West Virginia trails · Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail
A 32.7-mile point-to-point in West Virginia, with 116 ft of climbing. Reaches Potomac River Reservoir and other lake/summit/viewpoint destinations.
Elevation profile
Essentially flat — no sustained climb anywhere along its 43.8 miles.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Potomac River Reservoir (lake)
- Ferry Hill (summit)
- Maryland Heights Overlook (viewpoint)
Getting there
Unnamed trail access. 39.32277, -77.72879 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:10 a.m., the sun rises at 6:38 a.m. and sets at 7:43 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:11 p.m. (EDT) — 13 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 32.7-mile route takes roughly 12 h 10 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 6:48 p.m. — 56 min before sunset.
Across the border
- Continues into VA as Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail — view on the map
- Continues into MD as Appalachian Trail — view on the map
- Continues into MD as Unnamed trail — view on the map
Nearby trails
- Visitor Center Trail — 0.2 mi
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail — 0.6 mi
- Appalachian Trail — 4.6 mi
- Shannondale Springs Trail - West — 8.4 mi