Great Falls Park

We've been cooped up for much of the summer helping the little guy recover from major back and leg surgeries, but we were finally able to make an excursion to an amazing national park everyone has been telling us about that's only about 15 miles from our house!

Great Falls Park is where the wide and mighty Potomac River chokes down and flows through a narrow gorge as it heads toward Washington DC and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.



The result is a breathtaking stretch of whitewater and waterfalls that meanders through the jagged rocky outcroppings of Mather Gorge, on the border between Virginia and Maryland.

The rapids vary from Class II to Class V and higher.  I don't know if my Dad ever saw this on any of his many trips out to DC for work, but I know he would have enjoyed looking at and "scouting" the river to find the best and safest route through and around the hazards.  This stretch of the river is definitely not navigable in a drift boat, but the kayakers downriver were playing around in the rapids and having a great time.

Other "Fun Facts":  

-  Washington D.C. and the surrounding area relies on the Potomac watershed for the majority of its water.  

-  The park ranger at one of the overlooks was telling tales of the various high water marks (see photo below) that have occurred over the years due to quick melts of particularly large snow falls, massive rainfall, and the like.  Apparently the river will back up and flood here very quickly because it's narrowing down from about 1000 feet wide upriver to about 75 feet wide as it makes its way through the gorge. 

-  George Washington surveyed and spent much of his life in and around the Potomac Basin, and he led an effort to construct a canal system on the Virginia side of the river to facilitate trade and commerce upriver.  

-  The first canal system only operated about 30 years, but it was replaced by a canal system on the Maryland side of the river that still exists today.

We'll definitely be back to this beautiful place before winter sets in, and next time we'll bring our picnic basket!