Upper South

States: Washington, DC · Maryland · Virginia

Start near: Washington, DC (starts here) · Richmond (about 1 h 5 min to Port Royal)

The Booth Escape Route

twelve days in April 1865

The Booth Escape Route is a ~95-mile back-roads route from Washington to Port Royal on MD 5 and US 301, driven in 1 day, that stays off I-95 through the Upper South.

Open the interactive map →

Drive

Washington → Port Royal

Distance

~95 miles

Time

1 day

Highways

MD 5 · US 301

Avoids

I-95

Region

Upper South

Out the back of Ford's Theatre, over the Navy Yard Bridge and into Southern Maryland's Confederate-sympathizing tobacco country: Booth's twelve-day run is the most documented manhunt of the century, and you can drive it stop for stop. The Surratt tavern's hidden carbines, Dr. Mudd's 4 a.m. house call, four cold days in a pine thicket reading his own reviews, the Potomac crossing, and the tobacco barn site now sitting, perfectly American, in a highway median.

📍 Nine Civil War Trails signs mark the route end to end; the Surratt Society's map is the definitive companion.

The drive, segment by segment

Out of Washington

Ford's Theatre → Surratt House · ~15 mi

The theatre, the Petersen House deathbed, and the sprint over the Navy Yard Bridge into Maryland.

• 🏛️Ford's Theatre & Petersen House — Washington

  The box, the derringer, and the too-short bed across the street where Lincoln died at 7:22 the next morning.

Southern Maryland

Surratt House → Pope's Creek · ~45 mi

The tavern's cache, Mudd's parlor surgery, and the pine thicket wait at Rich Hill.

• 🏛️Surratt House — Clinton

  Mary Surratt's tavern, where the carbines waited in the joists; she became the first woman executed by the federal government for it.

• 🏛️Dr. Mudd House — Waldorf

  Where Mudd set Booth's broken leg at four in the morning. The family-run museum remains, charmingly, on Team Mudd.

• 🏛️Rich Hill & the pine thicket — Bel Alton

  Samuel Cox sent the fugitives into the pines for four freezing days while an agent brought food and newspapers; Booth read his notices and despaired of them.

• 🏛️Pope's Creek crossing — Pope's Creek

  The launch point for the Potomac row, botched once in the dark before succeeding; the wayside maps the whole water crossing.

Virginia & the Barn

the Potomac → Garrett Farm site · ~35 mi

Across the river and up to Port Royal, where the porch turned them away and the barn ended it.

• 🏘️Port Royal — Port Royal

  The Brockenbrough-Peyton house porch where the fugitives were turned away, sending them three miles farther down the road.

• 🛸Garrett Farm site — Port Royal

  The barn where it ended now sits in the US 301 median; the marker stands on the northbound shoulder. 'Useless, useless,' and then the highway.

Tips and best time to go

• The Surratt Society's guided bus tours (spring and fall) sell out far ahead; the self-drive works any day.
• Surratt and Mudd houses keep limited open days; check both before building the loop.

Frequently asked questions

How long is The Booth Escape Route and how many days does it take?

The Booth Escape Route is about 95 miles and takes 1 day at a back-roads pace.

Where does The Booth Escape Route start and end?

It runs from Washington to Port Royal.

Which highways does The Booth Escape Route follow?

It follows MD 5 and US 301.

Which interstate does The Booth Escape Route replace?

It avoids I-95, using MD 5 and US 301 instead.

How many stops are on The Booth Escape Route, and what are the highlights?

7 stops are mapped, including Ford's Theatre & Petersen House, Surratt House, Dr. Mudd House, Rich Hill & the pine thicket and Pope's Creek crossing.

When is the best time to drive The Booth Escape Route?

The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “The Surratt Society's guided bus tours (spring and fall) sell out far ahead; the self-drive works any day.”

Worth a detour

• St. Mary's Bryantown — The church where Booth first met Dr. Mudd in 1864, and where Mudd is buried; the plot thickens in the churchyard.
• Captain Billy's, Pope's Creek — Crab houses on the Potomac shore near the crossing point; the traditional place to end the chase with a mallet.