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Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

[start-date] 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm To RSVP for the dinner, please email [email protected] and indicate which dinner you will attend, which program(s) you are with, how many will be in your party, and if […]

Canal Pride Days at Great Falls Tavern

[start-date] 9:00 am – [end-date] 1:00 pm VOLUNTEER AND SHOW YOUR CANAL PRIDE in the C&O Canal National Historical Park at Great Falls Tavern, Saturday, April 21, 9 a.m. – […]

Winter Moonlight Hike with Campfire

[start-date] 5:00 pm – [end-date] 9:00 pm The C&O Canal Trust is partnering with REI to host a winter moonlight hike and campfire at Swains Lock in the C&O Canal […]

Canal Pride Days at Great Falls (EVENT FULL)

[start-date] 9:00 am – [end-date] 12:00 pm Join us for the 10th anniversary of Canal Pride Days at Great Falls in Potomac, MD. Volunteers will be helping to preserve historic […]

Carderock South Parking Lot

Large lot. Follow signs off Clara Barton Parkway to Carderock parking. Near Billy Goat Trail C and Carderock climbing area.

River Trail

The River Trail, just upstream from the Great Falls Tavern, winds along the Potomac, affording views of small rapids, eagles’ nests, and rocky outcroppings in the river. The trail is […]

Sixth Annual Park After Dark

[start-date] 6:00 pm – [end-date] 10:00 pm The C&O Canal Trust will be hosting its Sixth Annual Park After Dark fundraiser, Centennial Celebration, on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 6:00 […]

Open House at Swains Lockhouse

[start-date] 1:00 pm – [end-date] 4:00 pm Join us at the Open House for Swains Lockhouse, June 25-26, from 1pm-4pm each day. Be one of the first to view the […]

President’s Day Ball

[start-date] 1:00 pm – 12:00 am President’s Day Ball beginning at 1:00 pm at Historic Great Falls Tavern for George Washington’s birthday. Dr. Larry Kenner-Farley and company will lead dancing […]

Lockhouse 21 “Swains”: Canal Quarters

Swains Lockhouse (Lockhouse 21) is part of the Canal Quarters program and is available for overnight stays! You and up to 7 friends can spend up to three nights here, […]

Historic Great Falls Tavern

The Great Falls Tavern serves as a C&O Canal National Historical Park Visitor Center. Visit the Park’s website for more information. Great Falls is one of the most popular spots […]

Horseshoe Bend Campsite

Where the Potomac River makes a huge U-shaped turn is the appropriately named Horseshoe Bend Campsite. Like other hiker/biker overnight stops, travelers can expect to find a portable toilet, picnic […]

Lock 27, Spinks Ferry

Spink’s Ferry was an established Potomac crossing long before the Canal was built. Josias Clapham licensed the ferry way back in 1757. Because the approach to his ferry landing was […]

Dickerson Power Plant & Kayak Course

Take a good look beneath the towering smokestacks of the Dickerson Power Plant. Focus on the 900-foot, concrete lined discharge channel where 300,000 gallons of water per minute are borrowed […]

Dickerson Conservation Park

Dickerson Conservation Park provides opportunities for quiet enjoyment of the natural environment. The 304-acre park sits next to the Potomac River and the C&O Canal just south of the boundary between Montgomery […]

Lock 26 (Woods Lock)

Lock 26 has aged beautifully. It is currently filled in, to keep its empty walls from collapsing into a pile of stones. The stone foundation of its house has been […]

White’s Ferry

White’s Ferry is a one-of-a-kind on the Potomac River. It is the last operating ferry on the river, transporting vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians from Maryland across to the Leesburg area […]

Marble Quarry

The challenges of moving marble from the Marble Quarry to a re-building Washington in the early part of the 19th century demonstrated exactly how valuable the C&O Canal would be. […]

Marble Quarry Campsite

According to old maps, before the C&O Canal was built, there was “a “Marble Quarry” running along the Maryland side of the river for over a mile. The stone that […]

Marble Quarry Campsite Hand Pump

Please Note: Potable water may not be available at each campsite. Water is treated with iodine. Please plan to have water purification tablets with you. Water is turned off from […]

Whites Ferry Parking

Large lot. Off Whites Ferry Road, near Whites Ferry, with service across the Potomac to Virginia.

Turtle Run Campsite Hand Pump

Please Note: Potable water may not be available at each campsite. Water is treated with iodine. Please plan to have water purification tablets with you. Water is turned off from […]

Turtle Run Campsite

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 […]

Broad Run’s Mystery Aqueduct

Culverts and aqueducts both allowed streams and rivers to cross uninterrupted below the C&O Canal. Aqueducts were usually larger—more like bridges. But what else differentiates a culvert from an aqueduct? […]

Poolesville

Poolesville, a town of 6,000 people in western Montgomery County, Maryland, is a worthwhile diversion for Canal travelers. From the towpath, it can be accessed via 5-mile rides on Whites […]

Seneca Creek State Park

As Seneca Creek splashes its way toward the Potomac, the stream basin is home to a wide range of attractions and outdoor activities. Seneca Creek State Park is a 6,300-acre […]

Ruin of Jarboe’s Store

Just as crossroads have become gathering places in the automotive age, so too did upstream Canal locks become places to meet and do business in the mid 1800s. Lockhouse 25 […]

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