Celebrate your love for the C&O Canal by sharing your personal story about the Park. Each story will take a look at a person’s relationship with the C&O Canal. Whether an NPS ranger, a volunteer, or a visitor, everyone has a story to tell about the canal! If you want to share your story, fill out the form below, email it to us at [email protected] or post it on your social media feeds with the hashtag #MyCanalStory. We could use your story here on our website!
Celebrate your love for the C&O Canal by sharing your personal story about the Park. Each story will take a look at a person’s relationship with the C&O Canal. Whether an NPS ranger, a volunteer, or a visitor, everyone has a story to tell about the canal! If you want to share your story, fill out the form below, email it to us at [email protected] or post it on your social media feeds with the hashtag #MyCanalStory. We could use your story here on our website!
Canal Community Story: Don Ramsey
Photo by Anupah Shah
Don Ramsey is a dedicated C&O Canal Trust volunteer. Whether leading volunteer groups doing projects in the Park for Canal Community Days events or helping with our largest annual fundraiser Park After Dark, Don is always willing to roll up his sleeves and lend a helping hand.
During his childhood, Don’s family would go for picnics at various C&O Canal National Historical Park locations. In his teen and young adult years, he would adventure with friends to camp, bike, ice skate, hike, and canoe in the Park. Don remembers his longest bike ride with friends on the canal from Washington, D.C., to Harpers Ferry. “We had a breakdown of one of the bikes,” he recalls, “and after miles of taking turns riding and walking, we stopped at Brunswick and camped—so close, yet so far! Luckily, we were able to get dinner from Mackie machines at the YMCA at midnight.”
Photo by Turner Photography Studio
Don also had a memorable adventure by boat. “Can’t forget the rowboat overnighter from Fletchers,” he says. “Three of us left at dusk and rowed for a couple of hours upstream until we were too tired to row anymore, so we found a small area on the Virginia side to camp. When we woke up the next morning, we could still see Fletchers,” Don says, laughing.
Later in life, when Don had his own family, he took his young children on occasional picnics, small hikes, and canoe rides while visiting the Park. When his oldest son was in scouts, he became a scoutmaster and took scouts on hikes and a 50-miler bike campout along the canal. They also did canal cleanups after significant flood events. Don remembers one Whites Ferry cleanup organized by the Boy Scouts of America. “What a mess that was—but we had a great time doing it!”
Photo by Turner Photography Studio
When his kids grew up and moved out, Don organized a few bike rides in the Paw Paw Tunnel area for family, friends, and coworkers. Then he discovered a volunteer opportunity in the Park. “I first got involved with a Clark Construction event at Harpers Ferry doing a cleanup and removing invasive plants,” Don says. “I’m not sure what year that was, but I was hooked and have been there whenever possible to join in on the fun!”
Don’s dedication to volunteering in his community extends far beyond the C&O Canal Trust. He volunteers for the Prince George’s County County Christmas in April program throughout the year and with the District of Columbia Building Industry Association’s yearly massive volunteer project sprucing up Washington, D.C., recreational areas. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Don logged as many as 300+ hours of volunteer service a year.
Don is a regular Volunteer Project Leader (VPL) when the Trust has Canal Community Days events throughout the Park. He leads groups of volunteers tasked with various Park beautification projects with a smile and a passion for making the Park a better place for everyone. Don is welcoming to all, especially young people who want to try their hands at volunteer service. “Working with others and teaching the younger generation about the importance of doing good things for our national parks and others will help the environment, which helps the people and animals in the long run,” he says.
Photo by Trust Staff
Don’s favorite places in the C&O Canal NHP include Great Falls, the Paw Paw Tunnel, and the Harpers Ferry area. “Those are the places I suggest to people at work or elsewhere to get them interested in visiting the Park,” he says. Though he spends less time recreating in the Park these days than volunteering, it’s still very near and dear to Don’s heart, and he enjoys giving back to it. “Helping others makes me feel good,” Don says, “and doing this work along the C&O Canal is especially nice as not only do I get to visit such a wonderful place, but I can leave it in better condition than when I arrive!”
Nearly 50 Volunteers Participated in 15th Annual Canal Community Days Clean-Up Event in Williamsport
Photo Credit: Francis Grant-Suttie
Corporate and Nonprofit Stewardship Interest Form
Thank you for your interest in partnering with the C&O Canal Trust. Our team will review your inquiry, and you can expect to hear from us within one week. Please be aware that we need at least one month lead time to coordinate a stewardship event.
Photo by Francis Grant-Suttie
Canal Community Days at Great Falls
April 22, 2023
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Thank you to all the volunteers who joined us. You helped Make This Park Shine!
Impact Report
108 Volunteers:
- Removed 900 pounds of trash
- Removed 900 pounds of invasive plants
- Laid 50 yards of gravel footpath
- Spread 15 cubic yards of mulch
- Painted 3 park structures
- Spread 65 yards of mulch and gravel
Photo by Francis Grant-Suttie
Photo by Francis Grant-Suttie
Photo by Francis Grant-Suttie
‘Culvert Near Pennyfield Lock’ by Jim Blair
Montgomery County
1.07 Alexandria Aqueduct
Location: Aqueduct Bridge, Washington, DC 20007 Mile 1.07
About: Built between 1833 and 1843, the Alexandria Aqueduct Bridge stood as a technological marvel of early 19th century engineering. It was designed to connect the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal to the neighboring seaport at Alexandria via a seven-mile-long canal.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
5.03 Lock 5 area
Location: Mile Marker 5
Lock 5, Bethesda, MD 20816
About: The stone is original and came from Aquia creeks and a nearby quarry.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
5.5 Lock 6 area
Location: 6100 Clara Barton Parkway Bethesda, MD 20816 Mile 5.4
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
7.04 Lock 7 area
Location: 38.9642839, -77.1381624 Mile Marker 7
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
8.3 Lock 8 area
Location: 38.9715934, -77.160773 Mile: 8.3
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
10.5 Carderock Day Use Area
Location:
North parking lot 38.9761688, -77.2053287 Mile: 10.9
South parking lot 38.9725971, -77.2004106 Mile: 10.4
About: Picnic and recreation area
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp
14 Great Falls sites
Location: 11710 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac, MD Mile: 14
About:
While many trails, overlooks, locks, Canal boat rides, and the Washington Aqueduct provide plenty to see and do at Great Falls, the centerpiece is the Great Falls Tavern. Originally a lockkeeper’s house built in 1829, it was enlarged and transformed into a popular hotel called the Crommelin House. The hotel was a favorite of Congressmen and other high officials in Washington. Not so much for the canal boat community, who complained the tourists interfered with their journey through the locks.
14 Great Falls Fee booth Mile 14
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
14 Great Falls Entrance Road Mile 14
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
Lander Road Lockhouse by Katherine Zitrick
Frederick and Montgomery County
26.1 Horsepen Branch Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath Poolesville, MD 20837 Mile marker 26.1
About: The Horse Pen Branch campsite is a hiker/biker campsite not accessible by car.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
30.5 Chisel Branch Hiker-Biker campsite
Location: Poolesville, MD 20837 Mile 30.5
About: The Chisel Branch Campsite is a hiker-biker campsite named after for a stream that crosses beneath the canal approximately half a mile from the site
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
34.4 Turtle Run Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Turtle Run Campsite, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, Dickerson, MD 20842 Mile 34.4
About: One of the regularly spaced hiker/biker campsites along the towpath, Turtle Run provides a front row seat to Civil War history—in the middle of the Potomac. Turtle Run offers views of Harrison Island from your tent flaps.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
47.65 Calico Rock Hiker Biker Campsite
Location: Point of Rocks, MD 21777 Mile 47.6
About: Calico Rocks is a hiker-biker campsite. It is named after a type of composite stone found in this area. Sometime known as “Potomac Marble,” Calico Rocks was a jumble of pebbles mixed into limestone.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
50.3 Bald Eagle Island Hiker Biker Campsite
Location: Jefferson, MD 21755 Mile 50.3
About: The Bald Eagle Island campsite is located just north of the narrow Point of Rocks section of the Potomac, a historic point of contention between the Canal and the B&O Railroad for right of way.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
61.57 Lock 34 Area
Location: Knoxville, MD 21758 Mile 61.57
About: One of 74 locks located throughout the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Locks were used to raise and lower boats.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
62.09 Huckleberry Hill Hiker-Biker campsite
Location: Knoxville, MD 21758 Mile62.09
About: This hiker-biker campsite is located near where the Canal landing for the Potomac Refining Company’s landing once stood.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
64.9 Dargan Bend Boat Ramp
Location: Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Mile 64.9
About: Access for small boats on the Potomac River. Located upstream of Harpers Ferry.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp
Paddling at Antietam Creek by Nora Slick
Washington County
69.4 Antietam Aqueduct
Location: Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Mile 69.4
About: Carrying the C&O Canal over the Antietam is the Antietam Aqueduct, a three-span, 140-foot bridge that was completed in 1834. It was the fourth of 11 aqueducts built along the Canal. Heavily damaged during the Civil War, the aqueduct has been rebuilt and has otherwise withstood the forces of time and nature very well.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
69.6 Antietam Campground GROUP SITE
Location: Sharpsburg, MD 21782. Mile 69.6
About: Just upstream about a quarter-mile from the mouth of Antietam Creek you’ll find the Antietam Drive-in Campground.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
75.4 Killiansburg Cave Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Mile 75.4
About: This is a hiker-biker campsite.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
76.67 Snyders Landing
Location: Snyders Landing, Sharpsburg, MD 21782
About: Another point of boat access to the Potomac River, Snyders Landing also includes parking on the berm side of the Canal. Originally named for the nearby town of Sharpsburg, it was later re-named after a local coal and grain establishment near the Canal here.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp
79.07 Horseshoe Bend Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Sharpsburg, MD 21782 Mile 79.07
About: Where the Potomac River makes a huge U-shaped turn is the appropriately named Horseshoe Bend Campsite. Like other hiker/biker overnight stops
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
80.9 Taylors Landing Boat Ramp
Location: Sharpsburg, MD 21782
About: Taylors Landing Boat Ramp has access to towpath as well.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp.
82.07 Big Woods Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location:
About: This hiker-biker campsite is not visible from the towpath. Bear Cave is half a mile upstream from this campsite.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
85.02 Dam 4 Area
Location: Dam 4 Rd, Maryland 21782 Mile 85
About: The seven dams on the Potomac River were originally built to divert water into the canal. Dam #4 provided water for 22 miles of the canal, from Milepost 84.6 downstream to Milepost 62.3, just above Harpers Ferry. The water was regulated at the guard lock at Dam #4 to maintain a consistent level of water traveling at two miles per hour down the canal prism.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
90.9 Opequon Junction Hiker-Biker campsite
Location:
About: Looking across the Potomac from this campground, you’ll see the mouth of its namesake creek. Historically, Opequon Creek played an important role in pre-1800 America.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
95.2 Cumberland Valley Hiker-Biker campsite
Location: Williamsport, MD 21795 Mile 95.2
About: The first campsite south of Williamsport on the Canal, Cumberland Valley Campsite is named after the nearby railroad of the same name. The Cumberland Valley Railroad was built to connect Harrisburg, PA with Chambersburg—another Pennsylvania town near the Maryland border
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
101.3 Jordan Junction Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Williamsport, MD 21795 Mile 101.3
About: This is the closest campsite to Williamsport.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
Four Locks Reflections by Caleb Hayes
Four Locks-Washington County
109.6 North Mountain Hiker-Biker campsite
Location: Clear Spring, MD 21722 Mile 109.6
About: The name of this campsite comes from the high ridge across the Potomac River. Many people here also know it as Fairview Mountain.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
110.02 McCoys Ferry Campground GROUP SITE
Location:
About: This is a drive-in campground.
Tasks:
Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
Washington county
110.02 McCoys Ferry Day Use/Boat Ramp Area
Location: Clear Spring, MD 21722 Mile 110.02
About: Fords and ferries were once located all along the 184.5 miles of the C&O Canal, providing places to cross the Potomac River. McCoys Ferry was one of those crossing sites.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp
116.04 Licking Creek Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Big Pool, MD 21711 Mile 116.04
About: This is a Hiker-Biker campsite near Licking Creek Aqueduct. Built between 1836 and 1838, the Licking Creek aqueduct is the first of six single-arch aqueducts on the line of the canal and the longest of the Canal’s aqueducts.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
120.39 Little Pool Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Hancock, MD 21750 120.39
About: Little Pool Campground provides great access to a number of Canal landmarks. To the south is Fort Frederick, Big Pool and Licking Creek Aqueduct.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
124.33 Little Tonoloway Day Use Area
Location: Hancock, MD 21750 Mile 124.33
About: Situated between the canal and Potomac River, this recreation area features picnic tables and a boat launch.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
124.33 Little Tonoloway Boat Ramp
Location: Hancock, MD 21750 Mile 124.33
About:
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp
126.5 White Rock Campsite
Location: Hancock, MD 21750 Mile 126.5
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
129.8 Leopards Mill Hiker-Biker
Location: Hancock, MD 21750 Mile 129.8
About: This riverside campsite was named after Jacob Leopard who operated a gristmill about a mile upstream.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
133.6 Cacapon Junction Hiker-Biker
Location: Hancock, MD 21750 Mile 133.6
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
Paw Paw tunnel: North Portal by Paul Graunke
Allegany
139.02 Indigo Neck Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Little Orleans, MD 21766 Mile 139.02
About: Just a mile and a half downstream of the small town of Little Orleans, Indigo Neck campground is located on the southeastern tip of the expansive Green Ridge State Forest, with opportunities for hiking, off-road vehicles, fishing, boating and horseback riding.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
140.15 Fifteen Mile Creek Boat Ramp
Location: Little Orleans, MD 21766 Mile 140.15
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
-Remove trash from boat ramp
140.15 Fifteen Mile Creek Campground/Aqueduct
Location: Little Orleans, MD 21766 Mile 140.15
About: Accessible by road. Just downstream from the mouth of Fifteen mile Creek is the town of Little Orleans, which served as a point of lumber transshipment on the Canal
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
149.4 Stickpile Hill Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Big Pool, MD 21711 Mile 149.4
About: Stickpile Hill is another ridge that forces the Potomac River in its looping pattern along the southern edge of Green Ridge Forest State Forest.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
154.1 Sorrel Ridge Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Big Pool, MD 21711 Mile 154.1
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
157.4 Purslane Run Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Oldtown, MD 21555 Mile 157.4
About: The Purslane Run Campsite is a half mile upstream from where the Western Maryland Railroad crosses back over the Potomac into Maryland. It is named for a stream another half mile up the Canal.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
162.1 Town Creek Aqueduct
Location: Oldtown, MD 21555 Mile 162.1
About: Town Creek Aqueduct is a single-span aqueduct. It is the tenth of eleven aqueducts on the Canal and, like many of the other eleven, is missing its upstream wall.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
164.8 Potomac Forks Campsite
Location: Oldtown, MD 21555 Mile 164.5
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
169.17 Pigmans Ferry Campsite
Location: Oldtown, MD 21555 Mile 169.17
About: The name of this campsite is somewhat misleading. The site of the actual ferry is more than a mile and a half upstream and the campsite itself is not on the river—rather it is along the part of the Canal that veers inland away from the Potomac. The fenced off camping area borders a meadow.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs.
173.03 Spring Gap Campground
Location: Oldtown, MD 21555 Mile 173
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs
175.4 Irons Mountain Hiker-Biker Campsite
Location: Cumberland, MD 21502 Mile 175.4
About: The Irons Mountain Ridge is the Canal’s last formidable ridge to navigate as it makes its way toward Cumberland. The campsite is upstream about a mile from the Narrows, the point where the River and the Canal squeeze by the ridge.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs
184 Cumberland Terminus
Location: Cumberland, MD 21501 Mile 184
About: Cumberland may be the end of the C&O Canal, but it was also once known as the “Gateway to the West.” The Potomac River cuts through the mountains in and around Cumberland, providing one of the easiest westward crossings.
Tasks:
-Pick up and remove trash from site.
-Paint park features such as signs and picnic tables.
-Remove ash from fire ring.
-Survey site for hazards and note condition of the site.
-Clean signs
I’ve been a Canal Steward since July 2018. I’ve hiked the Canal and the Billy Goat Trail for nearly 50 years (when I came to Washington). I often had a plastic bag with me and rarely came out without some bottles and trash. It felt good to do my small part in cleaning up our shared landscape, especially when it involved so little effort. Signing on to the Canal Steward Program seemed like the next logical step.
In my 35 years as reptile keeper and Biologist at the National Zoo, I was the liaison between the department and our keeper aides and interpretive volunteers. I came to appreciate how incredibly important these folks were to the enhanced functioning of our operation. We simply couldn’t have reached out to the public as efficiently without their help. Upon retirement, I felt it was time to pay back some of that energy (my initial volunteer gig was at the National Gallery of Art as a docent, leading tours of the collection). As essential as government agencies are to the operation of parks and museums, staff are often limited by budgets and resources. Tapping into the immense pool of retirees and other people with time on their hands is an excellent way to enhance the benefits that these institutions offer. I also feel that it’s beneficial in so many ways when the public takes a proprietary interest in these areas.
I think recruiting more volunteers (especially young ones) is money well spent. It always makes my day when young people comment on what I’m doing and remark that they have either done that themselves or are now inspired to do so in the future. I can spend every day on the canal, but it takes everybody pitching in to keep it pristine.
It’s difficult to pick a favorite spot in the Park — sorta like choosing your favorite child. Two spots on Billy Goat B come to mind, however. From an artistic point of view, there is a fallen tree about a quarter mile from the West trailhead. I call it the “Ent” (from Lord of the Rings). It’s incredibly expressive, and I always stop to gaze at it. It changes with moisture and is even more dramatic after a rain.
My other favorite area is about a half mile from the West trailhead. I call it “Skink Rock” due the numerous Five-lined Skinks that make this spot their refuge. It’s fun to find the little guys hiding in the crevices in the summer. This area also has a fair population of Pine Swifts as well as Black Racers on the upper portion of the trail.
Join Béla in becoming a Canal Steward this year! Sign up here.
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
In 1954, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas famously joined the effort to protect the C&O Canal’s unique beauty and preserve it as a “sanctuary for everyone.” Thanks to Justice Douglas and countless others, visitors can continue to marvel at its wild serenity. Picking up this torch of appreciation and advocacy for the Canal is a special group of C&O Canal Trust volunteers called Quartermasters, who help to maintain the lockhouses and assist guests of the Trust’s Canal Quarters program. Read More
The Trust is able to make a positive impact along the 184.5-mile length of the Park only with the support of our donors and the help of committed volunteers. In fiscal year 2018, 1,302 Trust volunteers performed 10,032 hours of service, worth $281,690 in in-kind labor.
