The Park Today
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park now receives more than three million recreation visits annually. The National Park Service operates visitor centers at six different locations along the canal: Georgetown, Great Falls Tavern, Brunswick, Williamsport, Hancock, and Cumberland. These visitor centers have displays and interpretive exhibits on the history of the C&O Canal.
Visitors can also experience the canal by taking a ride on one of the park's two mule-powered canal boats. These restored boats operate during the summer months at both Great Falls and Georgetown.
The old canal towpath now provides a way for hikers and bikers to see the beautiful Potomac River Valley. A small portion of the towpath near Harpers Ferry National Historical Park doubles as a section of the Appalachian Trail.
Flooding continues to threaten historical structures on the canal and attempts at restoration. In January 1996, a major flood of the Potomac River inflicted extensive damage on the canal and some of the associated structures. The Park Service has rewatered portions of the canal, but the majority of the canal does not have water in it.
In Allegany County, Maryland, the park includes the Western Maryland Railroad Right-of-Way, Milepost 126 to Milepost 160, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.
Read more about this topic: Chesapeake And Ohio Canal National Historical Park
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“Therefore awake! make haste, I say,
And let us, without staying,
All in our gowns of green so gay
Into the Park a-maying!”
—Unknown. Sister, Awake! (L. 9–12)
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—Philippe Ariés (20th century)