Maryland Heights

9-1-2014

5.3 miles

This was a great day-hike with exceptional views and historical sites.  For a map and description see here.  I went with my brother and it took us some time to even find an available parking spot, but we finally were able to start the hike. We also included a short walk to Harpers Ferry.

There were some expansive views.

The trail was wide and quite steep. We did the loop to some historic civil war sites, but were drenched in some serious rain so I didn't have the chance to take any pictures.

We hiked down to the impressive view from Maryland Heights.  It includes the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and Harpers Ferry.

An impressive view of the Potomac River

We descended down to the Potomac River and went for a swim in the water to cool off as it was quite hot out.  Then we hiked on the C&O Towpath a short distance to the bridge over to Harpers Ferry and West Virginia.  This is a portion of the Appalachian Trail and many hikers view Harpers Ferry as the midpoint on the trail.

John Brown's Fort

The Appalachian Trail crosses the Potomac River. Maryland Heights is the rocky terrain behind the bridge.

The C&O Towpath is 184.5 miles long from Washington, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland. It follows the historic canal along the Potomac River that was used mainly for transporting coal.

This was a spectacular hike and a worthy side trip for AT thru hikers.