News Release

Development Concept Plan for Whites Ferry

Date: October 17, 2023
Contact: Christiana Hanson, 301-491-6265

WILLIAMSPORT, Md. – The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared a Development Concept Plan that outlines potential improvements within the Whites Ferry area. This concludes a year-long planning process, developed with stakeholder and public input, re-envisioning this part of the park.  To see the plan, visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/whitesferryconceptplan. 

Whites Ferry is approximately 73 acres, made up of two tracts of land and includes open space, a picnic pavilion, a large parking lot, wooded areas, river access, structures, and access to private lands. Concepts in the plan include a range of development options for the existing pavilion and surrounding grounds, new campsites, river access, as well as other visitor amenities such as toilets and access to potable water.   

All concepts expand public access and provide new recreational opportunities, taking in to account the site's location within the 100-year floodplain and ecological context along the Potomac River. The plan offers compatibility with neighboring private properties where the White’s Ferry ferry operation and White’s Ferry Store & Grill are located. The future of the ferry operation was not within the scope of this Development Concept Plan. The NPS will not pursue commercial development of the site. 

The plan will serve as a framework for refinement of development alternatives with additional public review opportunities in the future. 

 

-NPS- 

Preserving America's early transportation history, the C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth. Operating for nearly 100 years the canal was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recreational treasures. 

Learn more at www.nps.gov/choh.