Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park preserves 184.5 miles of canal, towpath, and associated structures stretching from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, tracing the Potomac River valley through the Appalachian highlands. The canal operated between 1828 and 1924 as a commercial waterway, and today its continuous crushed-limestone towpath is one of the longest uninterrupted recreational trails on the East Coast, used year-round by hikers, cyclists, and long-distance trail runners. Maryland sections offer the widest variety of experiences. The Great Falls section near Potomac displays the Potomac River's most dramatic cascade — a 76-foot drop through a narrow granite gorge visible from overlooks at the 1831 Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center. The Paw Paw Tunnel near Oldtown is a 3,118-foot brick-lined mountain tunnel bored between 1836 and 1850 and navigable on foot with a headlamp, one of the most dramatic engineering feats on the canal. Eleven original stone aqueducts, including those at Antietam Creek and the Monocacy River, still span their streams in near-complete condition. The Conococheague Aqueduct at Williamsport is another significant stop. Mule-drawn canal boat demonstrations operate seasonally at the Great Falls Tavern, where rangers in period dress lock boats through a functioning lock chamber. Cyclists completing the full Georgetown-to-Cumberland route typically take three to five days, camping at hiker-biker campsites spaced roughly five miles apart. Day sections between access points offer self-contained experiences from one to fifteen miles; the two-mile Great Falls towpath round-trip is the most visited segment by a wide margin. The park is co-managed between its Maryland and Washington, D.C. sections but shares a single National Park Service administrative structure.