Theodore Roosevelt Island

Theodore Roosevelt Island
Arlington, VA 22209

  Parks

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In the 1930s landscape architects transformed Mason’s Island from neglected, overgrown farmland into Theodore Roosevelt Island, a memorial to America’s 26th president. They conceived a “real forest” designed to mimic the natural forest that once covered the island. Today miles of trails through wooded uplands and swampy bottomlands honor the legacy of a great outdoorsman and conservationist.

Although Theodore Roosevelt Island looks like it developed naturally over thousands of years, it is actually a designed landscape. Architects at the Olmsted Brothers Firm and workers from Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps cleared, graded, and replanted it to look "real."

Each of the island's trails passes through—and is named after—one of the habitats they created.

Swamp Trail
At 1 ½ miles, this loop trail is the island’s longest. It passes through swampy woods and cattail marsh. The trail is part pea gravel and part boardwalk.

Woods Trail
This short, ⅓ mile trail passes through the heart of the island, including the memorial plaza with its statue and fountains. It is paved with pea gravel.

Upland Trail
This ¾ mile trail traverses the length of the island. It passes though forest and loops around the former site of the Mason mansion.