Best horse-friendly area to live within 2 hours of Washington DC

[AmberlyDC]

Hi all! We are looking at a move to the DC area and I was hoping to get some info on nearby horse friendly areas, board prices etc. SO will have to go in approx once a week-ish and is willing to commute up to 2 hours if it means we can live somewhere more rural. I think that’s pretty far to drive so obviously closer is better.

Currently in a VERY horse-friendly area with lots of farms, good natural footing, great trails, lots of professionals etc and looking for as close to this situation as I can get. My ideal situation would be a boarding barn with great turnout and hacking/trails off the farm + good showjumping instruction available but no mandatory full training (I will continue to ride this horse dressage too and my 3yo will likely be a dressage horse). Competition wise: I am happy to go to a few A shows a year but would love access to a well run local circuit or some small horse trials etc. Active community of horse people.

SO is not a horse person: his ask is that there are public lands or other opportunities for him to trail run/ hike nearby and paddleboard and do his things. We did visit in July and went north and drove around Frederick and eastwards and looked at some areas but SO wasn’t enthused (we are moving for his career if we do move). So probably looking south or maybe even towards the ocean? Or is this an impossible ask?

[luvmyhackney]

There is alot of good areas with a 2 hour commute. But unless you have done a 2 hour commute to DC you might want to rethink it if doing it weekly… I burned out with a 1 hour and change commute cause its bumper to bumper unless commuting off hours. Not an easy drive, it sucks the life out of you. Plus parking… even if once a week it wears on you.

Depending on your budget, Middleburg/Aldi area, Loudoun County, Clarke County, and MD would fit your needs.

If you like water, look at Western Loudoun or even Harpers Ferry/Charles Town WV area, I’m 1.5 hours from DC driving or a 1 hr train ride and have access to the Potomac 15 minutes away in Jefferson County, WV. But our boarding options are 20-30 minutes away mainly in Clarke County.

[AmberlyDC]

I work remote SO will be the one commuting and he’s done an LA commute so he claims he can do anything once a week for three years (this is a contract). I think he’s nuts too so closer is definitely better. The train is a good idea!

I thought I would ask here for specific areas that might meet both our asks because the area we visited north of DC kind of horrified him with the lack of accessible trails for humans. Getting out running/ hiking is as important to him as horses are to me. House prices are not a huge issue, likely we will rent and keep our house here.

We do plan to fly out next week and visit more areas before he decides either way. So tell us where to go and look!

[anon68314200]

I just moved to Davidsonville MD, 40 minutes from Union Station, DC. Tons of showing opportunities 15 - 30 minutes away. Green belt very close to civilization.

[Texarkana]

The entirety of the state of Maryland. Seriously, just pick a town.

[AllTheCarrots]

Are you able to tell us what your rough budget (to buy or rent?) is? Knowing the general area your SO would be commuting to would be helpful as well. The DC metro area is concentric circles of $$$$$ real estate and traffic; rather like Dante’s Inferno, but with more Vietnamese restaurants. If the commuter needs to wind up on the north-ish side of the Beltway, for example, starting down in Fredericksburg would add an extra layer of misery.

Off the top of my head, you might like:

• Front Royal/Delaplane/Marshall/Warrenton/Flint Hill: Great access to Shenandoah Natn’l Park and the AT, plus the Shenandoah River for paddling. 66 gives you access to the District; new toll lanes open in December that would provide a traffic-free (if pricey) trip downtown. (Pricey might be as high as $100/one way at peak. I know I’ve seen it as high as $45 just from 495 to the Roosevelt Bridge.)

• Fredericksburg/Orange/Culpeper - Lots of Civil War battlefields to hike, plus the Rappahannock River. (And the lower Potomac to the east.)

• Any of the fingers of land in Southern Maryland that extend towards the Chesapeake Bay and lower Potomac (Rt. 4, Rt. 301, Waldorf/Charlotte Hall)

• Upper Montgomery County/Howard County - Not quite as much paddling, but good hiking. Some regional rail commute options. And horses, horses, horses.

[StormyDay]

In Virginia:
All of Loudoun is known for being extremely horsey. Lots of shows, lots of barns. However, housing prices are ridiculous. For people, You have access to multiple parks in the area plus the W&OD trail, B&O trail, and Appalachian trail. So there’s a lot of options in the area varying from someone wanting paved walking trails to rugged hiking.

Fauquier is also very horsey but just as expensive; plus much of the area is pretty far from civilization, so if you aren’t used to that it may be difficult.

Clarke county is a little cheaper and more rural than Loudoun but still has access to a lot of quality trainers and horse shows.

In Maryland:
Everything East of 15 and and west of 1 is horse country there. I particularly like the Westminster area. Lots of boarding options and horse show options. They have some fabulous parks throughout central Maryland.

You could also consider being in PA; the commute would definitely be pushing 2h but housing is significantly cheaper there.

[AmberlyDC]

Are you able to tell us what your rough budget (to buy or rent?) is? Knowing the general area your SO would be commuting to would be helpful as well.

SO will commute to The Navy Yard area.

Money isn’t a huge object as we will be renting, assume it’s a non-issue.

Also when I say access to hiking/ trails I don’t mean small local parks. He often runs 10+ miles at a time and I like to hack out several days a week. We are spoiled here I know but we have easy access to tons of trails. It’s the part of our lifestyle we enjoy the most and are least willing to give up. Funnily enough DC itself seems to have a great trail system but the surrounding areas less so.

much of the area is pretty far from civilization, so if you aren’t used to that it may be difficult.

SO sees this as a bonus, his dream is to semi-retire to a farm and grow all his own food and make bad wine. I have already caught him looking at tractors online, lol.

[Bigbaygelding12]

We lived in Fairfax County in VA for five years. I boarded at a barn in Great Falls for the first year - that ended up being an absolute nightmare, but I moved barns and commuted out bit further out to Leesburg after that. I really, really loved the area and it was worth the extra drive time/tolls. Both boys were beyond happy - great shows, excellent vet/farrier options, and the equine hospital at Morven is world class.

As for me, I didn’t like much of VA outside of the horse world. The traffic was horrendous, everything was overpriced, and everything seemed so…bland. Chain restaurants and stores, housing developments, and massive data storage centers as far as the eye could see. As someone who grew up in a small town with its own personality, I really missed a sense of a community.

I worked in Montgomery Co in Maryland - similar sort of businesses, there. But I cannot emphasize just how horrible the traffic is in the area - my 20 mile commute to and from work along the toll road and across the American Legion bridge would usually take me 1.5-2 hours each direction. When you do the math, it’s easy to get furious when you realize you spend more time in your car in a week than the saddle for the entire month!

Fortunately, we were able to move back home recently and while I miss the barn I boarded at (and all of the people we met through the horse world!), there’s not enough money to convince me to ever move back.

[AmberlyDC]

@Bigbaygelding12

I worked in Montgomery Co in Maryland - similar sort of businesses, there. But I cannot emphasize just how horrible the traffic is in the area - my 20 mile commute to and from work along the toll road and across the American Legion bridge would usually take me 1.5-2 hours each direction.

So - don’t trust google maps estimated commute times? That’s good to know. if it’s only once a week though I can see us going off times to go to shows, eat out, check out the city etc. I really liked DC when we visited and am not adverse to living in town myself for a while until we get settled in. Then again I am a huge art and museum fan!

[Bigbaygelding12]

I would routinely double the estimate. Things got a little easier during COVID but it was never really good.

[AmberlyDC]

@AllTheCarrots

• Fredericksburg/Orange/Culpeper - Lots of Civil War battlefields to hike, plus the Rappahannock River. (And the lower Potomac to the east.)
• Any of the fingers of land in Southern Maryland that extend towards the Chesapeake Bay and lower Potomac (Rt. 4, Rt. 301, Waldorf/Charlotte Hall)

I know that Fredericksburg was mentioned to my SO by some running group as a potential spot too and we did visit Prince William Forest Park and loved it. We will check these out, thanks! Culpeper also looks amazing but maybe too far. I guess we will drive it and see.

[Indy]

@AmberlyDC

So - don’t trust google maps estimated commute times?

Definitely don’t trust Google map estimates for DC. Getting into the city is never fun. I live in Silver Spring, just north of the Beltway and used to work just south the DC/MD boarder. My drive was 7 miles and easily took 45 minutes when I had to get there by 9, and longer if it was rainy or there was a car accident somewhere or any number of other reasons. My DH works on the Hill and pre-pandemic with public transit his commute was around an hour. He doesn’t have a place to park at work so driving isn’t an option. Now it’s even worse because Metro is a hot mess and doesn’t run trains as often as they used to.

[StormyDay]

@AmberlyDC

Are you able to tell us what your rough budget (to buy or rent?) is? Knowing the general area your SO would be commuting to would be helpful as well.

SO will commute to The Navy Yard area.

Money isn’t a huge object as we will be renting, assume it’s a non-issue.

Also when I say access to hiking/ trails I don’t mean small local parks. He often runs 10+ miles at a time and I like to hack out several days a week. We are spoiled here I know but we have easy access to tons of trails. It’s the part of our lifestyle we enjoy the most and are least willing to give up. Funnily enough DC itself seems to have a great trail system but the surrounding areas less so.

much of the area is pretty far from civilization, so if you aren’t used to that it may be difficult.

SO sees this as a bonus, his dream is to semi-retire to a farm and grow all his own food and make bad wine. I have already caught him looking at tractors online, lol.

The W&OD is 45 miles. The B&O is 180 miles
You could easily run 10 miles at Balls Bluff but you’d need to link trails. Cool springs has several long trails. Plus every battlefield has a ton of trails. Maryland has even more.

I’d look at Clarke county. It’s more rural than Loudoun but you will still be close to several good trail systems for him.

[JenEM]

If you want to regularly run and ride, maybe somewhere near Rosaryville State Park near Upper Marlboro/Brandywine MD would suit you? They have riding/hiking/running trails, and there are several other nearby state parks with trails as well. Access to the Potomac, Patuxent, and not far from the Chesapeake Bay. Quite a few barns in the area, and it’s very close to PG Equestrian Center, which has a lot of hunter and a few dressage shows. Tons of showing, both local and rated, with an hour or so.

I’m in Annapolis and take the commuter bus in to work in DC; I go in a bit head of the rush, and it’s usually an hour in and a bit over that getting back, more on “busy” days (Tues/Weds/Thurs now tend to have more traffic as a lot of offices have gone hybrid and people are in the office couple days a week). If you SO has a choice, go in on Mondays or Fridays, there is practically NO traffic by DC standards There is a fairly active SUP community here if your husband is into that–there are even races during the summer! It might tick a lot of your boxes, but not a ton of immediate trail access for hiking/running–you’d have to drive somewhere like Rosaryville for that, I think, because it sounds like the usual Quiet Waters Park run is probably lower key than your husband wants.

If the commute, when it exists, is going to be in to Navy Yard, I’d be hesitant to look on the other side of DC. That said, I’d absolutely consider looking out past Middleburg/Upperville, towards Front Royal if you want horses and the hiking. Get a National Park Pass, enjoy Shenandoah

[Janet]

I am going to mention Prince William County. It used to be considered the “low rent suburb”, but not any more.

You already mentioned Prince William Forest Park. At the other end of the county is the Manassas National Battlefield Park which also has lots of hiking, running, riding trails. And there are lots of horse facilities in some parts of Prince William (especially the “rural crescent”).

The W&OD (Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park) runs 45 miles from Shirlington (Arlington) to Purcellville (Loudoun County) with facilities for runners and horses. There are not as many horse facilities in Fairfax count as there used to be, but there lots in Loudoun.

The C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath National Historic park) runs 184 miles (along the old canal, roughly parallel to, and north of, the Potomac River) from Georgetown (DC) and Cumberland, MD, with horses allowed on most of it… The MD counties it runs through also have lots of horse facilities.

[Bella]

Hi there! We are in Upperville and it is unbelievably beautiful and a fantastic horsey lifestyle yet quite reasonably accessible to everything. I highly highly recommend anywhere in this area, Middleburg, The Plains, etc, we have quite a few friends who live out here and commute to Dc and surrounds

[luvmyhackney]

I lived in Ashburn VA and went to DC every other week, my commute was anywhere from 2hr to 4 hrs. That was approx 32 miles long.

LA traffic is easier than DC traffic. Do not trust Google and factor in toll cost as well. Traffic is better since Covid but it’s still wild at rush hour.

You say rent prices don’t matter, but what’s available and not an apartment is $$$.

If you will be at the navy yard, either live in MD or DC and then you commute out to see your horse if you have a flexible schedule.

[I_dratherbe]

You might like the Poolesville, Dickerson, Boyds area of Montgomery County, It is in the agricultural reserve so much more open space than many other areas close to DC. The trip into DC can be eased by either the MARC train or Metro.

For you there are tons of good barns, vets, farriers, etc., good riding trails, shows and events very close by. For trails in Boyds there is the EPIC trail system https://epicmontgomery.org/), and also close by are the Little Bennett Park trails (https://montgomeryparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Little-Bennett_a11y.pdf) and the Woodstock Equestrian Park trails (https://montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/woodstock-equestrian-special-park/woodstock-equestrian-park-trails/) (both of which your SO could also run on) as well as tons of local trails around various farms. I lease a horse who is boarded in Boyds and from our farm we can go onto the EPIC trails and local farm fields and ride for 10 or more miles without crossing our tracks (it is also part of Potomac Hunt’s territory).

For your SO the C&O canal trial is close by, as are other trails in local parks and it is not too far to the Appalachian trail (he can check out trails on alltrails.com). Paddleboarding on the Potomac and in some nearby lakes.

The area is $$$$.

[JanM]

I knew someone who commuted to D.C. (usually downtown, sometimes the Navy Yard or Fort McNair) from Fredericksburg, it took 2 1/2 hours each way, and on a snowy day, or rainy, it was worse.

The woman I worked with who lived in the upper panhandle of Maryland, was in a 4 person carpool, and all of them kept an overnight bag in their office, and those days where the snow or ice started and if it was going to be bad driving, they stayed at a nice hotel near work. Their commute was about 2 hours each way.

If you need high speed internet, and good cell service, try it out at the house you’re looking at. The cable company can tell you if they serve a specific address, and I believe no one else. I had cable/internet where I lived from the cable company, but a block over they had to get satellite dishes for everything, and bad cell reception. Cell service I check at the house, inside and front and back yard.