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News

Mar 27
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3 Ways to Support the Canal Towns

By Blog, News, Towns and Communities
The Canal Towns, ten towns that line the C&O Canal National Historical Park, provide cyclists and tourists with lodging, food, and services that make the thru-ride possible for so many people. However, the merchants in these towns are suffering, as the tourism and hospitality industries are some of the hardest hit due to COVID-19 closures. As we enter what would be the start of the busy outdoor recreation season on the canal, please consider supporting the Canal Town businesses in the following ways: Read More

Mar 24
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My Time as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the C&O Canal Trust

By Blog, News
I’m 10 months into a year-long internship as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) with the C&O Canal Trust. Towards the end of college, I knew I didn’t want to go straight into another degree program. I was interested in program evaluation, policy research, community, and international development. I was keenly aware that there was a disconnect between the theories and case studies I was reading about and the reality of community development and the nonprofit world. I strongly wanted experience in the nonprofit or public sector before I continued my education. For these reasons, I applied to the AmeriCorps VISTA program and accepted a one-year position working with the C&O Canal Trust and the Canal Towns Partnership. Read More

Feb 24
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New Superintendent Tina Cappetta Previews Her Vision for the C&O Canal

By News

Tina Cappetta took up the position of Superintendent of the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) in January 2020, following nine years as Superintendent of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Hampton National Historic Site, and Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail. Over her 30-year National Park Service career, she has held positions in 10 parks around the nation, including at the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in upstate New York, where she was the superintendent. From 2002 to 2004, she was Chief of Resources at the C&O Canal NHP.

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Feb 24
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Canal Pride Has Provided $1 Million in Value to C&O Canal

By Canal Pride, News
Entering its thirteenth year, Canal Pride is testament to the value of bringing volunteers, funding partners, and in-kind donors together to ensure that the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) remains a safe and welcoming venue for all those who love the Park. Since 2008, the C&O Canal Trust has recruited over 11,000 Canal Pride volunteers who have given 32,844 hours of service in the park, valued at close to one million dollars. These park beautification projects are a great benefit to the C&O Canal, as the maintenance division often has its hands full caring for the 184.5

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Feb 06
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Poolesville Joins the Canal Towns Partnership

By News, Towns and Communities
The Montgomery County town of Poolesville recently joined the Canal Towns Partnership, a community and economic development organization made up of 10 towns along the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP). “We are excited to have our first new canal town come on board since the inception of the partnership in 2011,” said Abbie Ricketts, the chair of the Canal Towns Partnership.

Through tourism marketing and advocacy, the Canal Towns Partnership aims to amplify the voices of its small canal town members so they can fully reap the economic benefits of trail tourism. The C&O Canal NHP hosts 4.5 million visitors a year, many of whom visit the Canal Towns in search of food, drink, shopping, and lodging.

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Dec 17
Love3

Artwork Contest announced to celebrate Canal Pride program’s 13th anniversary

By Canal Pride, News

The C&O Canal Trust is conducting a t-shirt artwork contest to commemorate the 13th anniversary of our Canal Pride events. Amateur artists are invited to create and submit artwork that celebrates the 13th anniversary of this volunteer-driven event. The winning design will be printed on our Canal Pride t-shirts and worn by hundreds of volunteers as they work in the C&O Canal National Historical Park during the spring and summer months. Read More

Nov 22
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Support the Trust in 2020

By News

Help the Trust get off to a great start in 2020!

As a small nonprofit that depends on charitable donations for 77 percent of its revenue, we need your help to continue working to preserve and enhance the C&O National Historical Park! Read More

Oct 28
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Volunteers Contribute Thousands of Hours to the Park

By News, Volunteer

Welcoming close to 5 million visitors annually and stretching 184.5 miles long, the C&O Canal National Historical Park requires many boots on the ground to maintain its trails and towpath, operate programs, and assist visitors. The National Park Service would not be able to do this without the invaluable efforts of the many volunteers who contribute thousands of hours of service each year. Read More

Oct 16
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E-Bikes on the Towpath

By News

You may have heard that e-bikes are now legal to ride in National Parks and on other public lands. Whether you’re delighted to be able to take your e-bike on the towpath, or worried about how this will impact your experience in the Park, please read on.

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Oct 04
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Bike Your Park Day 2019

By News

The last Saturday in September is Bike Your Park Day, an initiative created by the Adventure Cycling Association to promote biking in national parks, state parks, and other public lands. Lowell Markey, longtime volunteer with the C&O Canal National Historical Park, led an interpretive bike ride on September 28 to celebrate this year’s Bike Your Park Day. Visitors got to experience the new towpath surface near Shepherdstown and discover the history of this part of the park.

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Sep 25
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Community Bridges Overnight Programs

By News

On August 22nd and 28th, the C&O Canal Trust hosted two groups of girls from Community Bridges Inc. at Lockhouse 6. As part of the Trust’s Canal for All Initiative, the groups were given a brief lecture about the history of the canal from a Canal Classrooms teacher and spent the night in the lockhouse.

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Aug 28
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Canal Classrooms 2018/2019 Reaches Over 7,000 Students

By News

Over 7,000 K-12th grade students benefited over the 2018/2019 school year from the Park’s award-winning Canal Classrooms program.  This curriculum-based program, supported in part by C&O Canal Trust donors, allowed young people from a wide variety of backgrounds to learn the unique history of the C&O Canal and to deepen their knowledge of the natural world in one of the most biologically diverse national parks in the United States.

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Aug 28
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23 Miles of Towpath Now Resurfaced

By News

Year One of the Park’s multi-year towpath resurfacing project is complete! Towpath users can now enjoy 23 miles of completely rehabilitated towpath, from Edwards Ferry (Mile 30.8) to Whites Ferry (Mile 35.5) in Montgomery County, and from Brunswick Family Campground (Mile 54) in Frederick County, to the Shepherdstown Bridge (Mile 72) in Washington County.

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Aug 28
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Conservation Job Corp Wraps Up for 2019

By News

The Conservation Jobs Corps (CJC) is a new program built off the successful Maryland Conservation Corps (MCC). After years of seeing the benefits that MCC provides to young adults and the natural resources they protect and restore, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources expanded the program to include a younger age group. By partnering with community organizations, teens and young adults are able to work alongside natural resource staff to conserve Maryland’s natural landscapes.

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Jul 30
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Park Updates: August 2019

By News

At 184.5 miles long and with more historical structures than any other national park, the C&O Canal National Historical Park is always a work in progress. This summer, however, visitors will be able to enjoy the fruits of several big projects nearing completion. Read More

Jul 30
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Latino Conservation Week Celebration at Great Falls

By News

This year, the C&O Canal hosted 90 middle school students from Identity Inc. at Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center in celebration of Latino Conservation Week. This week was created in 2014 by the Hispanic Access Foundation to provide Latino youth and families with outdoor recreation opportunities near their homes and for Latino communities to demonstrate their commitment to conservation. Sherry Guillen, the Community Volunteer Ambassador for the Park, organized a day of hiking, biking, and learning activities. Guillen wanted kids to realize what resources are available to them and provide them with recreational opportunities that they might not have experienced before. There were many first-time experiences that day, including being in the Park, seeing Great Falls, and riding a bike.

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Jun 30
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C&O Canal Superintendent Kevin Brandt Announces Retirement

By News

C&O Canal Superintendent Kevin Brandt has announced his retirement from the National Park Service effective at the end of September 2019. Brandt helped to found the C&O Canal Trust 12 years ago as the official nonprofit group supporting the C&O Canal National Historical Park and has worked in partnership with us as we have grown our programmatic and philanthropic support to the park

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Jun 28
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Iconic “Swains” Lockhouse Opens to Public as Canal Quarters Overnight Accommodations

By News, Swains

After three years of fundraising, planning, and construction, the C&O Canal Trust, the nonprofit partner of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, today cut the ribbon at the newly-rehabilitated Swains Lockhouse. This historic lockhouse, located at a popular entrance point to the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) at Lock 21 in Potomac, Maryland, will join the C&O Canal Trust’s award-winning Canal Quarters program as the seventh lockhouse available to guests for overnight stays. Read More

May 29
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Newly-Rehabilitated Swains Lockhouse to Join Canal Quarters Program

By News, Swains

After three years of fundraising, planning, and construction, the doors to the newly-rehabilitated Swains Lockhouse will swing open to guests this summer. This historic lockhouse, located at a popular entrance point to the C&O Canal National Historical Park at Lock 21 in Potomac, Maryland, will join the C&O Canal Trust’s award-winning Canal Quarters program as the seventh lockhouse available to guests for overnight stays. Read More

May 22
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Canal Towpath Resurfacing Underway

By News

Visitors accessing the C&O Canal National Historical Park (NHP) at Edwards Ferry (Mile 30.8) will find a smooth surface running to Whites Ferry (Mile 35.5) – the first five miles of the towpath to be resurfaced as part of the Park’s proposed multi-year, 80-mile towpath resurfacing project. Read More

Apr 29
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Thank You Canal Pride Volunteers!

By Canal Pride, News, Uncategorized
We had a great showing of support at our first Canal Pride Day of 2019 at the Paw Paw Campground, held Saturday, April 27. Forty volunteers tackled many tasks during the three hour event. The volunteers removed invasive plant species like garlic mustard and Japanese barberry, beautified the campground, and resurfaced the towpath inside the Paw Paw tunnel.

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Apr 26
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Vermicomposting Workshop Scheduled for June 8

By News
Vermicomposting, the process of using worms to break down food, has many benefits that can indirectly impact the C&O Canal National Historical Park and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Food waste and trash both bring challenges to the Park, contributing to climate change and impacting the native ecosystems we are trying to protect. If you are interested in learning how you can contribute to the health of the C&O Canal, improve your home gardens, and spare your wallet, join the C&O Canal Trust for this free educational workshop, scheduled for Saturday, June 8.

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