Ratings:
Season: Any
Physical Difficulty: Easy -- Moderate.
Website: http://www.nps.gov/fowa/index.htm
Location: 16 miles
Summary
Craving a little bit of medieval castle action, complete with moat? Fort Washington, which is only 16 minutes outside of DC, is an easy way to get your fix. It is a piece of American history that looks far more European middle ages than American.
Description
Fort Washington was originally buit in 1809 (originally called Fort Warburton), on a piece of land that juts into the Potomac in order to provide an attack-by-sea defense for Washington D.C. It was the only fortification built to protect D.C. until the civil war. Amazingly the fort continued to be used by the military up until WWW I.
When you enter the fort you cross an empty mote on a wooden bridge and come through the arch gateway where sentries used to stand. On either side of the door are the sentries quarters and a small brig, both of which you can walk in and through. The inside of the fort is an open field that has terraced areas in which supplies would have been stored. On the top of the field, cannons have been placed overlooking the potomac.
The Fort is a good place to meander around on a self guided tour. In addition to walking through the internal yard, and climbing on the fort's walls, there are also some areas in which you can walk inside of the fort. These hallways and rooms are not white-washed or tourist-ready, and have an all around spooky feel.
In addition to the Fort, and a lighthouse, if you drive around the area you can also find some old (probably 200 year old) storage silos which probably housed munitions and food.
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