A marvel of engineering, the C&O Canal was designed to stretch alongside the Potomac River from Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River. Construction on the canal began in 1828 but was halted here in 1850 by the Appalachian Mountains. The park's protected 185-mile corridor includes a 12ft-wide towpath, hiking and bicycling trail, which goes all the way from here to Georgetown in DC. The Cumberland Visitor Center has displays chronicling the importance of river trade in eastern seaboard history.
