Great Falls Park is along the Potomac River in McLean, Virginia. It is maintained by the National Park Service but is not an official National Park. In 1784, George Washington proposed one of the first canals in this country to bypass the falls looking to improve commerce and travel up to the Ohio river valley. Higher engineering resulted in improved lock technology and early use of black powder blasting in the construction. It took 17 years to build the canal, which didn't work very well. Most of the year the water is too low or too high. The area still floods today.
In 1906, they built the Great Falls Amusment Park which existed until 1952. The county maintained a carousel until 1972 which was destroyed by Hurricane Agnes.
Today, it's a great place for hiking, kayaking and rock climbing. Read more here: http://www.nps.gov/grfa/index.htm
After your hike, check out The Old Brogue Irish Pub on Georgetown Pike in the town of Great Falls for good beer, food and music. http://www.oldbrogue.com/
Thanks for playing.
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