Hey guys and gals,

I've recently moved down to the DC area and I will be here for about six months and I'm extremely interested in finding some trails and places to do some hiking. Of course, I could buy the books from REI about hikes in the area, but what fun is that? If this question has been previously asked, I apologize. I attempted to search for it, but came up with no results. I hope to find some remedy for my problem and thanks in advance!

As a side note, I live pretty much in the heart of the city and I might be losing the privilege to my car, so if there's anyone out there to hike with me, that'd be great and if there's anything super close, that's even better.

Check meetup.com, lots of options which have been around for awhile. Or start your own on comehike.com. It's a new site, but strictly for backpackers. If you start a group (it's free) you'll likely find quite a few people will join.

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club is huge, and I get the impression they have a lot of membership in the DC area. I'm willing to bet they have scheduled hikes with meeting places you could take public transport to, then carpool.

As long as you have access to a car, Shenandoah is great and not _that_ far a drive.