The Billy Goat Trail is a

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trail that follows a path between the

C&O Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the Grand Old Ditch, operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Patowmack Canal, ...

and the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

within the

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains o ...

near the Great Falls in

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

. The trail has three sections: Section A, the northernmost, is ; Section B is ; and Section C, the southernmost, is

Description

The Billy Goat Trail was laid out by the YMCA Triangle Club in 1919. Section A of the trail, by far the most popular, is on Bear Island and traverses rough and rocky terrain, including a steep climb along a cliff face along the Potomac River's

Mather Gorge Mather Gorge is a river gorge south and just downriver of Great Falls in the state of Maryland bordering Virginia. The Maryland land side of the gorge is Bear Island, part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, and the Virgin ...

. At another point in the trail, hikers are required to

scramble Scramble, Scrambled, or Scrambling may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Scramble'' (film), a 1970 British children's sports drama * ''Scrambled'' (film), a 2023 American comedy-drama * ''Scrambled!'', a British children' ...

over and around huge boulders. Sections B and C are less strenuous; section B requires only one brief scramble, and section C has none. Most of the trail is well marked with light blue trail blazes. Currently, Section B is closed due to trail damage. Section A is best accessed from the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center. Section B and Section C are best accessed from the

Carderock Recreation Area Carderock Recreation Area is a 100-acre park in Carderock, Maryland, part of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park. The area is well known as a destination for its outdoor activities of rock climbing, hiking and biking. It is boun ...

. All sections of the trail are free, although an entrance fee ($20 per car in 2021) is charged when entering and parking near the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center. No fee is charged when parking near Carderock. Dogs are not allowed on Section A, nor on Olmsted Island (location of the Great Falls overlook), but are permitted on a leash at all times everywhere else in the park. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to walk the Section A loop from the parking lot. The three sections of the trail do not directly connect with each other, but are connected to each other by the

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

along the

. The end point of section C is about southeast along the towpath from the starting point of section A.

Section A gallery

Pictures are approximately upstream to downstream on the trail. File:River Green Billy Goat.JPG, River View from trail File:View of the Potomac River from Bear Island.jpg, View of the Potomac River from Trail (via Bear Island) File:Billy Goat A Pothole Alley.jpg, View of Pothole Alley, with Mather Gorge File:Billy Goat A Pothole Alley another view.jpg, Pothole Alley, a little to the south of the first view File:Billy Goat Trail Cliff.jpg, Steep cliff face on Section A of the trail File:Billy Goat Trail Cliff (from above).jpg, View down the cliff face File:Billy Goat A Marker 2 emergency Exit.jpg, Marker 2, about halfway through the trail. To the left goes the Emergency Exit trail File:Billy Goat A Purplehorse Beach.jpg, View of Purplehorse "Beach" from above File:Billy Goat A Purplehorse Beach No Swimming.jpg, The Purplehorse "Beach". No swimming here: river is dangerous and people drown. File:Billy Goat A Beaver Pond.jpg, Beaver Pond along the trail File:Billy Goat A Log Bridge.jpg, Log bridge at Marker 3 File:Billy Goat Trail River.jpg, View from the trail File:Billy Goat A Crosses stream.jpg, Trail crosses stream near downstream end File:Billy Goat A Trail Marker to right.jpg, Trail goes to right here

Section B gallery

Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_Beginning.jpg, Downstream entrance of the B trail, just above Carderock Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_0.jpg, B trail in winter Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_1.jpg, B trail, near the downstream entrance Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_2.jpg, B trail Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_3.jpg, B trail, Potomac River on the right Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_4.jpg, B trail, Potomac River to the right, through the trees Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_5.jpg, B trail crossing a small gully with log bridge Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_8.jpg, The B trail crosses a small stream Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_6.jpg, View of Potomac river from B trail Image:Billy_Goat_B_Trail_7.jpg, Upstream entrance of the B trail, with the C&O Canal towpath in the background

Section C gallery

Billy_Goat_C_Trail_2.jpg, C section, near upstream end at canal Billy_Goat_C_Trail_near_beginning_at_Parking_Lot.jpg, One of the approaches to the C trail, from the western parking lot Billy_Goat_C_Trail_0.jpg, Part of the C trail in Carderock Billy_Goat_C_Trail_1.jpg, Cliffs of Billy Goat C trail, a favorite spot of rock climbers Billy_Goat_C_Trail_(midway).jpg, Billy Goat C trail, near the midpoint Billy_Goat_C_Trail_3.jpg, View of Potomac River from C trail Billy_Goat_C_Trail_4.jpg, C trail uses a small bridge to cross Billy_Goat_C_Trail_5.jpg, Billy Goat C Trail Billy_Goat_C_Trail_8.jpg, Bridge over stream. This is near the southernmost parking lot. Billy_Goat_C_Trail_7.jpg, Trail crosses a small stream Billy_Goat_C_Washout.jpg, A washout in the trail. Detour goes to the left. Billy_Goat_C_in_Summer.jpg, Another look during the summer Billy_Goat_C_Trail_6.jpg, Tricky spot in the C trail. Trail takes the left fork, but because it isn't marked, people often go straight and right off the trail. This is near the downstream end of the trail. Billy_Goat_C_Tricky_Spot_in_Summer.jpg, Another view of tricky spot. In summer the vegetation can get pretty high. Billy_Goat_C_trail_entrance_downstream.jpg, Downstream entrance, near pivot bridge remains on canal

References

External links

Great Falls Trail Descriptions (PDF)
from the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

website * Great Falls Trail Map (PDF)
Page 1
an
Page 2
from the

website
The Washington Post. City Guide: Billy Goat Trail
{{authority control Protected areas of Montgomery County, Maryland Hiking trails in Maryland National Park Service areas in Maryland Protected areas established in 1919 1919 establishments in Maryland Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park