lamphs

Yes, resurrecting an old thread. So many things change over the years in terms of access, availability, etc.

Lifelong DC area resident, 48 states and 68 countries, and DC is still my favorite city in the world. But I've never seen the 4th of July fireworks, but I also don't do crowds!

Thinking of staying in Arlington on the 4th as rooms are surprisingly cheap! Is Gravelly Point still a good place to watch the fireworks (thinking DCA Metro Station and then walking from there if I am reading the map correctly)? Any other spots on the VA side that have good view points?

Thanks!

Zorak

Have just recently moved to Arlington, though was here over a July 4th a year or two ago. If not parking at the DCA garage then I think Crystal City metro offers similar access to the Mt. Vernon Trail, and also has a less-walking option of Long Bridge Park (which is where I watched from)

Section 107

Gravelly Point is a wonderful place to view the fireworks. And, there is the "relatively" close option of the airport terminal if the weather gets bad. The other suggestion of Long Bridge Park is good, too.

Also, watching from Columbia Island (which seems like it is on the Virginia side of the river but is actually in DC) was a long-time tradition of my "crew" during high school and college days. Back then, before bin Laden won and our feckless parents (and now feckless us) weren't in control with so many "securitay" restrictions, one could make a truly wonderful day-long picnic of it - complete with adult beverages and even grills. But it is still a spectacular vantage point with the entire city as your backdrop (similar to watching fireworks from Jersey City with Manhattan behind). If you have a car, parking is plentiful and free at the Pentagon North Parking lot and it is an easy walk across the bridge to the LBJ Grove and then across GW Parkway to the water's edge. For some years the Park Service has put up webbed construction fencing to keep cars from parking on the grass which may cause a little bit of an issue getting to the grass areas along the waters edge.

For the W hotel rooftop bar - VUE - they are currently taking reservations VUE Rooftop - Washington, DC - Washington, DC | Tock (exploretock.com) includes buffet and open bar for $200pp which sounds like it is in your budget.

Another great location would be on the DC Southwest waterfront - I used to watch from my family boat and the yachts I crewed on. Now that it is all renovated you can probably watch from the rooftops of some of the hotels and condos there. Watching from the Salamander (formerly the Mandarin Oriental) would be another prime viewing location. Happenings at Salamander Washington DC | Dining at The Lounge (salamanderdc.com)

Lots of options - just gotta be keep looking. Good Luck!

lamphs

Thanks to both of you. I am just not as familiar with the secrets of the VA side of the river. I have always 'heard' there were good viewing spots in VA and I have no interest intermingling with the Mall crowds.

Pre-COVID, I was a frequent weekend staycationer in Arlington. Drive to Arlington area via GW Parkway, stay in a cheap weekend hotel (Marriott Crystal Gateway or Crystal City Hilton (now National Landing Hilton) with free street parking. And then sightseeing/dining/walking in DC.

Going to try the same thing, weather dependent, and do some sightseeing in DC on the 5th via Metro.

I'll report back.

lamphs

I met friends for breakfast in Great Falls Village this morning, so I thought I'd drive south on the GW Parkway to Crystal City and do some recon before returning to Montgomery County. I haven't flown out of DCA for several months and did not realize the extent of the parkway road construction.

First I stopped at Columbia Island. Been by it many many times, but never realized there was a marina there also (even with a recently burned to the hull boat). Lots of parking. Easy in and easy out. I assumed the viewing point would be across the GW Parkway and made an effort to walk across. After 7 minutes of waiting and seeing that I had to jump the guard rail (no shoulder) and no break in southbound traffic, I gave up.

Drove to Crystal City on Long Bridge Drive. Certainly Long Bridge Park would be a short walk from many hotels in the area (and with a chair and cooler fairly easy). But while I am sure that I could see an aerial view of the fireworks, I didn't find any location where I could see the city also.

Parked by the Amazon Fresh on Crystal Drive and walked to the Mount Vernon Trail, and from there to Gravelly Point, about 18 minutes for me. Probably a few minutes longer with a chair and cooler. Lots of room on the grass. There would be more room if NPS didn't allow vehicles to park on the grass on July 4th (vehicles with boat trailers and I am actually OK with it). I think I am going with this option. If it is too hot/humid, I may ride one stop from Crystal City to DCA as that would cut about 5-7 minutes off the walk. I did notice 'park closed at dark' or something. I'm assuming that NPS won't ask people to exit during the fireworks. lol

I'll report back!

djp98374

DC mall fireworks…..

if you can see the top of Washington monument you should be able to see the fireworks.

there are hotels in crystal city where you can see the monument ou of bedroom windows or from the roof.

there is a bike path/ walking trail that runs along George Washington parkway thst you can get on at DCAnd Arlington cemetery stations.

there are boats you can get on and see them.

the fireworks usually starts around 9 pm and runs for about 40 minutes

post Covid they are restarting the national symphony orchestra concert on the steps of the Capitol ( aired on PBS nationwide). They do a full show rehearsal on the 3rd that crowds can attend. You have to go thru security and sit on the steps or on the lawn facing the Washington monument and you can see the fireworks go off on the 4th.

lamphs

Section 107

The rehearsal for the concert really is the way to go - minimal crowds so can get up close and everything else is easier, except that they do not do a rehearsal of the fireworks.

lamphs

Just an update that is hopefully helpful to future visitors, although YMMV.

The rehearsal on July 3rd on the Capitol grounds was well worth it for the portion that I saw. I walked from the L'Enfant Plaza metro station to the west Capitol grounds. If you aren't carrying anything and you don't have your pockets full of stuff, security was very easy (all I had was a water bottle and a McDonald's take out from the L'Enfant Plaza location.) I had planned to just stand, but found a seat on a ventilation grate (no ventilation occurring.) The rehearsal started on time and had a 10-minute intermission at 2045 hours. That turned into about 25 minutes. Once it started again, 3 acts had to re-rehearse (not sure what the issue was as all 3 sounded great). After that, I saw significant lighting off to the west and didn't want to get caught in the storm. Perfect timing because about 5 minutes after arriving at the hotel in Crystal City, the skies opened up.

I also spent some time on the Mall on the 4th. While I had no plans to attend the fireworks on the Mall, I did enter the secure area midday, at a designated entrance point, to walkaround the Washington Monument over to the WWII Memorial. I've heard stories about how long the security lines are for this event. Maybe, maybe not. Security was again easy (in fact easier than the Capitol as there were not any metal detectors). Again, if you aren't carrying bags, coolers, you are waived through.

I stuck with my Gravelly Point plan. An easy (15 minute) walk from the Crystal City Crowne Plaza on the Mt. Vernon Trail, with a chair, a water bottle, and a slice of pizza from Amazon Fresh (a block from the hotel). I setup my chair where there was the biggest mass of people figuring that many of those people have done this before. Maybe, maybe not. This group had a view of the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. When the fireworks started, it was hard to see the full effect, and EVERYBODY picked up camp and moved closer to GW Parkway. Not sure if the firing location had shifted from past events or the vast majority of the people were also new to this.

A couple of comments. Parking was available at DCA and there is a walking path that connects to the Mt. Vernon Trail. But it appears that northbound GW Parkway was closed after the event to allow pedestrians to leave Gravelly Point. Many cars were parked at Gravelly Point and along the grass areas on the NB side of GW Parkway. Those cars weren't going anywhere until the pedestrian traffic thinned out. Also, bicyclists were a problem. The trail is very narrow and even with all of the pedestrians, bicyclists were trying to do their thing, but acting like toddlers when toddlers got in their way.

There were lots of fireworks to be seen from the area in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. Also, does DCA do a ground stop for the fireworks? As far as I could tell there were no approaches or departures for about 30 minutes.

If I do this again, I noticed while driving home along NB GW Parkway yesterday, that if I walked another 10 minutes north on the trail, I would have had an even better view of the fireworks. FYI...

I may go back and edit this post to include some pics, but can't get to it today.

Zorak

I was pretty sure I saw a WN flight takeoff during the festivities, and using the FR24 playback feature confirms there were a couple landings (north) and takeoffs (to the south) while the fireworks were going on.

allset2travel

Much appreciate your updates! For years I wanted to see the July 4th Fireworks in DC in vain because I couldn't figure out the "ground logistic". You had shed significant light on this subject. Thank you so much.

After reading your post, I am thinking of 2024.

MY BOLD.

My main goal would be to shoot photos of the fireworks and things related to Independance Day in DC.

Re: July 3rd Rehersal. Can I bring in camera gears (also tripod?) through security? Same question for the Mall during day time on the 4th?
Are there location at Gravelly Point to set up Tripod without interfering other spectators?

If time allows, I (and most certainly many others on this thread now and in the future) would love to see some photos from this event.

TIA.

lamphs

Section 107

for the fireworks:

this article has some good maps on where to watch: MAP: Where to Watch the 2023 Fourth of July Fireworks Without Going to the National Mall - Washingtonian

What really determines where to watch is desired proximity, your tolerance for crowds, what buildings/memorials you want in your photos, and then security.

Regarding what's allowed on the Mall or other National Park Service areas: here is your definitive guide: Washington, DC, Fourth of July Celebration (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Security on the Mall itself is pretty strict. In some other areas, not quite as diligent (particularly with alcohol, glass, and even grills).

In my opinion, the very best is actually on the mall - get there early to leisurely enjoy the Smithsonian FolkLife festival, then stay for the fireworks. Get the right position near the Wash Monument and they will seem to be in larger than life and 3D. The only thing better is watching from the White House or from a boat (either way, you will need to KNOW someone).

Being an Air Force brat, I have very much enjoyed watching from the Air Force Memorial - the AF Band performs with world class guests, the Honor Guard/Precision Drill Team performs, and you get a great view.

This year I watched from the "Mount Vernon Trail" / Columbia Island grass areas on the "Virginia side" of the river. The fireworks are big but you get all the iconic buildings in the background as well as watching all the boat activity. Easy access from Pentagon South Parking, easy walk to the waters edge, lots of space, lots of bathrooms and doesn't feel crowded.

For details on the concert on the Capitol steps: FAQs | A Capitol Fourth | PBS the show is produced by PBS and they control most stuff except the security - lots of info in those FAQs

But the most important tip, that you will only get from me, (at no extra charge!), is to plan to wait for an hour after the fireworks end, to begin to make your exit. The crowds which felt large but so spread out will all merge into the same few exit points, and Metro stops, and parking lots and highways/roads - it will take at least an hour to clear out and the highways will be clogged. So, prepare with enough food/drink for after the show, relax, and get home just as quickly as if you threw yourself into the maelstrom to hurry up and wait immediately after the show.

And finally.... a whole bunch of photos from various vantage points: Photos and Multimedia - Washington, DC, Fourth of July Celebration (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Section 107

oh, about Gravelly Point - as mentioned above, there are a lot of trees at the north end that end up blocking the view; its better to walk up further north past the bridges to the cut to the Pentagon Lagoon marina (Columbia Island Marina) where you can get a view with no trees in the way. Also, Gravelly Point parking fills up VERY early (lots of boats put in there) so one would have to get and stay there VERY early, like before 12 noon for a 9:15pm show. and then wait another hour to get out.... Alternatively, parking at the airport is a good way to go, its a relatively short walk to/from and exiting onto the Parkway going south tends not to be ridiculously congested (bonus sneak tip!).

But Gravelly Point is a fantastic place to plane spot - they are only about 100 feet over your head when landing from the North, it feels like you can jump up and touch them, and if you listen closely, you will hear the trailing turbulence whooshing by....

allset2travel

@Section 107,

Thank you for the useful web links and the article. That article links to yet another insightful article. Thos maps are helpful.

Appreciate your local intel on further tips re Gravelly Point and certain parking situation.