You Can Ride a Replica 19th-century Canal Boat on This Historic Canal for Free-Here's How to Experience It

"Visitors can board replica 19th century boats and glide along the canal, weather dependent. At Great Falls, visitors ride in a 30-foot launch-style leisure boat, a nod to the smaller passenger ships popular for leisure and business."

"In Williamsport, visitors can explore one of the canal's most remarkable features: the only restored stone masonry aqueduct of its kind in the United States. Free tours last approximately 40 minutes, are limited to 10 people, and include an interpretive history of the canal."

"Rangers bring the canal to life with demonstrations. Visitors will learn how locks worked to move boats uphill, how canal towns sprang up and vanished, and how economies once pulsed along this narrow ribbon of water."

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, constructed in 1828, was crucial for transportation in America. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park allows visitors to ride replica boats along preserved sections of the canal. Launch sites are located in Potomac and Williamsport, Maryland. Free boat rides and tours are available, with limited capacity. Visitors learn about the canal's history, including the operation of locks and the rise and fall of canal towns, through ranger-led demonstrations.

Read at Travel + Leisure