Towpath Trek EarthCache

Unlike traditional Geocaching, where people search for hidden physical containers that can degrade the Park’s natural resources and disrupt sensitive ecosystems, EarthCaching allows you to explore the Canal and the Great Falls while protecting the Park and leaving no trace. You will use GPS to locate and answer clues about the unique historical and natural resources you’ll find on the Park’s informational waysides. Get ready to begin your trek along the Canal’s towpath just like those before you who traveled to visit the Great Falls or worked along the Canal in the 19th century.

What You’ll Need: A smartphone with GPS and pencil or pen

Reminders: Make sure to Leave No Trace by staying on Park trails at ALL times. Your clues are all accessible from the Park’s sidewalk, towpath, and boardwalk. Type the GPS coordinates into any map app’s search bar on your phone.

 

Mule drawn canal boat image in computer frame.

NPS Photo

1. Welcome to Great Falls

GPS Coordinates: 39.0011, -77.2476

How many locks were required to get canal boats past the Great Falls? What are some of the reasons you visit the C&O Canal?

 

Historical photo of men boarding a canal boat.

NPS Photo

2. Boats Passing By

GPS Coordinates: 39.0001, -77.2484

Besides coal, what else do you think boats might have carried down the Canal in the 1800s?

 

Great Falls Tavern displayed on a laptop screen.

NPS Photo

3. Great Falls Tavern

GPS Coordinates: 39.0007, -77.2481

What did the Great Falls Tavern start out as?

 

A portrait depicting Justice William O. Douglas on his hike to save the C&O Canal.

NPS Photo

4. Creating a National Park

GPS Coordinates: 38.9997, -77.2485

What are some small ways that you can follow in William O. Douglas’ footsteps and help protect the C&O Canal for everyone to enjoy?

 

Great Falls and the Potomac River.

NPS Photo

5. A Geological Barrier

GPS Coordinates: 38.9843, -77.2715

How does the current level of the Potomac River differ from its level before the Ice Age?

 

Gray treefrog.

NPS Photo / Miranda McCleaf

6. Creatures Underfoot

GPS Coordinates: 38.9811, -77.2763

What is one way we harm this habitat if we walk through it? Making sure that you only walk on marked trails is one way that you can Leave No Trace. What is something else you can do to make sure that you Leave No Trace in the Park?

 

Canal structure designed to protect against floods.

NPS Photo

7. Stopping Floods

GPS Coordinates: 38.9811, -77.2763

What canal structure helps fight against floods?

 

Looking upriver at the Potomac River from Olmsted Island.

NPS Photo / Nanette Nyce

8. Maryland’s Natural Heritage

GPS Coordinates: 38.9966, -77.2493

What intermixes here on Olmsted Island? How can you protect the diverse plant and animal communities found here on Olmsted Island?

 

Historic image of construction being done on the Canal.

NPS Photo

10. The Canal Builders

GPS Coordinates: 39.0003, -77.2481

What two countries did most of the Canal workers come from? Would you have left your home and family behind in Europe to go work on the Canal? Why or why not?

 

C&O Canal National Historical Park Virtual Stamp

NPS

Congratulations!

You’ve finished your Towpath Trek. Click on image to receive your C&O Canal NHP Virtual Passport Stamp.

Additional Links

• Passport Stamps Program
• Passport Book Information