Lock 62 at Mile 154.1 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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Lock 62 is located at Mile 154.1 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal towpath. It is not accessible by vehicle. The closest parking area is at the Paw Paw Tunnel Campground, and from there it is 2.3 miles downstream. See the Locks and Lockhouses web page for an interactive location map.

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Lock 62 is one of eight locks on a remote 15-mile stretch of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal between the Paw Paw Tunnel and the Fifteenmile Creek Aqueduct that has no vehicle access. Most of these locks are only seen by those hiking or biking part or the entirety of the C & O Canal.

The upper end of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was the last to be completed (it opened in 1850), and by this time it was evident that the railroad was going to put it out of business. Locks were typically made using cut stones that fit tightly together with mortar and had a very finished look. However, to save money, locks 58 through 71 were constructed from rough, uncut stones with large gaps between them, which was not going to hold water very well. To combat leakage, a wood lining was attached to the walls. None of the wood exists today on Lock 62, but you can still see the bolts in the stone walls of the lock that held it in place. (There are wood remnants on Lock 64 2/3, which is located a half mile upstream.)

Rough, uncut stones covered with wood made up the walls of Lock 62 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

In most cases the wood didn’t work that well, and starting in 1891, it was replace by concrete on many of the locks. Lock 62 had minor repairs done, as evidenced by the fact that most of the uncut stones are still visible. The only sections that were replaced with concrete are the pockets at each end of the lock that held the gates. In the photo below, the rough stones contrast nicely with the smooth concrete.

Upstream end of Lock 62 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

On the opposite side of the canal towpath is what remains of the Lock 62 lockhouse. A lockhouse is the residence of the man who is hired to operate the lock. In addition to a yearly salary, he and his family—almost all lockkeepers were family men—lived in the company provided lockhouse and had use of an acre of land for farming. Those who tended multiple locks got extra money per lock, up to two. The locks had to be very close together for the C&O Canal Company to assign multiple locks to one person.

Ruins of the Lock 62 lockhouse at Mile 154.1 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Ruins of the Lock 62 lockhouse at Mile 154.1 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

Also on the other side of the towpath is the Sorrel Ridge Hiker-Biker Campsite. These campsites are located at remote areas along the C&O Canal towpath and can only be reached by those hiking, biking, or horseback riding. These campsites are free but do not have any facilities other than a portable toilet. Stay is limited to one night, so it is assumed that you will be moving on in the morning.

Sorrel Ridge Campsite across from Lock 62 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

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