Paddling the Potomac
Where else can you escape the office at noon, jump in a kayak for a quick
paddle, and be back in time for a 2pm meeting? Thompson Boat Center, next to the Kennedy Center, rents kayaks by the hour. Within minutes you’re paddling around Theodore Roosevelt Island, a woodsy island in the middle of the Potomac. Float upstream to Georgetown and beyond, or downstream past the National Mall’s marble monuments.
More hardcore kayakers surf and play in the white-tipped rapids of the Potomac River Gorge just below Great Falls. This spot has become a breeding ground for top-level competitive kayakers, and it’s within 30 minutes of the nation’s capital (only experienced kayakers should tackle this dangerous, sometimes deadly run).
