Information Panel: The Path to Freedom
in Virginia · centroid 3 mi from Washington
Past the rose garden, about a 10-minute walk from here, rows of houses curved around the land once owned by the Lee family. This was Freedmans Village, a temporary community of former slaves established in 1863. Most who lived here risked their lives to escape the chains of slavery.
Their opportunity came as Union troops marched throughout Virginia and Maryland. Freedmans Village was home to more than 1,100 people including Sojourner Truth, who lived here for one year. Two families made a home under each roof, planting trees and vegetable gardens.
A hospital cared for the sick, while churches and schools cultivated minds. Many worked in construction and some enlisted in the Union Army. Under segregation, villagers faced hardships and the threat of eviction.
- States
- Virginia
- Trail type
- trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Washington, DC · 3 mi · ~5 min drive
- Centroid coords
- 38.8807°, -77.0729°
About Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
This trail is inside Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, a national park service unit managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/information-panel-the-path-to-freedom.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/arho/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Information Panel: The Path to Freedom and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Mount Vernon Trail North Terminus
1 miles from this trail's centroid
Capital Crescent Trail terminus
2 miles from this trail's centroid
Anacostia Riverwalk Trail
5 miles from this trail's centroid
Information Panel: The Clara Barton Trail
7 miles from this trail's centroid
ADT - Maryland - Seg 3
7 miles from this trail's centroid
Rachel Carson Greenway Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.