13. Theodore Roosevelt Island

Theodore Roosevelt Island can only be reached by car from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just north of the I-66/Roosevelt Bridge. There is a bike/pedestrian path from Rosslyn that starts alongside the I-66 exit ramp and crosses over the GW Parkway. Brochure with trail map.

The rocky western (upriver) and central portions of the island are part of the Piedmont Plateau, while the southeastern part is within the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Atlantic Seaboard "Fall Line" is a slight rise that divides the two. There are a few bald cypress trees (aka swamp cypress or southern cypress) along the swamp boardwalk. Actually they are not a true cypress but are in the same plant family as the sequoias or giant redwoods, and share some of its Western relation’s fabled characteristics, such as longevity, living 800 to 1,500 years, and height, with mature specimens reaching well over 100 feet. 

A monumental memorial to Teddy Roosevelt is tucked into the woods on the island, giving it the feel of a scene from a fantasy video game.

The island was a colonial plantation estate belonging to George Mason and his descendants. During the Civil War, it quartered the 1st United States Colored Troops, an African American regiment composed of free blacks and escaped slaves. From May 1864 to June 1865, a freedmen's refugee camp occupied much of the island, including the Mason mansion. After the federal government became owner of the island in 1931, it had renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. replant the island as a planned wilderness "to be preserved as nearly as possible as in its natural state." The planting plan, carried out by Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers, "represents one of the most complete expressions of Olmsted's ideals on scenic preservation, through his attempt to recreate the island's presumed former appearance so that it could continue its natural evolution to a stable, 'climax' forest."