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Melanie is working on a new book and will schedule events again in the fall of 2025.

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Bluebells and Budbreak at Boundary Bridge (Nature Forward)

Boundary Bridge at Rock Creek Park

The author of the award-winning book, A Year in Rock Creek Park and the critically acclaimed City of Trees will offer her 17th year of Nature Forward walks in the country’s oldest urban national park. Under her expert guidance, you will witness the annual floral miracle of Virginia bluebells, spring beauties, and trout lilies in the floodplain forest, while the leaves of tulip tree and American beech begin to spill from their buds.

$40 – $49

Springtime on the Potomac Heritage Trail: A Wildflower Hike at Turkey Run Park (Smithsonian Associates)

Turkey Run Park (first parking lot from Park's George Washington Memorial Parkway exit), McLean, VA, United States

Discover the spring splendors of the Potomac Gorge, a 1,900-acre natural area spanning Maryland and Virginia, and one of the most geologically diverse places on Earth. Hiking north from Turkey Run Park along the Potomac Heritage Trail, experience the contrasting terrains of the more gentle, terraced landscape in Maryland and the steeper, dissected area in Virginia.

$45 – $55

Forest Bathing Walk with Author Melanie Choukas-Bradley — Politics & Prose

Tregaron Conservancy 3031 Klingle Road, NW, Washington, DC, United States

Join Melanie Choukas-Bradley, author of The Joy of Forest Bathing and A Year in Rock Creek Park, and several other nature books for a spring forest bathing walk through the enchanting Tregaron Conservancy, a woodland garden tucked away in the midst of northwest Washington that has been restored and stewarded by a non-profit organization since 2006. We will meander under tall trees, cross picturesque bridges over musical streams, and climb stone steps through a century-old cultivated and wild woodland landscape reminiscent of “the secret garden.”

$50

Capitol Tree Walk with Author Melanie Choukas-Bradley — Politics & Prose

U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, United States

Join naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley, author of City of Trees and several other nature books, for a spring walking tour of the historic and botanically diverse trees of the U.S. Capitol Grounds and Arboretum

$50

Botanical Bliss: An Immersive Nature Walk (On-site Tour)

U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, United States

Melanie Choukas-Bradley, author of The Joy of Forest Bathing, City of Trees, and other regional nature books leads this slow-moving, immersive tour through the USBG outdoor gardens. The tour aims to promote wellness and reflection on nature. Join Melanie as she guides you to explore the beauty and wonder of the gated outdoor gardens through all five senses. You will pause throughout to witness exquisite May flowers and abundant pollinators of the Garden, share experiences, and explore observations. At the conclusion of the journey, you will have the opportunity to reflect and sip some pure maple sap “tea.”

Free With Registration

A Spring Walk on Theodore Roosevelt Island (Smithsonian Associates)

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Enjoy a spring morning walk on a natural oasis in the Potomac with Melanie Choukas-Bradley, the author of the book Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island. The nearly 2-mile path follows the island’s shore and moves deep into the swamp and tidal inlet along the boardwalk where willows, bald cypresses, and cattails frame views of Washington, D.C.

$55 – $75

Paddle on the Potomac (Nature Forward)

Key Ridge Boathouse - Georgetown Waterfront WA, United States

Join us at the Key Bridge Boathouse for a summer paddling trip around Theodore Roosevelt Island. Discover the magic of paddling around DC’s historic 88.5 acre island in the Potomac beneath the boughs of magnificent sycamores, cottonwoods, silver maples, black walnuts, basswoods and river birches.

$36 – $49

Literary Hill Bookfest

North Hall at Eastern Market, Capitol Hill

ookFest showcases local authors and Capitol Hill-based booksellers, publishers, and other literary organizations and celebrates the Hill.

Theodore Roosevelt’s North Dakota: Badlands, Bison, and the Making of a Conservationist — Smithsonian Associates

Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Dakota

In 1883, Theodore Roosevelt looked to the Badlands of western North Dakota as a place where he could transform himself from an asthmatic 24-year-old New Yorker into a big-game hunter, rancher, and authentic cowboy. A year later, it took on new meaning as a place of refuge and solace after the deaths of his wife and mother.

Experience landscapes — filled with dramatic vistas, vividly colored canyons, and wandering herds of wild bison — on a 5-day study tour led by author and naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley that brings you into the heart of Roosevelt’s Badlands and the national park that bears his name.

Various Prices

Fall Tree Walk through the Regional Garden (On-site Tour)

U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, United States

Spend an autumn evening strolling through the Regional Garden, where native fall fruits are abundant and splashes of leaf color are beginning to show through. Join Melanie as you walk and learn to identify trees of the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont and Coastal Plain. During the walk, Melanie will guide you in identifying tupelo, hop-hornbeam, red buckeye, pawpaw, common persimmon, oaks, and many other native trees. She will also share some of the arboreal history of Washington, D.C., which has long been known as the “City of Trees,” and offer ideas for self-guided tree tours in and around the nation’s capital.

Nature Hike in the Potomac Gorge at Carderock, Maryland — Smithsonian Associates

Billy Goat Trail C North Parking Lot, Carderock., MD, United States

Join author and naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley for an autumn nature hike in the scenic Potomac Gorge at Carderock, Maryland, and learn how to forest bathe. Hike on the Billy Goat Trail, section C, starting at the Carderock climbing area. The trail offers dramatic river vistas and passes through a mature forest of oaks, hickories, maples, beeches, black walnuts, and sycamores. Stop along the route to admire trees with their autumn foliage and fruit, notice birds and other wildlife, and see wildflowers. Midway in the walk, enjoy a few moments of forest bathing, quietly appreciating the splendor of the surroundings. The hike returns to the Carderock climbing area parking lot on the C&O Canal towpath.

$55 – $75

Politics and Prose: Capitol Tree Walk with Author Melanie Choukas-Bradley

U.S. Capitol Grounds and Arboretum Washington, DC, United States

Join naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley, author of City of Trees and several other nature books, for a fall walking tour of the historic and botanically diverse trees of the U.S. Capitol Grounds and Arboretum (the new official name of the site). The visit offers the chance to admire trees in early autumn splendor including several species of maple and magnolia, century-old oaks, pecans, giant sequoia, and the intriguing jujube. Many of the trees, such as oaks, pecans, black walnuts and dogwoods, will be bearing fall fruit, a perfect time to study and appreciate them.

$50

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