A half dozen white egrets and blue herons strut along the riverbank scanning for fish, while a lone bald eagle, high on a tree limb, surveys the scene from above. Kingfishers and ospreys call all around us. A fox darts along the shoreline. A cormorant spreads its wings to dry off in the sun.
It’s a warm, late July evening, and I’m on an open pontoon boat, taking a free twilight cruise on the 9-mile-long Anacostia River, which flows from Maryland into Washington, D.C. The thriving riverscape unfolding before me could not be more different from the image I always had of this waterway growing up. Back then, it was dirty and toxic—a place to avoid.
The bad rap wasn’t unfounded. “The Anacostia in the 1970s and ’80s was grossly polluted, barely hanging on,” says Chris Williams, president of the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS), an environmental advocacy group. “It was a dying river.”
AWS sponsors the spring and summer boat tours, in part, to show off how far this tributary of the Potomac has come in recent decades. The nonprofit’s offices near the Anacostia’s headwaters in Bladensburg, Maryland, are tucked inside the 1732 George Washington House—a former inn that was reportedly a stopover for our first president on his travels from Mount Vernon to points north.
“The goal is a boatable, swimmable and fishable Anacostia. We’ve achieved the first,” Williams says. Swimming is still off-limits, but improvements in water quality have put that second aim nearly within reach. “Fishing—being able to catch and safely eat a fish without concerns about pollution—is at least a few years away,” he says, “but it’s coming.”
The organization’s 35-year history of stewardship does seem to be paying off. In 1996, AWS sued the U.S. Navy over harmful materials left in the riverbed by shipbuilding at the Navy Yard, prompting an $18 million cleanup. In 2000, after the nonprofit and its partners successfully sued the District of Columbia for violating the Clean Water Act, new efforts began to divert some 2 billion tons of sewage per year that previously infiltrated the river.
With help from community volunteers and school science programs, AWS has restored water-filtering mussels to the Anacostia’s aquaculture. Thanks to these and other water quality initiatives, river otters have returned. Area residents can now enjoy recreational activities on and around the river that didn’t exist a few decades ago. A new and accessible urban water playground is emerging.
For Williams, it’s personal. “With the Anacostia, I am not an outsider working with the local community,” he says. “I’m in the community., I live here. It’s my river and I love that.”
A few weeks later, I head to the Washington Rowing School at Bladensburg Waterfront Park over Labor Day weekend for a “Learn to Scull” class. A sign on the office door reads: The expert in anything was once a beginner.
It’s a maxim I end up repeating under my breath several times during the course of the three-day class. While a few students in our group of 12 have some prior rowing skills, most of us look like baby water bugs, fumbling to put our oars in the right place while keeping our sculls upright.
Perched on her skinny racing shell with nary a wobble, coach Cindy Cole glides among us, calling out advice and admonitions. A lifelong competitive rower, Cole founded the Washington Rowing School in 2006. “This upper part of the Anacostia, away from the Potomac, is the perfect place for beginners,” she says. “The river is sheltered with calm, flat water. You also don’t have to worry about powerboats up here.”
It’s a good thing, since I’m barely managing to avoid stationary trees. After haplessly gliding into a thicket of overhanging branches, I sort myself out and reposition my oars in their locks—“Thumbs on the ends!” Cole calls—and pull back out into the the river. Later on, I involuntarily test the river’s swimmability when I knife one of my oars too far underwater and tumble overboard. The coaches good-naturedly welcome me into the “Anacostia Swim Club.”
While there is something cinematic about the rhythmic glide of a rowing scull, the Anacostia is just as welcoming to canoes and kayaks, which don’t require special training. Various spots along the river have watercraft to rent if you don’t have your own.
Exercising that option, I return to Bladensburg Waterfront Park—this time with my teenage daughter, Sarah—and rent a double kayak. Showing off her well-honed strokes from summer camp, she efficiently paddles us out into the river while pull out my binoculars to zero in on some herons hunting along the shore.
Our family has kayaked in a lot of scenic places: Thailand, Croatia, Hawaii, Florida and nearby Antietam Creek in Maryland. It’s hard to believe at first that this placid waterway is in the middle of our nation’s capital. Distant train horns and other city sounds come and go, but all we can see are trees and wetlands on either side.
We paddle past the river entrance to the U.S. National Arboretum and wend our way through Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, an oasis for beavers, turtles, waterfowl and dragonflies, known for its water lilies and summer blooming lotus flowers. Nearby, cyclists rattle across half-hidden bridges on the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.
Humans have been plying these waters for centuries. During his famed 1608 expedition, Captain John Smith would have seen Nacotchtank Indians using canoes to fish and gather food on the river, which the explorer noted was fed by “sweet and innumerable springs.” Colonial settlers later moved in and began growing tobacco.
After the Civil War, many formerly enslaved people built homes on the river’s east side, founding the D.C. neighborhood that bears the Anacostia name. The 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass was one such resident, and his home, Cedar Hill, is now a National Historic Site. Perched on a hilltop with original furnishings and the statesman’s papers on display, the house is open for tours, with skyline views of D.C., including the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol.
Douglass is also the namesake of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, which spans the river and connects the Anacostia neighborhood to D.C.’s Navy Yard between Nationals Park and Audi Field. Marked by soaring white arcs, the landmark structure features wide bike and pedestrian lanes on both sides.
Decades after its nadir, the Anacostia River is slowly recovering its vitality, and it offers a little something for everyone. Toward the end of our pontoon boat cruise, I ask our captain and guide, Emily Castelli, what she likes most about the river.
“My favorite part about the Anacostia River is when I’m in my boots and waders, planting wetlands and restoring mussels,” says Castelli, 29, who grew up in Prince George’s County and started volunteering with AWS river cleanup events at age 12. (She returned to the D.C. area after graduating from Elmira College in New York in 2016.)
Expertly maneuvering our vessel to a boat ramp near the former RFK Stadium, she is careful to avoid the fishing lines of an angler who introduces himself as Keith. Though swimming and fishing in the river are still considered unsafe, he clearly isn’t waiting for an official green light. Earbuds in, with Tupac and Jay-Z providing the soundtrack for his outing, he shows off several large catfish laid out in his cooler.
“What do you do with the fish?” I ask.
“Give it to folks who need the food,” he says.
Yet another reason to protect and restore the health of this vital resource for all who cherish it.
Where to Play
The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is a popular route for pedestrians, cyclists and skaters that hugs both sides of the river. Don’t miss the scenic east side section between Kenilworth and Bladensburg Waterfront Park, which goes through forest and wetlands. Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, operated by the National Park Service and known for its giant lily pads, is worth a visit for the wildlife and birding opportunities. Admission is free.
Bladensburg Waterfront Park is located at the quieter north end of the Anacostia and offers a wide range of amenities, including canoe and kayak rentals, a boat launch and river tours. Cyclists riding the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail stop here to rest and refill water bottles.
The Ballpark Boathouse, a smaller facility at the south end of the Anacostia near Nationals Park, also rents boats, including season rowing passes.
Capital Rowing Club and Washington Rowing School offer rowing classes and organize competitive teams for those who want to improve their skills.
DC Sail, a program of the National Maritime Heritage Foundation, has a wide range of sailing courses for adults and kids. Once certified, members can rent boats.
Where to Eat & Drink
In D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood, Black-owned 6Co Eatery is a few blocks from Cedar Hill, the former home of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Stop in for a steak and cheese sandwich and a side of excellent Cajun fries. Also good for a quick bite (and also Black-owned): DCity Smokehouse, whose half smoke smothered in brisket chili is a must. The Anacostia location of Busboys and Poets serves dishes such as Creole shrimp and fried catfish alongside a sizable selection of vegan dishes, and serves brunch daily until 3 p.m. On the opposite side of the river, Capitol Riverfront is home to fountains, a boardwalk and a shallow wading pool with a waterfall that’s popular with kids in summer. Hit All-Purpose Pizzeria for a craft brew and a deck-oven pie topped with pepperoni and hot honey. To satisfy a seafood craving, grab a table at the ballpark-adjacent location of The Salt Line, whose owners include retired Mr. National himself, Ryan Zimmerman. Jackie American Bistro, named after legendary first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, is a hot spot for international flavors, wine and cocktails in a ’60s-inspired setting with a river terrace.
Where to Volunteer
The Anacostia River is healthier than it used to be, thanks to thousands of volunteers who have helped to restore its wetlands, reintroduce native plants and aquatic life, and remove trash. The Anacostia Watershed Society, Anacostia Riverkeeper and National Park Service offer a variety of volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups interested in habitat conservation.
Arlington resident Jeffrey Yeates writes about cycling, travel and local culture.