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

[sassy]

I would look at Montgomery County first, because it’s going to be closer, and then Baltimore County (north of Baltimore City) if you’d do a longer commute - rush hour is going to be closer to 2 hours. Baltimore County is cheaper than Montgomery County and has a very diverse mix of things - you can horse show, event, fox hunt basically anything you want within a 15 min drive.

Also - BaCo has the NCR trail, Gunpowder falls and Patapsco State Park nearby which are great for running/biking/whatever

[red_mares]

I’ve commuted to the Navy Yard for 15 years from northern PW county. It’s not terrible. The Navy Yard is more or less on the east side of DC. The drive from Loudon or Fauquier is an absolute bitch. I66 is under major construction and is waayyy worse than I95.

Unfortunately, covid mostly killed slugging (carpooling with strangers; it’s a DC thing). That made the express lanes free. If you can afford the tolls in VA, the express lanes on 95 are great. The toll for the entire length can reach $30 or $40 easily - this is the cost ONE WAY.

There’s a good amount of construction on I95 around Fredericksburg, but it’s not awful. Most of the southbound work is done, and northbound is coming along.

I can’t speak much to the H/J scene; I drive 2-4 hours south to a saddlebred barn.

[fourfillies]

I’m in southern PA (very nearly Baltimore county) and on a clear Sunday morning at 4am I could get to the Navy Yard in 2 hours. It’s a drive I dread. So unpredictable. 2 hours could be 4, Baltimore traffic is a real thing and so is DC, double jeopardy. Lots of good suggestions here. Poolesville area is lovely. Not so familiar with some other eastern MD suggestions. Agree getting out 66…also a nightmare. Good luck with your move.

[Darkwave]

As I read all of these comments and also think about things…OP - I really think you should focus on the Fredericksburg area and the Manassas area (both outer Virginia suburbs). Both of those areas should be convenient for horsey stuff for you and trailrunning outdoorsy stuff for him. Additionally, the VRE trains run from both those areas to L’Enfant Plaza in DC - from there it should be a quick trip on the metro green line to the Navy Yard.

[mdp9]

If you end up in Loudoun County, check out the Ashburn Area Running Club (AARC). We are a really fun group of runners, ranging from casual runners to Boston qualifiers, competitive triathletes, etc.

The W&OD is a trail from Falls Church to Purcellville. I love my running routes in western Loudoun.

[anon68314200]

What are some good FB groups for AACO area ?

[horsepooramateur]

Southern Maryland Horse Network and Anne Arundel Horse Network are most active

[anon68314200]

Thanks. I sent in membership request for both.

[findthedistance]

Chipping in with trail running info. I used to live in the Poolesville/Boyds, MD area, worked in horses, was a runner off and on. Within a 15 minute drive of where I lived, I had access to the C&O Canal, Little Bennet Park, the Seneca Greenway, the Seneca Ridge trail, Hoyles Mill trail, Ten Mile Creek, Black Hills Park, and whatever they call the chaos out the back of the Germantown Soccerplex. Many of those link to each other. For example, you could do Black Hills -> Hoyles Mill -> Soccerplex -> Seneca Ridge -> Seneca Greenway -> C&O… Is 200 miles enough for him? MCRRC (the local running club) is very active, and the running store in the Kentlands is great.

I now live in Prince George’s County, and there are some good trail options (Rosaryville, Jug Bay, Governor’s Bridge, Merkle) but definitely fewer choices. The local running scene seems to be more focused in DC proper or in Annapolis. PG would be the better commute to Navy Yard but for once a week both locations are completely viable.

[Baybear]

Renting in this area is costly too. A 2-hour commute is not necessarily the right way to phrase it around here, sadly. For example, I live in Mont Co Maryland, commuted to work in Tysons Corner Va. morning commute = 30-45 minutes, afternoon commute would normally be 1 - 1.5 hours regularly and sometimes 2. Get into bad winter and you may as well book a hotel room it can and has been that bad sometimes
To make SO’s life easier, you should probably consider an area when they could take the subway or train. Not sure why SO didn’t like the area of Maryland - Montgomery Co/Frederick Co./Howard Co offers many choices for boarding options - Plenty of eventing, dressage and H/J barns. Many will require some sort of lesson/training program.

[Foitin]

In my experience, there is running and trails and nature access everywhere in the DC area (I’ve lived in Arlington, Alexandria, NW DC, and in two different places in MD). I don’t see how finding human trails could possibility be any sort of a problem. As stupid as it sounds, Arlington and DC aren’t two of the fittest cities in America for nothin’!