National Parks are national treasures to be visited and enjoyed at every opportunity. Why is it then that I don’t get excited about our local parks? Simple, we learn to take nearby sites for granted. Thankfully though on this glorious Labor Day I broke through and got out.
Great Falls is an unnavigable stretch of the Potomac River which flows between Maryland and Virginia, past Washington D.C. and in to the Chesapeake Bay. The rocks and falls are treacherous but George Washington believed that boat traffic was critical along the Potomac to connect the Ohio Valley with the East. He felt the bonds of trade would strengthen the fractured colonies and help the union succeed. Consequently he initiated what later became a series of lochs for boats to move goods from Cincinnati to Washington D.C. to countries in Europe.
Very little exists of the original lochs and the town of Matildaville but there’s much to see and do! The entire area has been set aside as a National Park.
I went to hike. After lots of hot weather, this morning was a cool 65 degrees and at 8:00 AM the park was empty. My prospects were good and the sun cooperated for good picture taking. After an hour or two, I started to notice more people, first on the trail then in the water then on the cliffs and soon everywhere on both sides of the river. It was great … lots to take pictures of. I had a wonderful morning and need to visit more local parks.
A map of the park is shown below.
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