C&O Canal awakens as Georgetown prepares for boat tours’ return

The nearly two-year C&O Canal restoration project in Georgetown is expected to be completed this winter, with the relaunch of boat tours not long after that in early 2026, Georgetown HeritageBoard President Jennifer Romm said.

The C&O Canal, part of a 184-mile national park that runs from Georgetown to Cumberland, Maryland, has been undergoing major restoration since 2023, including lock and wall repairs and flood prevention measures, which Romm told The Wash are almost complete.

The Georgetown community has stayed engaged through volunteer events and celebrations, keeping the canal’s spirit alive during the closure.

Earlier this month, volunteers and families gathered along the Georgetown section of the canal for Canal Community Day and the inaugural Canal Day. People cleaned trash, maintained structures, and participated in educational and recreational activities, keeping the canal alive while the canal remained drained and boat tours suspended.

Families celebrate at Canal Day.

The inaugural Canal Day was held Oct. 18, attracting many families and tourists. Activities included live music, lawn games, model boat building, and meeting a donkey and a mule. Though the boat tours are suspended, children could still enjoy songs and watch a puppet show on the boat.

“The main goal is to remind people the canal is still here and to celebrate its magic,” Romm said. “We want to get the champagne out of the bottle and make sure everybody knows about it.”

Georgetown Heritage is the organization that sponsors the canal boat tours. Its says its mission is to celebrate and elevate the history, heritage, arts and culture of Georgetown.

During the restoration project, the group focused on canal walking tours as well as programs of arts and culture in Georgetown.

The National Park Service launched a $12.7 million preservation and rehabilitation project in March 2023, aiming to protect key parts of the nation’s early transportation history and reduce flooding risks during heavy storms.

The restoration focused on repairing and stabilizing historic locks and stone walls along the canal between D.C. and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. The work aimed to strengthen aging structures, improve safety and resilience, and preserve the historic canal landscape, particularly the lower five miles that run through Georgetown.

Some sections of the towpath in Georgetown have been closed for extended periods of time to facilitate construction.

“We’ve been very lucky they’re doing this maintenance work,” Romm said. “It’ll hold water now for decades to come, and that’s great.”

Community volunteers keep the canal alive

The Canal Community Day was held in Georgetown for the first time, just a day earlier, on Oct. 17. The volunteers, mostly students, wearing reflective safety vests and holding grabbers, removed trash, painted structures, performed maintenance, and managed invasive plants along the canal.

“I think it’s important to keep outdoor spaces clean and nice,” volunteer Grace Wiczek said.

The C&O Canal Trust, the official philanthropic partner of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, has hosted the event for 18 years. This year marked the first time the Trust brought the program to D.C., after focusing primarily on canal sections in Virginia and Maryland.

In fiscal year 2024, volunteers contributed more than 7,000 hours, removing over 20,000 pounds of trash and vegetation and refurbishing over 200 structures.

“We’re trying to increase youth volunteer participation and educational outreach,” said Lauren Riviello, the Trust’s president and CEO. “We want to instill a strong environmental ethic and a love of outdoors, especially for this park.”

Historical significance and looking ahead

Beyond the celebrations, the canal carries historical and educational value, drawing 4-to-5million visitors each year, Riviello said.

“America doesn’t really have a lot of super old things, but this one is kind of old,” volunteer Amanda Baron said, noting the canal offers a glimpse into Georgetown’s industrial past.

Romm said the canal does help visitors think about history.  “We run a lot of STEM-based tours that show how the canal was built all by hand, which was pretty amazing,” she said.

Volunteers hope that when water returns, visitors will appreciate the canal’s historic and ecological value.

The National Park Service last year ended its philanthropic agreement with Georgetown Heritage, though Romm said the group will still work with NPS running the canal boat.

The philanthropic agreement with Georgetown Heritage was signed in 2019 with the goal of enhancing rehabilitation efforts, environmental and historic education, and community engagement along a 1-mile stretch of the canal in Georgetown. However, NPS announced in March 2024 that it terminated the agreement.

“Terminating a philanthropic agreement is unusual and happens only after exhausting all other avenues to try to resolve the issues,” NPS said at the time. “As we move forward, the NPS will expand its work in Georgetown with longstanding park philanthropic partner C&O Canal Trust and will continue to foster partnerships with organizations that share similar missions, values, and goals.”

According to the park service, the termination of the philanthropic agreement didn’t change the operation of the canal boat in Georgetown.

“The District of Columbia government funded the construction of the canal boat and Georgetown Heritage owns the boat, which it operates under a different agreement with the NPS,” it said.

Jeff Wesser, a new D.C. resident, said he learned a lot about the history of the canal during the Canal Day and looks forward to joining the boat tours next spring.

“I like seeing the locks work, and when they have the canal watered,” Baron said. “So that you can actually paddle up and down it versus having it drained all the time.”