Great Falls in Maryland
Destination Guide United States

Patowmack Canal

Officially known as the "Great Falls Skirting Canal," the Patowmack Canal is an inoperative canal located in Virginia, United States, that was designed to bypass rapids in the Potomac River upstream of the present Washington, D.C. area. The canal remains are managed by the National Park Service as it is within Great Falls Park, an integral part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Located at 38.9894, -77.2486 (Lat. / Lng.), about 1 miles away.
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Archaeological sites in Virginia, Canals in Virginia, Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Potomac River Watershed, Buildings and structures in Fairfax County, Virginia, Transportation in Fairfax County, Virginia

Minnehaha

Minnehaha is a fictional Native American woman documented in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 epic poem The Song of Hiawatha. She is the lover of the titular protagonist Hiawatha. The name is often incorrectly said to mean "laughing water", though in reality it translates to "waterfall" or "rapid water" in Dakota. She is the subject of the poem, and later song, cantata, and painting, The Death of Minnehaha.

Located at 39.025, -77.2444 (Lat. / Lng.), about 2 miles away.
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Anishinaabe mythology, American folklore, Fictional characters from Minnesota

Great Falls (Potomac River)

The Great Falls of the Potomac River are located at the fall line of the Potomac River, 14 miles upstream from Washington, D.C. Great Falls Park, operated by the National Park Service, is located on the southern banks in Virginia, while Chesapeake and Ohio Canal parkland is located along the northern banks of the river in Maryland. The Potomac and the falls themselves are within Maryland.

Located at 38.9975, -77.2525 (Lat. / Lng.), about 0 miles away.
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Geography of Fairfax County, Virginia, Visitor attractions in Montgomery County, Maryland, Potomac River, Waterfalls of Virginia, Waterfalls of Maryland, Geography of Montgomery County, Maryland, Visitor attractions in Fairfax County, Virginia

Olmsted Island

Olmsted Island is a small island in the middle of the Potomac River in Maryland, USA, near Great Falls which is a part of C & O Canal National Historical Park, located across the river from Great Falls Park. It is a part of Potomac, Maryland. Named for Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. , the landscape architect and preservationist whose famous father designed New York's Central Park, the small island is a bedrock terrace forest that supports rare, threatened and endangered plant species.

Located at 38.9983, -77.25 (Lat. / Lng.), about 0 miles away.
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Islands of the Potomac River, Islands of Maryland, Geography of Montgomery County, Maryland, Potomac, Maryland

Mather Gorge

Mather Gorge is a river gorge south and just downriver of Great Falls on the border of Maryland and Virginia. The Maryland side of the gorge is Bear Island, part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, and the Virginia side is part of Great Falls Park. Both parks are National Park Service sites. The gorge is named after Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service.

Located at 38.9881, -77.2464 (Lat. / Lng.), about 1 miles away.
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Canyons and gorges of Maryland, Canyons and gorges of Virginia, Geography of Fairfax County, Virginia, Geography of Montgomery County, Maryland

Billy Goat Trail

The Billy Goat Trail (also written as Billygoat Trail) is a 4.7-mile hiking trail that follows a path between the C&O Canal and the Potomac River within the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park near Great Falls in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Located at 38.9938, -77.2458 (Lat. / Lng.), about 1 miles away.
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Protected areas of Montgomery County, Maryland, Hiking trails in Maryland, United States National Park Service areas in Maryland

Bear Island (Maryland)

Bear Island is an island located in Potomac, Montgomery County, Maryland between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal near the Great Falls. It is managed by the National Park Service as part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and is co-owned by The Nature Conservancy. One of its most popular attractions is the Billy Goat Trail. Pets are not allowed on Bear Island, nor is smoking.

Located at 38.9851, -77.2433 (Lat. / Lng.), about 1 miles away.
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Islands of Maryland, Protected areas of Montgomery County, Maryland, Islands of the Potomac River, Potomac, Maryland

Difficult Run

Difficult Run is a 15.9-mile-long tributary stream of the Potomac River in northern Virginia in the United States. The stream is named not for the nature of the stream's rapids themselves; rather, long-boatmen in the time of the Patowmack Company found the two sharp bends of the Potomac near Difficult Run's mouth treacherous. Difficult Run flows through Fairfax County to Great Falls Park, on the Virginia side of the Potomac River.

Located at 38.9761, -77.235 (Lat. / Lng.), about 2 miles away.
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Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Geography of Fairfax County, Virginia, Hiking trails in Virginia, Rivers of Virginia, Mountain biking venues in the United States, Protected areas of Fairfax County, Virginia, Tributaries of the Potomac River