We found out DC is our home for the foreseeable future and could not be more excited to create a Washington DC Bucket List. We are finding our groove and settling in to a DC rhythm. Once we were able to take a beat from work/ life; we sat down and created an overall list of things to do in DC. The list seems to continue to grow as we talk to people. Dustin recently went mountain biking in Maryland with a work colleague; which was not on the initial list. (And he didn’t take any pictures at all or post to social media, so did it really happen?)
We have done quite a few things already so the typical things you might see on here (National Portrait Gallery, the Capital, the White House, Holocaust Museum/ Memorial, etc) are not on this list. Check out our blog posts to see more about those things.
Anyway. Here is the list we have so far.
Washington DC Bucket List
Hikes/Parks/Water Activities:
- Appalachian Trail (At least hike &/or camp a part of it. Not the whole thing, don’t get crazy.)
- Arboretum (there are so many things at the Arboretum: old White House Columns, Asian Garden, Moonlight Tour, etc)
- Great Falls Hiking/ Rafting
- Camping with Kona
- Yurt in Maryland
- Snowboard in the winter
- Kayak the Potomac
- Meridian Hill Park
- C&O Canal
- Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens
- Scott’s Run Nature Preserve
- Teddy Roosevelt Island
Day Trips/ Weekend Trips:
- Mount Vernon (via Watertaxi from Alexandria)
- Williamsburg
- Gettysburg
- Falls Church Eden
- Boundary Stones Tour
- Air & Space Museum (Near Dulles)
- Frank Lloyd Wright House in Alexandria
- Abe Lincoln’s Cottage
- Annapolis Day Trip/ Boat Tour
- Take a train from Union Station to a nearby city (NYC, Boston, etc)
Festivals/Shows/Music
- 4th of July at the Capital
- Cherry Blossom Festival 3/20-4/13
- Embassy’s Open Weekend & EU Open Weekend 5/4
- Jazz in the Garden (Every Friday during the Summer)
- First Friday Dupont Galleries
- DC Jazz Festival 6/7-6/16
- DC Immigrant & Refugee Music Festival
- National’s Game/ National’s Bring Your Dog Game
- Folklife Festival @ the National Mall
- H Street Festival
- Smithsonian Craft Show 4/24
- National Cherry Blossom Festival Petalpalozza @ the Wharf 4/6
- DC United Game
- Ghana Fest DC
- Art All Night
- Zoo at Christmas
- Lighting of the Capital Tree @ Christmas
- White House decorated for Christmas
- Washington Ballet Performance (Nutcracker or Other)
- Kennedy Center Performance
- Performance at Lincoln Theater
Misc:
- National Cathedral
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Pentagon Tour & 9/11 Memorial
- Library of Congress/ Get Library of Congress Reader Card
- New exhibits as they come to the Smithsonian’s
- African American History Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum
- Jefferson Memorial
- Newseum (Now has closed. Visit the website to see some virtual things and keep up to date on when it could reopen.)
- Go to a Supreme Court Argument
- Attend a session of congress (both a Senate and a House of Representatives)
- The Wharf
- Bureau of Engraving & Printing
- Bike & Scooter/ Explore Neighborhoods within DC
- Explore National Harbor & Alexandria
- Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria
So that is where we are at with this list. I am excited to create our DC food bucket list now. If you have suggestions to either, please let us know!
