Great Falls Park

Great Falls Park sits fifteen miles upstream from Washington, D.C. on the Virginia bank of the Potomac River, where the river drops 76 feet through a series of cascades over a distance of roughly a mile. The Patowmack Canal, begun in 1785 under George Washington's direction to bypass the falls for river commerce, runs along the Virginia shore and represents one of the earliest major American engineering projects. The overlooks above the main falls provide dramatic views of the white water churning through Mather Gorge's schist walls.