A day paddle for me is one of two trips on the Potomac River, usually with the local canoe/kayak club -- Canoe Cruisers Association.
The Potomac runs right through DC and some populous Maryland/Virginia suburbs. There's a large whitewater paddling community here, so these spots get a lot of use. So there is not as much solitude as most here aim for. On the other hand, I consider myself fortunate to have a resource like the Potomac, which almost always is runnable (unless flooded), effectively in my backyard. And on these sections of the Potomac there's almost no visible development. I regularly see heron, osprey, hawks, eagles, and tons of turtles -- so there's a quasi-wilderness feel to it.
My usually Sunday paddle is a loop known locally as the George Washington (GW) Canal / C&O (Cheapeake & Ohio) Canal loop. You can read about George Washington's Canal aka the Patowmack Canal, which is the older of the canals and runs on the Virginia side here:
www.canaltrust.org
The C&O Canal, which runs on the Maryland side can be read about here.
www.canaltrust.org
The loop starts at the parking lot at Violette's Lock (aka Lock 23) on the old C&O Canal on the Maryland side of the Potomac. From there it is a short portage along the C&O Canal tow path to the put in just above Seneca Falls. From there, ferry across the river and enter the remains of the GW Canal on the Virginia side. This section of the GW Canal is entirely natural (being a smart guy, Washington only dug where he needed to dig) and is is a Class I-II run with a couple of small ledge drops and friendly surfing waves. About 1.5 miles down, exit the GW canal and ferry back across the Potomac to the Maryland side, where you make a short carry over the C&O Canal tow path and put back into the (re-watered) C&O canal and paddle back up to the parking lot Viollettes' Lock. Easy peasy.
Here's an overview of the GW Canal / C&O Canal loop route which I tracked on my iPhone using Gaia GPS.
And here's my MR Explorer that Mike McCreas helped me outfit (YAER) at the put in. The start of Seneca Falls is visible. The Trump Golf Course is in the upper right. The entrance of the GW Canal is just below the golf course (and for a while the Secret Service wouldn't let paddlers anywhere near it until the paddlers sued and won the right to continue using the river).
Here's a typical shot inside the GW Canal of one of the friendly surfing waves. (Sorry about all the kayakers, Glenn.)
And here I am heading back on the C&O canal after obliging some club member who wanted a picture of me in front of the irises. (At least she didn't ask me to tiptoe through the tulips). The tow path runs just on top of the bank in front of the tree line so there are usually walkers, joggers and cyclists wizzing by. Always a lot of turtles seen here. Also a couple of beaver lodges are in this canal (shockingly, beaver are now common throughout Maryland -- although I've never seen a beaver in the canal as opposed to their lodges).
The other day trip which I do is actually a Wednesday evening paddle on another section of the Potomac River that requires a shuttle. It is known locally as Angler's Inn to Lock 10. Three Class II rapids, including the easy one seen here. (Again, apologies for showing kayakers; usually there are other canoeists on these trips but sometimes I'm the only open boater.).
Both these trips are about a 25-30 minute drive from my home and both trips last 3.5-4 hours door-to-door.
Al
