National Park Service outlines Great Falls (C&O Canal) concept plan, cites safety and crowding concerns
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Summary
National Park Service presented a programmatic concept plan for the Great Falls area of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park focused on addressing heavy visitation, crowding on the Billy Goat Trail, access and parking issues, and public safety measures; staff cited search‑and‑rescue and fatality statistics.
The National Park Service presented a development concept plan on Feb. 5 for the Great Falls area of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (Maryland side) that aims to manage heavy visitation, improve safety along the Billy Goat Trail and river access, and identify suitable uses for underused historic structures.
Andrew Landsman and planner Christine Bruins outlined that Great Falls is one of the park’s most visited areas and noted changing patterns of use, including more multi‑day hikers, organized large groups and more concentrated visitor flows on fragile trails. Bruins described programmatic recommendations ranging from targeted water filling stations and formalized river put‑ins/take‑outs to improved parking access, concessions and adaptive reuse of historic buildings.
Safety data and operational drivers: Bruins said safety was a principal factor in shaping recommendations. "In terms of search and rescue, there's over 150 a year. There's 50–75 medical calls a year and there's been over 50 fatalities since 2000," she said, summarizing emergency response statistics and explaining that those incidents include slip‑and‑fall injuries, medical emergencies and swimmers encountering dangerous river currents.
Recommended approaches: The plan is programmatic (not an environmental assessment) and focuses on physical and operational strategies: formalize popular yet informal access points, close some social trails to protect resources, provide consistent water and supplies at key locations, improve parking and ingress/egress with Montgomery County coordination, and enhance access for search and rescue and emergency responders. NPS said it will continue coordination with Montgomery County Fire and traffic agencies and seek funding for larger design and construction projects.
Next steps: NPS said it will return with more detailed designs for implementation and that findings from public comment periods have been incorporated into the programmatic recommendations. The commission thanked staff and noted the importance of protecting resources while improving visitor safety and access.