Chain Bridge
Chain Bridge is a historic site in Virginia, at a modelled elevation of 24 m. Gantt Hill stands 156 m to the west, 6.2 miles off. The nearest named place is The Mouth of Pimmit Run, a historic site 0.1 miles away. George Washington Memorial Parkway runs past it. 42 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Viaduct (bridge) which crosses the Potomac River at Little Falls in Washington, D.C.
Dates from 1936.
Wikidata Q5067862, matched on coordinates and name (229 m apart).
What the record says
- Inscription
- In 1797, the merchants of Georgetown built here the first bridge over the Potomac River in order to compete with the Virginia port of Alexandria. The Falls Bridge allowed trade from the "upper country" of Virginia to move directly to Georgetown over the G
How to reach it
- On the George Washington Memorial Parkway, National
- 2.1 mi off the Old Georgetown Pike
- 0.5 mi off the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Byway
- 10.0 mi off the Booth's Escape
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Lock 5: 0.8 mi
- Lock 6: 1.1 mi
- All Hallows Guild Traveling Carousel: 2.5 mi
- Lock 7: 2.7 mi
- Twin Oaks: 2.9 mi
- Donaldson Run Park: 1.1 mi
- Spring Valley Park: 1.1 mi
- Potomac Overlook Regional Park: 1.3 mi
- Marie Butler Leven Preserve: 1.5 mi
- Potomac Palisades Conservation Park: 1.9 mi
- James I. Mayer Center for Environmental Education: 1.2 mi
- Kreeger Museum: 1.6 mi
- American University Museum at the Katzen: 1.8 mi
- Dopamine Land: 2.7 mi
- Clara Barton House: 2.9 mi
- Fort Marcy Park: 0.6 mi
- Palisades Park: 0.7 mi
- Upland field: 0.9 mi
- Utah & 35 Field: 0.9 mi
- Dalecarlia Parkway: 1.2 mi
- Glass Forest: 0.8 mi
- John Wesley Statue: 1.6 mi
- John Wesley: 1.6 mi
- Labyrinth: 1.7 mi
- Artemas Ward Statue: 1.8 mi
- Demonstration Native Plant Garden: 1.1 mi
- Demonstration Vegetable Garden: 1.1 mi
- Pollinator Garden: 1.2 mi
- American University Arboretum and Gardens: 1.7 mi
- Rain Garden: 1.7 mi
- Fletcher's Cove: 1.1 mi
- Picnic Grove 1: 3.5 mi
- Picnic Grove 2 South: 3.6 mi
- Picnic site for Rose park: 3.7 mi
- Picnic Grove 28: 3.7 mi
- The Mouth of Pimmit Run: 0.1 mi
- Jefferson Garcia-Yanez: 0.3 mi
- Fort Ethan Allen: 0.6 mi
- Battery Kemble: 1.1 mi
- Battery Bailey: 1.6 mi
- Georgetown Heights: 2.3 mi
- Mount Alto: 2.3 mi
- Point Reno: 2.7 mi
- Camp Hill: 2.7 mi
- Mackeys Hill: 2.8 mi
- Stubblefield Falls: 5.0 mi
- Scott's Run Falls: 5.3 mi
- Great Falls: 8.7 mi
- Coe Creek: 19.3 mi
- Brambleton Sign/Water Decoration: 22.4 mi
- Clean Drinking Manor Spring: 5.6 mi
- Silver Spring: 6.3 mi
- Takoma Spring: 6.7 mi
- Indian Springs: 12.9 mi
- Sandy Spring: 15.4 mi
- Fishing Shore: 1.7 mi
- Lake Barcroft Beach: 6.0 mi
- Purplehorse Beach: 7.5 mi
- Sycamore Beach: 7.6 mi
- Rosier Bluff: 11.8 mi
- Indian Queen Bluff: 13.1 mi
- Quartz Rock Outcropping: 19.8 mi
- Indian Head: 22.6 mi
- Manassas Safety/Rest Area West: 21.9 mi
- Manassas Safety/Rest Area East: 22.0 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Chain Bridge. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gantt Hill | W 267° | 156 m | 6.2 mi |
| Hunting Hill | NNW 338° | 156 m | 11.6 mi |
| Black Hill | NNW 331° | 148 m | 20.3 mi |
| Mount Daniel | WSW 238° | 144 m | 4.2 mi |
| Minor's Hill | SW 231° | 140 m | 2.9 mi |
| Freedom Hill | W 266° | 140 m | 6.8 mi |
| Prout Hill | SW 231° | 137 m | 5.3 mi |
| Upton Hill | SSW 203° | 125 m | 4.1 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:13 | 18:45 | 19:21 |
| June solstice | 05:44 | 19:58 | 20:38 |
| September equinox | 06:57 | 18:32 | 19:07 |
| December solstice | 07:24 | 16:08 | 16:50 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 34 | 37 | 44 | 56 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 46 | 38 |
| Precip in | 3.3 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.8 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Dalecarlia Rsvr, under a mile away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapOpenStreetMap element node/13232036365
Day trips start here
- Arlington (Virginia)/Far North · 2 mi
- Washington, D.C./Upper Northwest · 2 mi
- Arlington · 3 mi
- Arlington (Virginia)/Rosslyn–Ballston Corridor · 3 mi
- McLean · 3 mi
- Washington, D.C./Georgetown · 3 mi
Take the scenic way to Chain Bridge.
Byway plans around your taste, mapped places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.