C and O Tow Path and Paw Paw Tunnel

This week we traveled far and wide to make it to our destination of the Paw Paw Tunnel on the C and O Tow Path in Paw Paw, West Virginia. I don't think we realized how far we were going (130 miles) until we were about half way there.


The C and O Tow Path was built along the Potomac River to transport goods from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, DC and vice versa. A canal was dug along the river and donkeys would be hooked up to barges and pull them along. The tunnel was started in 1836 and finished in 1850. It is about 0.6 miles long and very dark.




As you can see, there is a glimmer of fright in my eyes. You can always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the floor was uneven and since we have had so much rain lately the roof was also dripping; very cave-like. We brought a flashlight, so we could see where the puddles were, but it was still a little disorienting.

Once you make it through the tunnel, you gotta get back, so there is a path over the top of the mountain back to the start of the loop. Right outside of the tunnel we saw a snake basking in the sun and there were also a few really tiny snakes that slithered off when we approached. I think this is the year of the snake we've seen about 4 so far this season. We trekked over the top of the mountain and came upon this beautiful view of the Potomac River winding between the borders of Maryland and West Virginia.

After we got through the tunnel and over the mountain we walked along the Tow Path for 2 miles and saw a woodchuck, birds and two deer. It was a really great walk - our fastest yet 7.1 miles in about 2.5 hours. This was due to the trail being mostly flat - except for climbing over the tunnel.

We also went to an open house for a place that we can learn to sail. It seems like a really fun place to learn how to sail and hopefully we'll give it a try and you'll see us on the water soon!