Carved through the countryside and spanning 184.5 spectacular miles from Washington D.C. to Cumberland, consider the C&O Canal a canvas waiting for you to paint your picture-perfect getaway. Take it easy and stroll a few miles, then stop at one of the welcoming towns along the way. Load up your panniers and bike the whole length of this “Grand Ol’ Ditch.” Or pack up the car for an afternoon or a long weekend and explore[...]
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Tells the story of the C&O Canal, boat building, coal industry and Cumberland as a transportation crossroads.
Exploring Two Capital Cities At the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., you’ll find exhibitions that explore the complex story of slavery and freedom. Visitors see how the actions of ordinary men and women demanded freedom and transformed the country. Elsewhere in Washington, D.C. you’ll find one end of the nearly 200-mile long C&O canal towpath. The path—which runs all the way to Cumberland, Maryland—was used by freedom seekers like[...]