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Big Slackwater

Big Slackwater is downstream from McMahon’s Mill. Canal boats once entered the river here as the mules continued walking along the towpath. C&O Canal Company engineers chose to utilize the […]

Big Woods 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 […]

Big Woods Campsite

Unlike many of the hiker/biker campsites along the Canal, Big Woods campsite affords overnight visitors some measure of privacy. In fact, it’s not even visible from the towpath.  A sign […]

Heart of the Civil War Visitors Center

Located approximately half a mile east of Sharpsburg along Maryland Route 34 on the western edge of the Antietam Creek sits the historic Newcomer House at Antietam National Battlefield – […]

Washington Monument State Park

Named for the first completed monument dedicated to the memory of George Washington, Washington Monument State Park is located in Washington County, Maryland at the top of South Mountain. Citizens […]

Horseshoe Bend 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 […]

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 […]

Snyders Landing

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 […]

Killiansburg Cave

The Battle of Antietam is well known for the events that unfolded on September 17, 1862, and the long-lasting importance it had over the rest of the Civil War. Antietam […]

Killiansburg Cave 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 […]

Killiansburg Cave Campsite

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 […]

James Rumsey Monument and Park

James Rumsey Monument overlooks the Potomac, the very river on which Rumsey pioneered the first steamboat. Shepherdstonians began discussing a monument in the 1830s – undoubtedly to overshadow Robert Fulton, […]

Full Circle Theater

Established in 2007, the Full Circle Theater put on community theater performances for patrons in West Virginia. It also offered adult and youth workshops in acting, play writing, and technical […]

Shepherd University

There’s nothing quite like a college to keep a town young and vibrant. Located on 325 acres in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley and on the banks of the Potomac River […]

Shepherdstown Visitors Center

Nestled in the corner on the first floor of the historic Entler Hotel building sits Shepherdstown Visitor Center. Staff awaits from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily to help guide […]

Shepherdstown

The oldest town in West Virginia, Shepherdstown pre-dates the Revolutionary War. It is a quaint town filled with artisanal shops and eateries and is home to Shepherd University, which adds […]

Lock 38 (Shepherdstown River Lock)

The Shepherdstown River Lock is one of only three river locks on the Canal. Built from gray limestone and meant to draw traffic from the Virginia side of the Potomac […]

Thomas Swearingen Ferry & James Rumsey Bridge

In 1755, the Virginia General Assembly recognized the need for a proper river crossing, and Thomas Swearingen was authorized to operate a ferry on the Potomac River between the Maryland […]

Ferry Hill Parking

Small lot off Shepherdstown Pike, near Ferry Hill Plantation/C&O Canal Visitors Center.

Ferry Hill Plantation

The river crossing at Packhorse Ford, located about a mile downstream from Shepherdstown, could not meet the needs of a growing population. Thomas Van Swearingen began operating a ferry in […]

Bridgeport

If you needed a place to stay or a warm meal while traveling through Ferry Hill in the early nineteenth century, you were out of luck. But by the 1830s […]

James Rumsey Steamboat

What is a “canoe powered by a teakettle?” A steamboat, of course! The eccentric inventor James Rumsey shocked Shepherdstown during a December 3, 1787 demonstration when his boat – without […]

Boteler’s Mill/Potomac Mill

Dating back to 1826, Boteler’s Mill, also known as Potomac Mill, is on the shore of the Potomac River in eastern Jefferson County, West Virginia, half a mile below Shepherdstown. […]

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