Fodor's Expert Review C&O Canal

George Washington was one of the first to advance the idea of a canal linking the Potomac with the Ohio River across the Appalachians. Work started on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal in 1828. When it opened in 1850, its 74 locks linked Georgetown with Cumberland, Maryland, 185 miles to the northwest (still short of its intended destination). Lumber, coal, iron, wheat, and flour moved up and down the canal, but it was never as successful as its planners had hoped, due to damaging floods and competition from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Today the canal is part of the National Park System; walkers and cyclists follow the towpath once used by mules, while canoeists paddle the canal's calm waters. During the summer months, visitors can go on a boat tour of the canal at the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center (a 30-minute drive from Georgetown), where tour guides share the canal's history and operate the canal locks and boat just as they would have in the 1870s. Tours are free, but visitors must reserve one hour beforehand.