Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

All clear. The managing agency, the National Weather Service and wildfire reporting show no current alerts.

Overview

In the 1930s, landscape architects transformed Mason’s Island from neglected, overgrown farmland into Theodore Roosevelt Island, a memorial to America’s 26th president. They conceived a “real forest” designed to mimic the natural forest that once covered the island. Today miles of trails through wooded uplands and swampy bottomlands honor the legacy of a great outdoorsman and conservationist.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Guided Tours
  • Self-Guided Tours - Walking
  • Hiking
  • Paddling
  • Canoeing
  • Kayaking
  • Wildlife Watching
  • Birdwatching

Browse hiking, biking and paddling routes on AllTrails

Plan your visit

Hours

Theodore Roosevelt Island Trails and Parking Lot: The park is open every day from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

Getting there

By Car: accessible from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, after Roosevelt Bridge, exit sign, turn right into the parking lot. Please note: park in a designated parking space, US Park Police regularly tickets drivers who park on the grass. By Metro: exit Rosslyn Metro station, walk toward Key Bridge, take short connecting trail downhill from the downstream side of the bridge, across the parkway, and into the parking lot for the island. By Bike: Mount Vernon Trail north end

Weather

Outdoor trails and memorial plaza subject to weather for Washington, D.C. and Arlington, VA.

Phone: 7032892500

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

woodland trail in the shadow of tall trees
Theodore Roosevelt Island Trail · NPS Photo
Three people with Park Ranger at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial.
Ranger answers Question · NPS Photo
long stone plaza with statue of Theodore Roosevelt at end surround by the shadows of tall trees
Across Theodore Roosevelt Island Memorial Plaza · NPS Photo
three people walking on wooden boardwalk under trees
Trail on Theodore Roosevelt Island · NPS Photo

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