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If you wish you had opted for a country vacation instead of a trip to D.C., it's not too hard to make believe in Rock Creek Park. The horse center offers trail rides, horseback riding lessons (group and private), and pony rides throughout the summer months. The trail rides are very popular, and reservations often are booked more than a month in advance. The pony rides and lessons also require reservations, but are much easier to get. For those visiting on a whim, and not interested in paying for a ride, you can just stop by and pet and feed the horses for free. If you traveled to the city on horseback, they offer full-service public stables for $600/month.
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Deep inside the park, the Nature Center offers hands-on exhibits, guided nature walks, an "observation beehive," and a full planetarium. Especially good for kids.
The 18 holes of golf in Rock Creek Park are a bit rough. That's not to say you can't have a good experience here, as it is quite a novelty to play golf deep in the woods, despite being in the city. The back 9 holes are challenging due to extreme hills and narrow fairways. Par 65. Golfers might want to consider the other two major courses in the city: Hains Point in Waterfront and Langston in Near Northeast.
A hidden gem of magnificent proportions. Marjorie Merriweather Post, prominent businesswoman and heiress to the Post Cereal fortune, fashioned her estate next to Rock Creek Park to be an extraordinarily stately and luxurious site for entertaining guests, housing her impressive art collections, and with the intention of leaving it behind for the world to enjoy. The mansion is a treasure trove of French and Russian decorative arts, much of which she obtained from the USSR, whose government under Stalin was then auctioning off a good portion of its cultural heritage to finance its war efforts. Second in grandeur only to the art collection itself are the French and Japanese-style gardens—great places to linger long after the tour.
A historic water-powered mill in the park and a national historic site built by Isaac Peirce in 1829.
Fort Reno was one of the bedrocks of the legendary and celebrated D.C. punk/hardcore/straight-edge scene, and evolved to encompass later post-hardcore and other local indie rock. The concert series was founded in 1968 as a sort of government-sponsored hippie fest to try to bring some love, joy, and sense of community back to the district post-1968 riots. Having run annually since, this is one of the truest local traditions, is beloved by the community, and a great way to delve further into that elusive city beyond the federal government and neoclassical memorials. No alcohol, no glass bottles, but plastic bottles are allowed.
A collection of 400 species, including 2,000 animals. Get a map at the entrance, take your time, and be prepared to walk a great deal. Bring water—the concessions here are insultingly expensive. The most crowded exhibits are nearly always the Pandas and the Ape House. The pandas are perhaps the zoo's shyest residents. The Ape House is fun no matter the crowds. Other hits include the Seals & Sea Lions Exhibit, the Reptile House, the remarkable Aviary, and the irresistibly cute prairie dogs.