This tour on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath, provides a scenic, exhiliarating, adventure-packed three days on the trail, where one may explore civil war battlefields, Harpers Ferry, and Great Falls. The tour originates with shuttle from Washington to Antietam Battlefield, where we tour the battlefield by bike, then connect with the C&O Canal and continue on to Harpers Ferry, WV, another National Park, before ending the day's ride near Point of Rocks, MD, with an over-night in Lockhouse 28. We continue 29 miles the second day to Lockhouse 22, passing Point of Rocks, Monocacy Aqueduct, and Whites Ferry. On the third day, we relax our start, then ride through Great Falls National Park, and through the most spectacular scenery near Washington, ending in Washington, DC about mid-day, where you can spend time sightseeing Washington, DC.  Whether one spends an evening in town, or a few days, there is much to see and do in Washington, and fall is nearly crowd-free, compared with the spring and summer.

Construction began on the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal in 1828, the same year as the B&O Railroad was begun.  The railroad won the race to the west, beating the canal to the Ohio Valley by 8 years.  The 184-mile canal cost $22 million, and includes 74 lift locks, and 11 stone aqueducts over Potomac tributaries.  The first canal boat to travel end-to-end along the canal did so in 1850, more than 150 years before us.  The canal was used commercially until 1924 when floods destroyed it for the second time.  The towpath, although no longer used to transport tobacco, furs, iron ore, and other goods, is currently maintained as a National Park with trip highlights including historic Harpers Ferry, Kilian’s Cave (and others), and the Paw Paw tunnel.  The variation between the rail-trail and the canal are felt in the surroundings, architectures, and the water routes that align each trail.

Spring rides offer nice views through budding hardwood forests to the Potomac River.  Summer offers a shade canopy from typically hot temperatures, and fall trips offer cooler temperatures with stunning views of hardwood forests normally reaching peak color in the second week of October.  All year long, there are breathtaking vistas of the raging Great Falls of the Potomac River, as well as serene, peaceful moments along quiet stretches of the river.

The tour originates with shuttle from Washington to Antietam Battlefield, where we tour the battlefield by bike. Antietam National Battlefield is a short ride from the towpath, and is an historically significant Civil War site, highlights of which you can see in an hour and a half side trip. We'll then connect with the C&O Canal at Antietam Aqueduct, and ride 20 miles on the Canal, along the way passing inlets, weirs, and of course you'll want to stop and check out some of the culverts that carry crossing streams underneath the Canal, as you make your way to Harpers Ferry, WV. Harpers Ferry includes the Harpers Ferry National Park, where people dress in period clothing on weekends, and where numerous historical events took place, including John Brown's raid on the Union Armory, which touched off the U.S. Civil War. You will continue along the Potomac's confluence with the Shenandoah River, across the newly restored Catoctin Aqueduct and past Lockhouse 29, to settle in near Point of Rocks in Lockhouse 28. This lockhouse is decorated in the period of the 1830s, and does not have electricity or its own running water, so we will have a rustic over-night. We finish the day with a cookout dinner. The support vehicle will be 3/4 mile away, but group and personal gear will be shuttled in by bicycle, for a remarkable C&O Canal historical/wilderness experience.

On Day two, you will leave Lockhouse 28 after continental breakfast, and immediately encounter the narrow passage between Catoctin Mt. and the Potomac River, which was so pivotal in the formation of the Canal, the railroad, and during the Civil war. You'll curve back and forth along the Potomac River, where you will pass over the longest aqueduct on the trail, Monocacy Aqueduct, with its seven arches, just before a Snack GO at Whites Ferry, where you can take the only remaining ferry across the Potomac River, over to Virginia and back. After snack, you will reach Seneca Creek, and the last aqueduct of the trail, then enter a 20 mile re-watered section of the trail—on your way to Great Falls National Park. We'll stop just a few miles before the park at mile 19, and spend the night in another stone lockhouse, Lockhouse 22, at Pennyfield Lock. Another cookout dinner will complete the day, and perhaps we'll have a fire outside the lockhouse.

On your final day, the trail passes by 21 more locks and lock houses to get past the steep drop in the river at Great Falls. You'll want to stop and spend some time in Great Falls National Park. Enjoy the reflections at Widewater, explore the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center and C&O Canal Museum, and enjoy views of the Falls from the National Park, Washington’s most impressive natural area.  After a scenery filled day, the crowds and fitness enthusiast's presence will increase, as you complete your ride into the nation's capital, where you can explore on your own after the tour.

COST:  $450 per person includes:  Trail maps; cue cards, custom luggage tags; 2 breakfasts, 3 large picnic style lunches, 2 dinners, tour snacks and drinks; two nights lockhouse lodging (quad occupancy rooms); linens and bedding; towels; baggage shuttle between over-nights; periodic support along trail; and chartered transportation from Washington, DC to the Antietam Battlefield, MD starting location, including bike transport.

NOT INCLUDED:  Rental Bikes. Quality rental bikes are available from Get Out & Go Tours for $75 per trip.

See Frequently Asked Questions at the "FAQs" link, for answers to common questions.