"C & O" CANAL     
TOURISM IDEAS    

The staff at Otels hope you enjoy the following Travel Ideas
from travel writer (and enthusiastic naturalist) Mark Kolakowski
Best wishes on your next trip to DC, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia!
    

The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal
 
By Mark Kolakowski
Copyright © 2010-2011 by the author

The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal was a major early federal engineering project, designed to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Ohio River, running from the Georgetown section of Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. President John Quincy Adams broke ground for the grand project on July 4, 1828. The project soon proved to be much more ambitious than initially envisioned, saddled with cost overruns and construction delays. By time the C&O Canal reached Cumberland, Maryland in 1850, it already had become obsolete, surpassed by railroads. It would remain in service until 1924. Now it is a National Historic Park.
    
The scenic 184.5 miles of the C&O are ideal for quiet walks and bicycling along the towpath, which is level for extended stretches. The canal rises 608 feet over its length, with 75 locks. While most of the canal is dry, there is water in several sections, most notably between mile 0 and mile 22, where canoeing and kayaking is possible. In season, bike or boat rentals are available at several points along the canal. There also canal boat tours from May to October, leaving from the Georgetown and Great Falls Visitor Centers.
 
Wonderful to visit from spring through fall, here are some activities to consider along the C&O canal and its region:

 
Washington, D.C. area

• Visitors Center located in Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. (mile 0.4)
  

• The Clara Barton National Historic Site and Glen Echo Park (just over the border of Washington, D.C. in Glen Echo, MD) near mile 7.0.  Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, leading nursing efforts during the Civil War. Glen Echo, a former amusement park, is now an artists’ colony and center for dance; its merry-go-round is celebrated.

• Visitors Center located at Great Falls, Maryland (mile 14.3)

• Hiking and Scenic Views at Great Falls, Maryland (mile 14.3)

  The Great Falls of the Potomac, a moderate walk from the visitor center. The view of the falls from the Maryland side is considered by many to be more impressive than that from the Virginia side. At the visitor center, see the short 1917 film produced by the Thomas A. Edison Company, chronicling a one week journey down the canal in a canoe. Of particular note are when the canoeist goes through the Paw Paw Tunnel, and when a train speeds past him alongside the canal, demonstrating its obsolescence.

• The Monocacy Aqueduct (near Poolesville, MD) at mile 42.2 is a recently-restored engineering and aesthetic marvel.  It is located where the Monacacy River flows into the Potomac (roughly halfway between Leesburg, VA and Frederick, MD).

 
 Central Maryland and West Virginia

• Civil War sites in and around the charming colonial town of Frederick, Maryland, including the Monocacy National Battlefield, near the Monocacy Aqueduct at mile 42.2.

• Mile 60.8 is across from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, site of John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal in 1859 that was a precursor of the Civil War. The National Historic Park and the well-preserved town, in a dramatic setting at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, are well worth a visit.

• Antietam Creek is at mile 69.6. Nearby is the town of Sharpsburg, MD and Antietam National Battlefield, site of the bloodiest day in American history.

• About 12 miles inland from Sharpsburg, east of Boonsboro MD, is Washington Monument State Park. The 34-foot stone tower, built in 1827 and restored subsequently, was the first monument honoring George Washington. It sits on a high mountain ridge along the Appalachian Trail, offering an impressive panoramic view. During the fall, it is a prime spot to observe migratory hawks and eagles.

• Fort Frederick at mile 112.4 in Big Pool saw service in the French and Indian, Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

• Outside Hancock, MD (mile 124.5) is the Sideling Hill Exhibit Center, with geologic exhibits related to rock strata exposed when I-68 was cut through this hill.

   
  
  

 Western Maryland, West Virginia, and southern Pennsylvania

• The Cushwa Basin and Williamsport, MD Visitor Center are at mile 99.8, where canal boats could turn around at the halfway point of the canal. Warehouses and an aqueduct are on site.

• The Paw Paw Tunnel at mile 156.2, 25 miles south of Cumberland, Maryland, where the C&O goes over 3,000 feet through a mountain. Bring a flashlight to walk safely along the dry canal bed. 

  For more information:

• http://www.nps.gov/choh for the National Park Service website for the C&O and to get more detail on events, including a recreational guide by milepost.

•  http://www.candocanal.org for events sponsored by the C&O Canal Association

•  http://www.canaltrust.org for the C&O Canal Trust

  
To make hotel reservations in towns along the C&O Canal and nearby attractions, please visit our websites including www.DChotels.com, www.Maryland-Hotels.com, www.Virginia-Hotels.com, and www.WestVirginiaHotels.com.

   We welcome your comments or suggestions about this Travel Report: