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Welcome to the C&O Canal Trust

The official nonprofit partner of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park.

Funding Priorities

Towpath Forever

Ensuring that the towpath and its resources are here forever.

Canal Classrooms

Exposing thousands of students to outdoor education programs along the Canal.

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Canal Quarters

Step back in time as you spend the night in one of seven historic lockhouses.

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Discover the Canal

Learn about the C&O Canal and plan your trip with our trip planning tools, mobile app, and itineraries.

Canal Community Days

Canal Community Days

Volunteer your time to help conserve the C&O Canal.

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Canal Towns

Visit these ten unique destinations that border the Canal.

News

C&O Canal Trust Presents Park with $127,500 in Support of Programs

As the philanthropic partner to the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP), the C&O Canal Trust works to raise funds for vital Park programs that improve the visitor experience and preserve the historical and natural integrity of the C&O Canal. Thanks to the generosity of individual donors and foundations, the Trust presented the Park with a gift of $127,500 in support of three key programs including Canal Classrooms; Rare, Threatened, and Endangered (RTE) Plants; and Towpath Resurfacing. (more…)

C&O Canal Trust Concludes Programming for 2023 with Five Events in November
The C&O Canal Trust is celebrating the conclusion of our yearly Canal For All and stewardship events for 2023. We ended this year with a bang, notably, with five final events this past month. In November, the Trust welcomed over 60 participants into the Park for various clean-up and outdoor education and recreational activities. (more…)

Trust Hosts Active Volunteer Service and Educational Programs In October

The C&O Canal Trust welcomed more than 70 individuals to the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) in October for volunteer service and educational programs.

Kite Pharma volunteers at Weverton with the C&O Canal Trust. Photo by Trust Staff.

Groups with the Washington County Division of Stormwater Management and Kite Pharma worked with the Trust to collectively remove nearly 2,000 pounds of trash from Weverton between mile markers 57 and 59 during two volunteer events. Trust volunteers responded to an immediate need for trash cleanup in the area, providing vital support to the Park and visitors. Along with general trash, the groups removed items like a frying pan, fishing nets, metal folding chairs, and a card table. Volunteers with Shepherd University helped remove over 200 pounds of trash from Lock 38, another busy access point in Washington County. (more…)

C&O Canal Trust’s Monthly Photo Contest

Get out your cameras! The C&O Canal Trust is hosting a monthly photo contest highlighting the best photos you have taken of the C&O Canal National Historical Park!

Each month, a new contest will begin, so return often to enter your photos. We will post the contest entries on our Facebook page each month for voting. The picture that receives the most “Likes” each month will be featured as our Facebook cover photo and will appear in our monthly e-newsletter, the Canal Connection, and the Canal Quarterly, which is published three times a year.

Timeline

* Photo submissions are accepted on an ongoing basis for entry into the next month’s contest.
* Last day of month: Photos must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on the last day of the month to be entered in the upcoming month’s contest. Photos submitted after that time and date will be held until the following month’s contest.
* First day of month: Contest photos will be posted to a Facebook gallery by 12:00 p.m. and voting will be open. (When the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the gallery will be posted and opened for voting on the next business day).
* 1-15th of month: Voting occurs.
* 16th of month: Winner is announced for that month’s contest. (When the 16th of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the winner will be announced on the next business day).

Submission Deadline: Last day of the month @4pm
Notification of winner: 16th (or next business day) on Facebook

Stars Fall by Kim Cawley

Singing Toad by Jan Branscome

To Enter

Email your photo submissions to [email protected]. Attach your photo to the email and include the following information in the body of the email:

1. Full Name
2. Full Address
3. Email Address
4. Phone Number
5. Location where photo was taken (nearby town, milepost marker, landmark, etc.)
6. Title for each photo entry

Submission Rules

* Open to all photographers ages 13 to adult.
* A photographer may only submit their own work.
* Eligible photographs include scenic pictures of nature and wildlife. Photos with people in them will only be accepted if the photo shows the back of the subject or is taken at a distance so that the face is unrecognizable.
* Photographers may enter up to 5 photos each month. Each photo may only be entered one time.
* Images that include a watermark or photographer’s name will not be accepted.
* Entries must be taken within the grounds of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, in the towns that are members of the Canal Towns Partnership, and in towns that border the Park.
* Please submit images electronically in JPG format. Do not mail entries, as they will not be returned.
* Photos may not be defamatory, obscene, inappropriate, political, or contain content owned by a third party. Photos must also follow the rules of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. For example, dogs in photos must be on a leash, and children on bikes must wear helmets. Painted rocks and stacked rocks (cairns) do not follow Leave No Trace principles and are not condoned by the National Park Service.
* No photos taken from drones are permitted.
* Final discretion on the appropriateness of photos and entry into the contest rests with the staff of the C&O Canal Trust.

Wildflowers Along the Trail by Jim Blair

Tree lined Path by Lisa Belliveau

The Angler’s Reflection by Jeffrey Blander

Privacy

Please note that your personal information will be kept confidential and not shared with organizations outside of the C&O Canal Trust. Your name will appear with your photograph when entered in the voting. Your other personal information will not be revealed.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to the C&O Canal Trust, not Facebook.

Please note that by submitting a photo to the contest, you are agreeing to the following: By entering the contest, entrants agree to consent in perpetuity to the use of the photograph(s) submitted for entry by C&O Canal Trust or any other designees of the Trust (including any agency, client, periodical or other publication) in exchange for acknowledgment of photographer in photo credit whenever possible. This consent applies in all forms known now or in the future, in all media, and in all manners, including but not limited to advertising, art, editorial, electronic, and exhibition. Acceptance of submitted photos for judging is conditional upon all rules and regulations being followed by the entrant and proper identification of the photo.

Samples of Past Winners

Kayaker at Sunset by Leigh Scott

It Takes a Village by Kelly Hilton

Morning Glow by Bonnie Saunders

Questions

Please email [email protected]

Header image Photo Credits: MJ Clingan

Featured image Photo Credits: Rachel Claire

Thank You to Our Canal Community who Helped Raise Over $200,000 at Park After Dark!

Photo by Szemere Photography

On September 17, the C&O Canal Trust celebrated a rainy Park After Dark with more than 160 guests at the Historic Great Falls Tavern. Thanks to the generosity of our canal community, the event raised over $200,000 that will directly support Park and Trust initiatives. Of the funds raised at the event, nearly $35,000 will support the Trust’s Canal For All community outreach program. (more…)

C&O Canal Explorer
Mobile App

Download our new mobile app to your Android or Apple phone and explore the C&O Canal in a whole new way. Get the app!

Stay The Night at a Lockhouse

Canal Quarters lockhouses offer a historic, recreational, and educational experience like no other. Book your stay today!

Enter our Monthly Photo Contest

The C&O Canal Trust sponsors a monthly photo contest highlighting the best photos you have taken of the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Find out how to enter here!

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