Billy Goat Trail, Mar 31st

While visiting my sister for her 50th birthday and following her recommendation, I went to check the Billy Goat trail. It’s located in the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Maryland (actually the park spans to DC and Pennsylvania). The trail is divided in three sections which cam be combined or done separately and all are connected by the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath. Like that, it offers many access points to either of the loops. Coming from Bethesda, I decided to start from Anglers Inn which gives access right between sections A and B of the trail. A short walk down the hill and a bridge placed me on the Towpath where I turned right and headed west towards Section A. I got there quite early so there were not many cars and the waters were calm and quiet. Just from the beginning, I was welcomed with some beautiful mirror images along the widewater section of the canal.

In that area I saw the exit point for Section A, so I continued to the far end. Once there, I headed West towards the Potomac River where the trail veers south and follows the river to the Mather Gorge. This section is very rocky and the path can get confusing. Rather than the normal trail signs I’m used to, the path is marked with blue stripes painted on the rocks which, at certain angles, are difficult to see. The trail does a lot of ups and downs but generally stays flat as it follows the river downstream. On the rocky section, there’s a spot I had seen in pictures before where the trail goes steeple up following a crack on a rock.

The trail continues down until it reaches a point were the river splits and goes around Sherwin Island. At hat point you follow the river back towards the canal and end section A. Back on the Towpath, I retraced my steps towards the point I started from but continued down to Section B which a found a short distance after the bridge. This section is completely different than the previous one. The rocky section and the gorge is left behind and now you find yourself traversing low lands. It’s all forested without any prominent features so it goes fast. Towards the end, the rocks appear again, and you pass a section that seems to be the place for rock climbers. I saw several groups with ropes and gear climbing and descending the rock face. Further down, another split of the river to go around Herzog Island and Vaso Island forces you to head back to the Towpath. Once there, I turned right again to continue to section C of the trail. This section was similar to section B as it goes around the Carderock Recreation Area. Along the way there are some smaller trails I didn’t explore but suppose, looking at the map, that go to the day use area and parking lot. Towards the end of this section, I found a couple of peaceful ponds right before the trail made the last turn north towards the Towpath.

Once again at the Towpath, I marched my way back to the bridge and the car. By then lots of people, bicycles and families were on the trail. On the lower section, as I was going next to the canal I noticed a lot of frogs and turtles.

It was an interesting day and hike. I’m glad I had the opportunity to do it.

You can see the rest of the pictures here

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