Great Falls Park

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Great Falls Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)

Location:	Virginia, USA
Nearest city:	Sterling, VA
Coordinates:	38°59′65″N, 77°15′18″W
Area:	800 acres (3.24 km²)
Established:	1966
Total Visitation:	645,000 (in 2002)
Governing body:	National Park Service

Great Falls Park is a small National Park Service site in Virginia, United States. Situated on 900 acres (3.65 km²) along the banks of the Potomac River, the park is a disconnected but integral part of George Washington Memorial Parkway. The Great Falls of the Potomac River are on the northern boundary of the park as are the remains of the Patowmack Canal, the oldest canal in the United States that used locks to raise and lower boats.

The falls total 76 feet (20 m) over a series of major cascades and cannot be navigated by boat. Some kayakers have gone over the falls during periods of lower water levels as the largest single drop is only 33 (10 m) feet. The cascades are rated Class 5 Whitewater, which is considered a serious risk. Entry into the water above the falls from the Virginia side is illegal. An average of seven drownings per year occur in the Potomac River in the park vicinity, most of them alcohol related even though consumption of alcoholic beverages is illegal within the park.

George Washington Memorial Parkway was developed to ensure the major focal points of George Washington's most visited places would be easily linked. Great Falls Park was a part of the Northern Virginia Parks system and was transferred to the National Park Service in 1966. A proposed bridge to span the falls was also considered but, due to a strong lobby to eliminate additional bridges over the Potomac and concerns over environmental impacts, the project was never undertaken.

Great Falls of the Potomac River

The Patowmack canal ultimately failed because of the high and low levels of water at the Potomac River. This image shows the river after spring flooding.

The park has several viewing platforms that provide visitors with vantage points overlooking the falls. 15 miles (24 km) of hiking trails encompass the park and follow a small stream known as Difficult Run. Native American petroglyphs have been discovered on cliffs overlooking Difficult Run.

Rock climbers frequent the cliffs above the Potomac and the park is considered the best location for the activity in the Washington, D.C. metro area. While no camping is permitted in the park, there is a large picnic area and parking for 600 vehicles. On busy weekends all the parking may fill up by early in the morning, creating delays and temporary closures lasting up to several hours.

Kayaking and many other sports are enjoyed by visitors to the park.

The Patowmack Canal, which was partly funded by George Washington, was a one-mile bypass canal that was begun in 1785 in an effort to allow small barges an opportunity to skirt around the falls and to distribute manufactured goods upstream and raw materials downsteam. The park visitor center has the bottom portions of two wooden canal lock gates excavated in the 1980s from the Patowmack Canal. The gates survived from at least the 1830s and were found during restoration projects on stonework which were erected for the canal locks. Stone mason marks found on the stones are unique to each artisan and are identical to some found in foundation stones of the White House and the U.S. Capitol.

During the construction of the canal, blasting powder, which at the time was essentially gunpowder, was used to blast through solid rocks. This is one of the first known examples of blasting powder being used for engineering purposes anywhere in the world. The canal was never a profitable enterprise. With the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal on the opposite side of the river, and the oncoming age of railroads, the project was abandoned in 1830. The Patowmack Canal is a Civil Engineering Landmark as well as a Virginia Historic Landmark. Along the trails, the ruins of the small town of Matildaville can also be found.

Between 1906 and 1932, the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad, and later the Washington and Old Dominion Railway, operated an amusement park at the falls. Located at the end of an electric trolley line that began in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., the park contained picnic grounds, a dance pavilion, and a carousel. In the evenings, a searchlight illuminated the falls.

Access the park by exiting Interstate 495 (the Capital Beltway) at Georgetown Pike and head west 3 miles (4.5 km) to Old Dominion Drive. From there follow the signs north 1 mile (1.5 km) to the park entrance. There is a $5 entrance fee and the park is only open during daylight hours.