History and Mission Board Members Staff Partners Funders Media Coverage
Overview Why Woods Matter Fort Stanton Park Shepherd Parkway Suitland Parkway Oxon Run Parkway Congress Park Woods Private Lands
George Washington Carver Trail Fort Circle Park Hiker-Biker Trail Proposed Shepherd Parkway Trail Proposed Suitland Parkway Trail
MLK Garden Volunteer Park Stewards #CleanItClaimIt Advocacy
Contact Donate

Congress Park Woods

The long block of Mississippi Avenue from 13th Street to 15th Street feels like a pocket of country in the city. To the south, the playgrounds and ball fields of Oxon Run Park give way to the undeveloped wilds of Oxon Run Parkway. In winter, the naturally meandering bed of Oxon Run stream can be seen from the road. To the north, rows of brick apartment buildings give way abruptly to the steeply sloping woods surrounding Malcolm X Elementary School.  

These nine acres belong to the District of Columbia, but do not appear to have ever had a name. We call them the “Congress Park Woods” for the neighborhood at the top of the hill. The Congress Park hillside presents a varied landscape, with three deep ravines and many smaller ups and downs. Oaks a century old are mixed in among invasives like bush honeysuckle and ailanthus trees.

With no identity, amenities or maintenance, the Congress Park Woods are effectively a no man’s land.  Like so many other neglected urban greenspaces, in the absence of care, it becomes an unofficial dump for household trash, construction materials, and especially tires. Ward 8 Woods has removed more than four thousands tires from the area since 2020, meaning it was the city’s single largest tire dump. 

Ward 8 Woods Conservancy
  • About Us
    • History and Mission
    • Board Members
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • Funders
    • Media Coverage
  • The Woods
    • The Woods
    • Why Woods Matter
    • Fort Stanton Park
    • Shepherd Parkway
    • Suitland Parkway
    • Oxon Run Parkway
    • Private Lands
  • Trails
    • George Washington Carver Trail
    • Fort Circle Hiker-Biker Trail
    • Proposed Shepherd Parkway Trail
    • Proposed Suitland Parkway Northside Trail
  • Programs
    • MLK Garden
    • Volunteer
    • Park Stewards
    • #CleanItClaimIt
    • Advocacy
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Congress Park Woods