I hiked the River Trail and the Potowmack Canal Trail as part of a 6-mile loop hike around Great Falls Park. See the Hiking Trails web page for details. These trails make up the third segment of the hike. Links to the previous and next segments are located at the bottom of this trail review.
Length: 1.6 miles, one-way
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: mainly easy with a strenuous stretch at the very end
My hike along the River Trail picks up where the previous segment—a hike along the Potowmack Canal Trail—ends near the third overlook of Great Falls. If you stopped at the overlook, there is a dirt path to the right of the observation platform. I’m not sure if this has a name, but take it and you will eventually end up on the River Trail. If you pass the overlook and stay on the Potowmack Canal Trail, take a left at the fork that you will come to in about a tenth of a mile. There is a picnic area at the intersection. The River Trail begins as a wide dirt road, but once you get past the picnic area and enter into the forest it becomes more like a traditional hiking trail.

River Trail at the intersection with the Potowmack Canal Trail near the picnic area, Great Falls Park
The beginning of the River Trail does not run right along the ridge of Mather Gorge as it does farther south, but there are a few side trails that take you out to the rocks so that you can get a good view of the Potomac River. The rocks can be dangerous, and not only because you can fall off the cliff. Scurrying about them is a good way to twist or break an ankle, so don’t attempt such a maneuver in flip flops or dress sandals, which unfortunately more hikers are wearing than you might think. The trail itself is strewn with boulders, though most are far enough apart that you can walk between them, maybe having to step over some of the smaller ones.
At the 2.2-mile mark on the overall loop hike is the Mather Plaque. The gorge is named after Stephen Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, a job he held from 1917 through 1929.
A tenth of a mile farther is a three way intersection with one option being a short side trail that leads down to the river through AA Gorge. This trail is extremely rough and quite steep, but there were at least a dozen hikers making the journey nevertheless. I also made the detour.
As it turns out, AA Gorge is one of two entry points onto the Potomac River below the Great Falls (and within the park) for kayakers, canoeists, and whitewater rafters. Two kayakers were exiting the river and attempting to carry their boats across the rocks and up and out of the gorge. I had trouble enough getting to the river with nothing but my own body, so I can’t imagine trying to carry a kayak with me. However, this father and son team did it, and others like them do it every day.
The other options at the intersection are to continue on the River Trail or take a connector trail back to the Potowmack Canal Trail, a route that essentially makes a U-turn back north. I chose this path because I wanted to see Lock 1 on the canal, and staying on the River Trail bypasses this historic feature. I’m sure that I missed some spectacular views, but they would just be more of the same, whereas there is only one restored lock remaining on the canal. Take a right at the intersection to see it. If you don’t care about history, you can continue on the River Trail. My route to Lock 1 eventually reconnects with the River Trail, so you won’t miss all the views along the Potomac if you opt to see the lock.
Once making the turn, just fifty yards up is an unmarked intersection with a trail that branches off to the left and crosses a bridge. I didn’t take this because I wasn’t sure what it was at the time, but I now know that it is a shortcut over to the Potowmack Canal Trail and Lock 1. I suggest staying straight because there are a few historical structures up ahead that you will miss if you take the shortcut.
You will eventually come to a set of stairs that lead up to the Potowmack Canal Trail. Take a left to start hiking back south towards Lock 1.
You will see a ruin from the canal era right away, but this is not Lock 1. A brochure about the canal mentions the ruins of Meyer’s Tavern, a spring house, a waste weir, and the original superintendent’s house, but there are no photos, and the cartoonish map just shows the general area. Furthermore, there are no signs next to the ruin to identify it. The brochure map shows Meyer’s Tavern to be the first ruin you come to, and this would be my guess, but I can’t say with certainty that this is the tavern foundation.
A couple of minutes farther down is another section of stone ruins. Again, there is no signage to point out what this was used for. My guess is that it is the spring house since the foundation is slightly below ground and there is a puddle of water in it.
More unidentified ruins, possibly a spring house, along the Potowmack Canal Trail in Great Falls Park
The third area of ruins does have an identification sign. This is the lower guard gate that held back the water of a holding basin (aka retention pond) where boats waited their turn to enter Lock 1. The gate would be opened to let water—not to mention boats—into the locks downstream.
Within eyesight of the lower guard gate is Lock 1, the fourth set of ruins on the Potowmack Canal Trail. Lock 1 is the only restored lock in the park, though it is not functional and has none of its original wooden gates. A portion of one of the gates is on display at the Great Falls Visitor Center museum.
Lock 2 can also be found along trail. It is the only other remaining lock of the five that were built, but it has not been restored. In fact, it has been filled in to keep the walls from crumbling.
Just a minute or so past Lock 2, approximately 3 miles into the overall hike, the Potowmack Canal Trail ends and the journey continues once again on the River Trail. This is also the end of the canal itself. It is here that the last three locks were created by blasting through rock to cut a deep chasm down to the river. Though nothing remains of the locks today, the cut is still visible, and a short side trail allows you to walk down into it (follow the directional sign marked “Canal Cut”). These three locks came one right after the other and even shared the common gates between them.
A man was climbing the chasm wall when I visited. Rock climbing is legal in the park, though not in the canal cut as this guy was doing. I’m not sure how he got away with it since this is a fairly high traffic area.
This section of the River Trail follows along the very rim of Mather Gorge. It is often tough to see a distinct trail since the area is so rocky and there is no worn path into the ground, but it doesn’t really matter since you can just follow the gorge. If you are concerned about getting lost, look for the green blazes. These are paint splotches on trees or large boulders that you follow like Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs to remain on the correct path.
The River Trail is nearly flat, but because of all the rocks it’s hard to make good time. You have to constantly look down at your feet to make sure you don’t twist an ankle. Hiking poles are highly recommended if you have them.
The River Trail is without a doubt the best trail at Great Falls Park, and no matter which section you hike, you continue to get excellent views of the gorge. The only downside is the large number of people that you’ll find hiking it. Don’t expect any solitude on a nice, sunny day.
At the 3.4-mile mark on the overall loop hike is a steep paved road down to Sandy Landing, a launch and landing point for rescue boats. I’m not sure if civilian boaters can use the ramp, but it is the farthest launch point from any parking lot, so I can’t image anyone wanting to use it unless they were on the river and in trouble. Hikers are free to walk down the road for an opportunity to see the Potomac from ground level, though do not attempt to swim or even wade into the river. It is illegal and very dangerous due to strong underwater currents veiled by the often calm surface.
When I was walking down to Sandy Landing I could hear so many voices that I thought perhaps a party was going on. However, when I got to the bottom there were only a few people. The noise was coming from across the river from what looked to be a line for Super Bowl tickets. These are hikers on the Billy Goat A Trail at Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Maryland. Due to the audio dynamics of the gorge, you can hear actual conversations from people on the other side of the river. The Billy Goat A Trail is so popular that there is often a waiting line to ascend and descend certain sections. There is a series of three Billy Goat Trails, and these are the second hardest hiking trails of all east coast National Parks, with the toughest being those at Acadia National Park. In contrast, the toughest part of the River Trail at Great Falls Park is the paved road down to Sandy Landing.
Sandy Landing marks the intersection of the River Trail and a short connector that takes you over to the Matildaville Trail. To continue on the River Trail, once you cross the road at Sandy Landing, look to your one o’clock position for a trail that goes back into the forest. This is the last stretch of the River Trail.
A short distance later is another intersection, this one marked with a directional sign. Stay to the left and follow Mather Gorge. Just a few minutes from the intersection is an old chimney from a building that once stood in the town of Matildaville, a town that grew up around the Potowmack Canal…and faded just as fast once the canal closed in 1830. In the photo below, notice the historic beer bottle that was left in the chimney by a former Matildaville resident. This cannot be a modern beer bottle since alcohol is not allowed at Great Falls Park today, and surely everyone follows the rules.
There is an extremely rocky section just past the old chimney—it looks like a landslide. Moments later you will come to another boulder field and a side trail that leads down to the river. There were plenty of people billy-goating-it down to the water when I arrived, but I’d seen enough of the Potomac by now and stuck to the main trail.
Up to this point, the River Trail, though rocky in spots, has been fairly flat. However, at 3.8 miles into the hike it’s time to billy-goat-it. The trail heads straight uphill, and you are either climbing over rocks or scaling stairs that the National Park Service has installed for your convenience. This is the first time I broke a sweat on the entire hike. (If you are thinking about hiking the Billy Goat A Trail on the other side of the Potomac, just imagine this for five miles).
This strenuous section only lasts a quarter mile before the River Trail comes to an end at the Ridge Trail, which is the next segment of my loop hike around Great Falls.
Next Trail Segment: Ridge Trail | Previous Trail Segment: Potowmack Canal Trail
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on January 16, 2025