12/29/2025
This post is for Urban park research for Quiet Parks International. This an ongoing location visit and recording of parks in/around the Washington DC region.
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The United States National Arboretum is in northeast Washington, D.C., operated by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service. The U.S. National Arboretum, Friends of the National Arboretum is a large public research garden in Washington, D.C., offering diverse plant collections, the iconic Capitol Columns, and the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. While not directly under the National Park Service (NPS), it's a significant federal property known for horticulture and public enjoyment. The United States National Arboretum was formally established by an act of Congress on 4 March 1927
I visited this park on December 27, 2025 on a cloudy 40+ degree day. It was mostly calm wind with occasional gusts and low crowds. There were not many insects and wildlife (birds) as it was a chilly late December day. I plan on visiting in the spring and summer months after trees are in full bloom and insect/wildlife is not dormant. This park is in the heart of Washington DC, the nation's capitol, surrounded by urban landscape noise: including traffic (sirens) & public transportation. One pleasant feature of this park is the lack of air traffic as Washington has a very strict air traffic policy. Because of National government security, Washington D.C. is fairly free of air traffic overhead. While it isn't a complete "no-fly zone," it has extremely strict airspace restrictions called the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA), a 30-mile ring around the city. Many of the parks benefit from this as planes do not travel near the parks.
I captured the ambience with a Sennheiser mkh8040 stereo configuration in an x/y pattern. These are original recordings with no post processing at all. There is a full SPL report and this has a general loudness (LAq) level of 47 db. While just out of the required 45db level, this park is the quietest I’ve visited to date, at least the “Asian collection” area of the park, which is built into a hillside to shield (pleasantly) from the extraneous noise pollution. I’ve been attempting to record a SPL recording while on site and this one is located on the soundcloud site. The link is below.
Enjoy these 2 recordings from different locations of this same park. The first is from an open field under an oak tree with a pleasant breeze blowing. The relaxing sound of the leaves are somewhat masking the nearby city sounds. Listen through the wind and you’ll hear the low din, around 60hz, of the city as trains move about, a couple of distant jets, some sirens, truck reverse signals and the occasional bang of neighborhood trash can or something similar.
Quiet Parks National Arboretum Washington DC / USA 27Dec25
https://soundcloud.com/chip-sovek/ambience_washdc_natarboretum_distantcity-3?si=190c698ee7764239b2f3718a8c938eb5&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
The second recording is from the “Asian collection” on the other side of the park. This location proved to be much sheltered from the wind as I was on a hillside garden area, down a stone path. The stereo mic config was pointed into the tall evergreen trees with subtle birds squawking, along with a lone red tailed hawk moving about. While the birds are pleasant, the average SPL is still above “quiet” range and quite present.
Quiet Parks National Arboretum Washington DC / USA 27Dec25
https://soundcloud.com/chip-sovek/ambience_washdc_natarboretumasian_distantcity-2?si=53b6ea8e36e14a9db829e68a2f4e4697&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Coordinates
38°54′37″ / N 76°58′02″W
Listen to AMBIENCE_WashDC_NatArboretum_DistantCity by Chip Sovek on
