After a nice morning sleep in, Jim and I enjoyed a nice breakfast at the fabulous "First Watch" in Rockville and decided to take a drive over to Virginia to see Great Falls. I have never been but Jim has visited with his parents last May and really enjoyed it. Prior to leaving... I got some new hiking shoes as my boots hurt and well I needed some nice waterproof comfy shoes...
Great falls is roughly a 30 min drive to the Virginia side and maybe 15 mins to the Maryland side. The park is on 800 acres overlooking the Potomac River's Falls which total 76 feet is classified a 5-6 in whitewater standards.
overlook 2
Within the park is the Patowmack Canal (which is mostly filled in now) which George Washington partially funded, was a one-mile canal that began operating in 1785. This was the first canal in America to use locks to raise and lower boats. Some of the lock gates from at least the 1830's are on display in the visitor center since 1980 when they were uncovered during an excavation. Some of the stone mason marks on the locks rock walls are unique to individual masons and the same marks can be found in the White House and Capitol Building! The use of blasting powder (gun powder) to blast through rock was one of the first documented times of using such methods for a civil engineering project. Unfortunately, with the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on the other side of the river (MD side) and railroads the Patowmack Canal was abandoned in 1830. It is a civil engineer landmark.
The old Canal
With the contribution by George Washington, the park was included in the George Washington Memorial Parkway, designed to be a linkage between some of George Washington's famous sites (And to think I just think its the best way to get to Alexandria!).
The problem I see with this park is... it gets crowded, but once you walk further away from the overlooks, it becomes quieter. Its amazing to think this is only a few miles from downtown DC.
Video from overlook one, the closest to the falls
So due to the crowds on the overlooks at the time of day, Jim and I walked to overlook 2, then headed onto the canal trail and over to the river trail. I have some photos from the hike below in order taken.
Trail on right, walking on old canal
beginning/end of Canal, major blasted rock
Dead Guy on the trail, it was too cold for him to be out like this, Copperhead.
beginning/end of Canal, major blasted rock
Above the canal blasted rocks
Jim in a "pothole" made by the river hundreds of thousands years ago, mostly from whirl pools
View from another top of the rocks, the bridge in the distance is a pedestrian bridge that is from Maryland onto Bear Island and allows people to take the much talked of "billy goat trails"
Not to crowded for making out... they left after this in a rush.... I wonder why?
The filled in Canal.
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