. Look for a sign-in table. This site is hosted by the Town of Glen Echo.

We have gloves and bags. Dress to get muddy or wet. We’ll be cleaning the creek and banks.

Pre-approved for SSL hours for MCPS. Children under 14 must be accompanied by adult supervisor.