Paw-Paw Tunnel Trail MD

C&O Canal Historical Park, Oldtown MD. The biggest obstacle to the completion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal that was planned to run from Washington, D.C. to the Appalachian Mountains was five miles of crooked Potomac River water known as the Paw Paw Bends. It was decided to by-pass the curves with a tunnel, destined to be the largest man-made structure on the 184-mile canal.

Rosy-eyed planners began work on the tunnel in 1836 with a goal of 7-8 feet gained a day. Instead, the pace was more like 12 feet a week. Fourteen years later - with a cost overrun of 500% - the 26-foot high tunnel was opened. Encased in the six million bricks used to build the Paw Paw Tunnel at Mile 155 on the canal are tales of unpaid wages, immigrant worker abuse, labor unrest, and even murder.

The canal was a financial bust. It never reached its intended destination and saw its last commercial traffic in 1924. Supreme Court justice William O. Douglas was the principle cheerleader to save the canal for recreation purposes. In the 1950s he spearheaded an adventurous hike along its 185 miles, a stretch he called “one of the most fascinating and picturesque in the Nation.” In 1971 the park along its route became a reality.

One of the most unique hikes you can take with your dog starts in a paw-friendly national park service campground and travels a short distance on the well-maintained towpath of the canal until you reach the Paw Paw Tunnel. Hopefully you have remembered to bring a flashlight because the 3,118-foot tunnel (more than a half-mile long) will plunge your dog into complete darkness.

A return trip can revisit the inky towpath or travel across the top of the tunnel that takes it name from the preponderance of Pawpaw trees, also known as a prairie banana or Ozark banana, in the area. This small tree with large leaves bears the largest edible fruit native to North America. Tastes somewhere between a mango and a banana if you find a ripe one.

It will take about an hour to fully explore the Paw Paw Tunnel and there is access to the Potomac River for a doggie dip - out in the daylight.