The C&O Canal Trust was founded to protect, restore, and promote the C&O Canal National Historical Park, one of America's most popular and distinctive national parks.

Over 3 million people each year come to stroll, hike, bicycle, birdwatch, paddle, camp, ski, skate, or otherwise enjoy the abandoned canal and towpath.

Within its 20,000 acres, the park tells the story of 19th and 20th century America. Nowhere else can you see the history of the Canal Era so close at hand and learn about Native Americans, the Civil War and slavery, westward expansion, immigration, and industrialization.

The park's open space is of incalculable value to the health of the Potomac River and, by extension, the Chesapeake Bay. It also protects one of the east coast's biodiversity "hotspots," the Potomac Gorge, where nearly 200 rare, threatened, or endangered species can be found.

The C&O Canal National Historical Park is a national treasure right here in your own backyard. The C&O Canal Trust is your voice for the park!