Rock Creek Park A to Z by David and Lorraine Swerdloff
• How did the rocks get into Rock Creek?
 • In whose footsteps are you walking each time you visit?
Page by page, letter by letter, explore one of America’s oldest National Parks,
located in the heart of the Nation’s Capital.

Rock Creek Park A to Z
reveals the surprising natural wonders in the wild woodland in the heart of the Nation’s Capital — and its rich history as a presidential playground, Native American campground and Civil War battleground.

The alphabetical account — illustrated with more than 250 images — begins with A is for Animals: from newly arrived coyotes to black squirrels introduced more than a century ago along the banks of Rock Creek.

Along the way, F is for Fords: where horses — and until 1994, autos — could splash through the creek.

M is for Mills: featuring the technology that made Rock Creek Valley a high-tech corridor for 19th century Washington.

Q is for Quotations: what naturalists, poets, politicians and songwriters have to say about Rock Creek Park.

T is for Trees: the beautiful, natural landscape that displays how the park’s environment changes from place to place, season to season and over the decades.

U is for US Presidents: including hiking, rock-climbing, skinny-dipping and trespassing Teddy Roosevelt.

Y is for You Gotta Be Kidding: a rundown of serious proposals that, happily, were never enacted — like damming the creek to turn the valley into a vast reservoir.

And anyone who has visited DC’s lions and tigers and (panda) bears — oh my! — knows that Z is for Zoo.

Enjoy this entertaining interpretation of one of America’s pioneering urban parks — established in 1890, when America had only two other National Parks. 

Rock Creek Park A to Z
76 pages, full color

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Also available at
Politics & Prose Bookstore
and at the
Nature Center bookstore in Rock Creek Park


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Article about Rock Creek Park A to Z in the Forest Hills Connection

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Rock Creek Park… it’s where Washington insiders go when they go outside!