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| Bottom of lock 22 |
Over the weekend I went to Pennyfield Lock on the C & 0 Canal. This is a popular place to access the canal, there were about 30 cars in the lot when I was there. At the lock there is a small boat ramp that you can use to access the Potomac River. (You actually go underneath the canal!) There is also a field and the lock house, and, of course, lock 22.
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| Top of lock 22 |
Currently the canal doesn't have water in it here, but it is still a nice place. The trees are just beginning to turn green and there are lots of low-growing flowers along the towpath. Right below the lock I saw some small fish, big tadpoles, and several snakes. Above the lock the frogs were really loud. I could see them on the far side of the canal. There were people jogging and biking a along the towpath.
Just north of the lock is the Dierssen Wildlife Management Area. It is a wetlands area between the canal and the river that has several shallow ponds. I saw lots of turtles sitting on logs there. It is supposed to be a good place to go birdwatching. I saw a few ducks and heard a woodpecker in that area but I didn't look too hard.
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| Dierssen WMA |
There is some neat history here. President Grover Cleveland used to come up here and fish while he was president. He would stay in the Pennyfield House, a white frame house that was on this site until 2009 when it was demolished. I was here in 2004 and took a few pictures of it, it was in very bad shape then.
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| Pennyfield house in 2004. It has since been demolished. |
If you want, you can rent lockhouse 22 and spend the night right on the canal! There is no electricity or running water, the nearest faucet is at swains lock, over a mile down the canal. But there are port-a-potties and you can have a campfire, it sounds like it could be fun.
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| Lockhouse 22 |
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