The Creeks of the Little Falls Watershed
Branch or creek?
Many of the streams in Maryland and Virginia are called "branches", a local term that just means "creek". There are three main branches in the Little Falls watershed - the Little Falls Branch, the Willett Branch and the Minnehaha Branch.
Mouth of the Little Falls Branch at the Potomac River
Little Falls Branch
This 5 mile long creek starts in Montgomery County in the Chevy Chase Club and ends on the Potomac near the Little Falls rapids. It drains portions of Bethesda, Somerset, Chevy Chase, Friendship Heights, and the District of Columbia. It passes the Dalecarlia Reservoir, flows under the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and empties into the Potomac at the Little Falls rapids, which marks the upper end of the tidal Potomac. The creek is joined by two tributaries - the Spring Valley and the Dalecarlia and by the Willett Branch. It is channelized in two areas - under Chevy Chase Village and between River Road and Little Falls Parkway. Take a virtual tour of the Little Falls Creek from Wisconsin Avenue to River Road HERE!
The Little Falls Branch wasn’t always so pastoral. In 1958, according to a November 24 article in the Washington Post
A mile-long ribbon of oil blazed along a Bethesda creek last night while fire and explosions damaged several huge oil storage tanks in the 5000 block of River rd.. . . . Flames from the oil-coated creek roared 30 feet high, Flames from the oil-coated creek roared 30 feet high, sending huge fingers of flames over homes in Green Acres and other communities.
Hiking information and maps for the Little Falls Creek are HERE.
Willett Branch
The Willett Branch starts in Bethesda, Maryland on Glenbrook Avenue. It runs along Glenbrook and meets a small tributary by the Bethesda Pool. Most of it (70%) is channelized in concrete ditches or enclosed in storm drains. The creek daylights near the Bethesda Pool and along the Capital Crescent Trail. However, after a short natural stretch on the Little Falls Stream Valley Hiker/Biker path it is channelized and runs under the Washington Episcopal School and River Road. It joins the Little Falls creek north of Mass Ave on Little Falls Parkway.
Hike along this creek on the Little Falls Stream Valley Trail just below the Bethesda Pool.
Download a PDF tour of the creek HERE.
Minnehaha Branch
This 1.5 mile long creek is located in the northern part of the watershed. Starting just above River Road in Bethesda, it runs along Goldsborough Road and enters the Potomac River near Glen Echo.