Clay Pond–Carper's Pond, 5 sights is a 9.4-mile out-and-back in Riverbend Park near Great Falls, MD. The route passes Clay Pond and Carper's Pond. It climbs 557 ft, with sections as steep as 22% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 16/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: paved and peopled.
Elevation
0 mi148 – 328 ft · steepest grade: 22%10.3 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 39.00305, -77.25648
Nearest town Great Falls, MD
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Clay Pond–Carper's Pond, 5 sights
9.4 mi · ▲ 557 ft · 3 hr 25 min
Elevation 148–329 ft
Out & Back · Riverbend Park
Trailhead: 39.00305, -77.25648
Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:56 AM · sunset 7:11 PM
Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading N.
- 50 ftPass Clay Pond.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Potomac Heritage Trail, heading NE.
- 400 ftTurn left onto Bootlegger Trail, heading NW.
- 0.2 miBear left, heading N.
- 0.2 miBear right, heading N.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading N.
- 0.6 miPass Carper's Pond.
- 0.1 miContinue straight onto Potomac Heritage Trail, heading NE.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading NW.
- 1.7 miBear left onto DCWA, heading NW.
- 0.9 miTurn left, heading NW.
- 100 ftReach Clay Pond, then turn around and head back the way you came.
- 100 ftTurn left, heading NW.
- 0.9 miBear right onto Potomac Heritage Trail, heading SE.
- 1.7 miTurn right, heading E.
- 0.4 miContinue straight onto Bootlegger Trail, heading SE.
- 0.7 miBear right, heading SW.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading S.
- 400 ftBear right, heading W.
- 0.2 miBear right, heading SW.
- 0.2 miTurn right onto Potomac Heritage Trail, heading S.
- 0.1 miArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
91% dirt9% gravel
Weather
Sunrise 6:56 AMSunset 7:11 PM
Good to know
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- Patowmack Island–Beech Island, 7 groves 13.8 mi · ▲ 557 ft
- Bootlegger Trail 2.3 mi · ▲ 191 ft
- Clay Pond–Black Pond, 4 lakes 4 mi · ▲ 197 ft
- Potomac Heritage Viewpoint–Clay Pond Loop, 3 sights 2.1 mi · ▲ 200 ft
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