The Anacostia Just Posted Its Best Grade Ever. Bladensburg's Boats Come Off the Water This Month.

The Anacostia Watershed Society put out its annual State of the River Report Card in late August. It gave the tidal Anacostia a C-, the highest grade in the report's history and the first time the river has moved up from a D to a C. A few weeks later, Bladensburg Waterfront Park reached the last month of its boating calendar. Kayak and canoe rentals at the park run April through October, and so do the public pontoon tours.

The river is cleaner than it has been in decades, and the easiest ways onto it shut down at the end of October. What's left on the park's calendar after that keeps people close to the water. The events move to the riverbank, the trail, and the hours after dark.

What the C- actually measured

The report card scores the tidal river on several indicators: water clarity, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, fecal bacteria, and submerged aquatic vegetation. Each one is rated on a percentage scale where 100 is ideal. This year the river scored 71, its highest yet. Water clarity across the whole tidal river earned its first passing grade, a D-. The northernmost section, the Maryland stretch that runs past Bladensburg, earned its best section grade so far, a C-.

The report also lists fecal bacteria, dissolved oxygen, and underwater grasses as indicators that "remain sluggish," though each has improved gradually in recent years. AWS CEO Christopher E. Williams described a "fishable, swimmable Anacostia River" as "coming into view," and added, "we have more work to do." So the grade is real progress on a river that was once written off. It is still a C-, and the bacteria score is one of the slowest to recover. That makes this a river for paddling and riding on, and for watching from the pier.

October's remaining days on the water

This is the park's last month of boating. The Bladensburg Waterfront Park page sets out the rental rules. Online reservations come in two sessions, 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., and they close at noon the day before. Walk-up rentals are sold in three-hour blocks only, when boats are available, and at a higher price. A single kayak costs $25 for residents and $33 for non-residents. A tandem kayak or canoe costs $30 or $39. A walk-up boat costs $40 or $52. For the park's rentals, "resident" means anyone living in Prince George's or Montgomery County, with proof of residency.

The 45-minute interpretive pontoon tours leave at noon Friday through Sunday. Tickets are $3 for residents and $4 for non-residents, with a limit of five per family or group. A tour needs at least six people to run, and weather can cancel it. On a gray weekend in late October, that six-person minimum can decide whether the boat goes out at all.

Four dated programs this month put people on the river:

The Waterfront Art Festival is the biggest of the four. The free day includes an outdoor market of local artists selling paintings, jewelry, photography, and sculpture, plus live music from The Rock-A-Sonics and The Exclusives. Medina Market & Catering, JetSet BBQ, Cakelady Desserts, and Kona Ice are handling food and treats. There's also a kids' creative zone and a community mural project led by Yes Artworx. Since boat tours are part of the festival, it also works as an easy final river ride of the year.

The Autumn Sunset Boat Tour on Oct. 28 is the last river program on this year's calendar. The park describes it as a pontoon ride at sunset, timed for when the trees along the banks start to turn.

After October, the park moves to the riverbank and the evening

When the boats are put away, the park's calendar shifts in two ways. Events move onto land, and several move into the dark. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset, and staff suggest calling the office at 301-779-0371 for the current closing time. It closes on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. The scheduled evening programs are the after-dark exceptions. The park office is the place to ask about them.

The schedule as currently posted:

1. Haunted Caboose & Campfire, Fri., Oct. 23, 7 to 8 p.m. Wear a costume, tour the "Haunted" 1926 B&O Caboose, then stay for nature stories and roasted marshmallows. $7 resident, $10 non-resident.
2. Sunday Stroll: Nature Walk, Sun., Nov. 8, 2 to 3 p.m. A park naturalist leads a slow walk through the park and along the Anacostia River Trail, pointing out local wildlife and what's happening that season. Free.
3. She's Outdoors: Campfire & Night Vision, Fri., Nov. 13, 6:30 to 8 p.m. A campfire evening for women 18 and up, followed by exploring the park after dark with night vision goggles. $7 / $10.
4. Campfire & Night Vision Adventure, Fri., Nov. 20, 6:30 to 8 p.m. The same campfire and night-vision format, open more broadly. The park tags it for teens. $7 / $10.
5. Craft & Caboose Tour, Sat., Nov. 21, 10 to 11 a.m. A family craft morning aboard the 1926 B&O Caboose. $4 / $6.
6. Sunday Stroll: Nature Walk, Sun., Nov. 22, 2 to 3 p.m. A second free naturalist walk on the same route.

Most of these are priced at $7 or less for county residents, and both Sunday walks are free. The caboose and the campfire ring take the place of the dock as the main gathering spots for November.

The trail, the pier, and a freshly redecked bridge

The river doesn't close in November. Only the rental rack does. The park's fishing pier, boat ramp, riverside walking path, and War of 1812 and Battle of Bladensburg interpretive signs stay in place, and admission is free. The park's hiker-biker trails connect to the Anacostia Tributary Trail System and to the Anacostia River Trail, which runs into Washington, D.C.

That connection got smoother recently. The Washington Area Bicyclists Association reported in May 2025 that the Anacostia River Trail bridge at Bladensburg Waterfront Park had been redecked and now has a smoother surface. For anyone riding or walking the river corridor this winter, that bridge is the best spot to look at the Maryland stretch of the river the report card graded.

The two free Sunday Strolls in November use this same path, which makes them a guided first trip on the off-season version of the park.

Two nights where the park and the Port Towns line up

The surrounding towns keep their own calendars, and on two dates this month they overlap with the park's.

On Oct. 10, the Waterfront Art Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. That same day, the Town of Edmonston holds Fiesta on the Bridge, its Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, from 3 to 8 p.m. Because the two events overlap by an hour, one Saturday can cover the art market in the afternoon and Edmonston's celebration into the evening. Details are on the Town of Edmonston events page.

On Oct. 23, the Haunted Caboose & Campfire runs from 7 to 8 p.m. The Town of Bladensburg has a Trunk-or-Treat that night at the Bladensburg Community Center from 6 to 8 p.m. That puts two costume events within the same two hours, one of them aboard a 1926 rail car. The next day, Oct. 24, the town's calendar lists a Keep Bladensburg Clean & Green fall cleanup. Both are posted on the Town of Bladensburg site. The town's own fall celebration, Bladensburg Day, took place on Oct. 3 with a parade to David C. Harrington Park on Edmonston Road.

The Clean & Green cleanup ties back to the report card. AWS links the river's rising grade to nearly four decades of restoration work by local governments, nonprofits, and "a legion of volunteers from DC and Maryland." Neighborhood cleanups in the watershed are one form of that volunteer work. The full State of the River announcement lists every indicator for anyone who wants the numbers behind the C-.

Spending time on the Anacostia and in the Port Towns is part of how we get to know Prince George's County, and we like comparing notes on these neighborhood calendars. If you're thinking about what's next for your own place near the river, The Dapo Group is happy to talk it over. Book A Discovery Call.