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Proposed fee for C&O action alert!

"Bicyclists using the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, one of the most popular bike touring trails in the nation, are facing new user fees along the entire length of the 184.5-mile trail from Washington DC to Cumberland, Maryland. Also, a $20 per night fee would be charged for the currently free hiker-biker campsites that are located along the trail. The National Park Service announced the proposals a week ago Monday (Jan. 5) and is seeking public feedback..." http://www.bikingbis.com/2015/01/12/national-park-service-proposes-entrancecamping-fees-for-co-canal-towpath/ http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=177&projectID=56153&documentID=63244
headloss
2015-01-13 18:07:16
How will they enforce an access fee with about 1 million different entry points on the c and o?
edronline
2015-01-13 21:34:16
At other trails like the LHHT a park ranger comes by to collect the camping fee in the evening. The idea of a small fee to camp doesn't bother me. It would be a minor expense and maybe the camp sites would see some benefit. Who knows, maybe the trail would be smoother.
jonawebb
2015-01-13 21:41:44
Doubtful the trail will become smoother. There is a contingent who believes that it should retain it's mule-track character. It was originally more opf a hiking trail than a biking trail and there are some people who would like to keep it that way. I can't say I totally disagree with them, although I would enjoy a smoother trail.
mick
2015-01-13 22:53:50
@Mick: "There is a contingent who believes that it should retain it’s mule-track character. " I know, but I can dream. I have seen the trail graded now and then, so it's possible. I just wonder what the mules back then thought when they encountered a smooth trail. Did they skitter and get shy? Stand there with their hooves bunched up as if they were being pushed to walk across ice?
jonawebb
2015-01-15 12:06:17
There is teh Wesstern Maryland Rail Trail. It's a paved path that parallels the C&O for maybe 15 or 20 miles near Hancock. There are plans to expand it - I think it might eventually take most of the bike traffic from the C&O. There are plenty of cool things you see in muck that was the canal - geese, redwinged blackbirds, turtles, and others. But, y'know, slogging through century-old mule shit next to 300 miles of mosquito breeding heaven loses it's thrill pretty quickly.
mick
2015-01-15 12:23:03
You can also cross the Potomac at White's Ferry and experience suburban asphalt goodness the rest of the way to DC. But you miss Great Falls of the Potomac.
jonawebb
2015-01-15 13:03:45
You can also cross the Potomac at White’s Ferry and experience suburban asphalt goodness the rest of the way to DC. But you miss Great Falls of the Potomac. I did that on the way to DC. On the way back, I went to Great Falls then deserted the C&O in favor of a bunch of roads going through Poolesville and other places. Intwo round trips, in both directions, I found the suburban ashalty goodness suited my tastes at various points. I would not travel the C&O without Maryland State Gazetteer maps to guide my escape from mule residue should the need arise.
mick
2015-01-15 14:03:26
I'm sure this wouldn't encourage anyone to do stealth camping...
benzo
2015-01-15 16:36:12
I'd be in favor of the fee for camping if it got some of the skeezy people I saw at the camp sites moving along. They didn't truly look like hikers or bikers. I got a bit creeped out just stopping for water during the day.
edronline
2015-01-15 20:54:28