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Nolands Ferry – C&O Canal Motorcyle Ride

Posted: October 26, 2013 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle Rides
Tags: C&O, C&O Canal, Canal, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, George Washington, Martha Washington, Maryland, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, national park, national park service, National Register of Historic Places, Potomac River, Valley Forge

C&O Canal: Nolands Ferry

My most recent stop on the C&O Canal is Nolands Ferry. For background on what I am doing with the C&O please look at this post.

Location – Nolands Ferry

Mile Marker – 44.6

Historical Comments -The reported location Martha Washington crossed the Potomac River on the way to visit George Washington at Valley Forge.

Nolands Ferry is also a Paleo-Indian period archeological site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. More information on the archeological site can be found here.

Ride to Site – Getting to Nolands Ferry requires you ride through abundant farm land. Be on the lookout for slow moving farm equipment. Pay attention as well for deer and other wildlife crossing the road.

Amenities – picnic tables, boat ramp, restrooms

Road Conditions (from main road) – First half paved, second half hard packed gravel/cinder

Railway Situation – Underpass

Parking Lot Conditions – Hard packed gravel and cinder, use a kickstand puck.

Main Attraction – Boat ramp

My Thoughts –This site is primarily a boat access point for the Potomac River and a rest stop for those using the C&O trail. It is interesting in that the road to the amenities passes through what, I think, is the remains of the canal and lock.

Map

The area around Nolands Ferry

: River Dead Ahead!

: Parked where the water once flowed in the canal

: Railroad overpass

: Should I pick up a passenger?

Riding the C&O Canal on a Motorcycle

Posted: October 26, 2013 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle Rides
Tags: C&O, C&O Canal, Canal, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle Ride, national park, national park service, NPS

Since the C&O Canal is nearby and there does not appear to be any motorcycle ride discussions or comments about the sites I decide to do just that, discuss the C&O Canal from a rider’s point of view.

You will have to bear with me on this as I am not going to hit all the sites immediately but as I get around to them. I might have them all by the end of the year, next year! 😉

I have already stopped at a couple and I will go back and redo them with the intent of what a rider should expect when going to each site.

Some things you should know about the canal as a whole:

At many of the stops is at least one railroad track to cross to reach the canal site. The railroad is one reason the C&O Canal became obsolete.
The C&O Canal is a National Park. I am going to get a lot of the information from their website and resources. The park website will display alerts when there are issues with one or some of the park sites.
You cannot get to all the canal sites unless you hike or ride a bike. Vehicle traffic is limited to only some parts of the park and is mainly acts as trailheads or boat ramps.
Conditions at the sites that allow vehicles will vary extremely due to weather conditions.
I am sure there will be more but that is all I have for now!

The layout I intend to use to describe each site is as follows:

Location – Which stop on the canal path
Mile Marker – as stated by the National Parks Service
Historical Comments: What was this site about?
Ride to Site – What the ride is like in the immediate area of the stop.
Amenities – Restroom, picnic area, etc.
Road Conditions (from main road) – What to expect when you turn off the main highway
Railway Situation – ground level, overpass, underpass
Parking Lot Condition – paved, gravel, etc
Main Attraction –
My Thoughts –
Map – just a clip of the area around the stop
Pictures – my photos of the site.