Beating the beaten track in Washinton DC (III): The C&O Canal
Washington’s famous green spaces make it a great city for walking. But there is more to it than the National Mall and Rock Creek Park. Having just returned from seven weeks in the city, I have undertaken to enlighten fellow transients about its lesser-known attractions.
In this final instalment of my guide to out-of-way things to see in the US capital, I will walk you past rotting vegetation and disused warehouses. Bear with me.
The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) canal was built in the 1820s to transport coal from the Allegheny mountains. Although it does reach the Chesapeake bay, the “Ohio” bit is a complete fabrication.
The canal ends (or starts, from the point of view of the coal) in Cumberland, Maryland — nowhere near Ohio, whether the river or the state. It’s as if Britain’s M11 motorway was called the “Thames and Scotland Motorway” or the TGV Sud-Est the Rome Express.
The C&O remained in use for almost a century. The DC portion of it, with its picturesque towpath, is now managed by the National Park Service.
Its banks are rich in scenic sights and educational insights. At one spot, a sign points to the “Georgetown incline plane”, an engineering marvel built in 1876 that was the largest boat lift in the world at the time.
Working on the same principles as a funicular, it moved vessels down 40 feet in elevation to the Potomac to unclog the often congested canal.
As befits such a historical waterway, your walk starts at another site of historical significance.
Past the Watergate complex, you cross a footbridge over Rock Creek to get to the Georgetown Waterfront.
Don’t be lured by its glitzy watering holes: the coffee is expensive and atrocious. You can just sit on a bench and enjoy the view for free.
Continue along the waterfront to the end of Georgetown Park, until you reach a bridge-cum-aqueduct overhead. Here you have a choice.
You can either turn right, walk up a few steps to reach the towpath, or walk straight ahead under the bridge, continue along the flat path that hugs the Potomac shoreline and rejoin the towpath further upstream.
There is something to be said for choosing the second option.
The views across the river are stunning, while the Georgetown portion of the towpath is an eyesore lined with crumbling buildings.
The picture to the left — which I found on the internet, as the last thing I wanted to do was stop to take in the vista — rather flatters it. There was no water in the canal when I was there in late October. It was full or decaying reed detritus.
No wonder it used to be known as the “Grand Old Ditch”.
Yet I would still recommend going that way. The vegetal and urban blight soon comes to an end. And crucially, the lower path, although initially more bucolic at first, is used as a bicycle lane.
Although it’s true that in DC the distinction between a footpath and a cycle one is a notional one — as anyone who has walked on a local sidewalk can testify — there is no question who rules here. The pedal is mightier than the shoe.
Follow the towpath as long as you like — your energy will wane long before the scenic beauty does. And remember you have to walk back.
By the time you reach the Georgetown Waterfront again, even the bad coffee may not be enough to keep you away from the watering holes.
