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Chain Bridge

Bridges built over Washington’s Little Falls had a way of disappearing during the first part of the 1800s. Floods washed away two wooden bridges and the first namesake chain suspension […]

Fletchers Cove Parking

Large lot off of Canal Road NW, near Fletchers Boathouse and Abner Cloud House. Near restrooms, picnic tables, and towpath.

Fletchers Cove

Fletchers Cove provides an escape to nature where you can enjoy fishing, boating, bicycling, and hiking, all without leaving the District of Columbia. It is hard to get to, but […]

Abner Cloud House and Mill

The Abner Cloud House is one of the oldest existing structures on the Canal. In 1801 Abner Cloud, Jr., built a random rubble stone house with the help of Italian […]

Incline Plane

Did the canal boats really move on a plane? Yes! However, it wasn’t an airplane, but an inclined plane. It was all about Georgetown traffic. Canal boatmen spent around 20 […]

Capital Crescent Trail

Suitable for walkers, joggers, bikers and rollerbladers, the Capital Crescent Trail is a valuable off-road resource connecting Georgetown with Silver Spring, MD. It is part of a growing network of […]

Alexandria Aqueduct

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 […]

Douglas Bust

Why does the bust of a former Supreme Court justice hold a place of prominence near the Canal in Georgetown? The answer? Because of a very high profile dare. After […]

Georgetown Visitor Center

The Georgetown Visitor Center is open Wednesday through Thursday, 9:30 am -5 pm. You can get more information here.

Lock 4

Lock 4 is the last of the four lock raising the canal in under half a mile. Stone for the first four locks was boated 40 miles upstream from a […]

Lock 3

The aptly named Lock 3 is the third lock in the quick succession of four locks starting with Lock 1. At this lock a bust of Supreme Court Justice William […]

Lock 2

Lock 2 is the second lock from the start of the canal in Georgetown. Here The Green Street Bridge had to be rebuilt to new heights in order to allow […]

Lock 1

Lock 1 is the beginning of a series of four locks in quick succession to one another at the beginning of the canal. These locks lift the canal in less […]

Start of Towpath

From Mile 0, Rock Creek and the Rock Creek Park Trail, take a left toward Georgetown onto the modern version of the towpath, which starts as a brick path on […]

Mile Marker 0.0/Tide Lock

One of the most important misconceptions visitors to the C&O Canal have is that the canal started at Georgetown and headed west. That is not quite true. Groundbreaking did not […]

Old Stone House

Tucked along M Street in Georgetown, just east of the towpath, is an historic gem often missed by Washington D.C.’s swarming monument seekers. The Old Stone House (3051 M St., […]

Georgetown

Georgetown was established in 1751 and was a busy port town that was home to textile mill, paper factory, and flour mills. Construction of the C&O Canal began in 1828 […]

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