Best time to go: 05/01 - 10/01
In the depths of the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps had a different name for the DMV. They called it Mawavi, a backronym combining Maryland, Washington and Virginia and a nod, I suppose, to the region’s Native American heritage. The name remains on roads and camps throughout Prince William Forest National Park [1].
If you follow the Mawavi Road from lot 5 off the scenic park loop, you’ll come to a bridge (see above). Take a left to follow the trail along the river to what has to be the spookiest place in the DMV.
The camp also gives another meaning to the word spooky. These woods were training ground to America’s first spooks, the OSS, during WWII. You can still occasionally find artifacts from that era on the forest floor, and in the small museum near the park entrance.
The park also has some history as a place for subsistence farming and a respite for underprivileged urban youth. That piece of Mawavi’s heritage led to it being added to the National Register of Historic Places, and you can get a glimpse of what it was like to be a part of these camps at the annual Heritage Festival in mid-September.
And the history continues today, with contributions by volunteers to the wonders of this great American wilderness.
The park is accessible from the entrance road near Route 1 in Triangle, VA. Park entry is $15 per vehicle.
Explore More:
- National Park Service, Placard by the Mawavi Road, 2019
- National Park Service, Prince William Forest Park Virtual Museum Exhibit, accessed 2019.
