Billy Goat Trail

Billy Goat Trail
Students scrambling over boulders on Section A of the trail. Mather Gorge is on the left.
Length	4.7 mi (7.6 km)
Location	Montgomery County, Maryland, United States
Trailheads	C&O Canal Bear Island
Use	Hiking Trail Running
Trail difficulty	Strenuous (Section A) Moderate (Section B) Easy (Section C)
Season	All year
Sights	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park

The Billy Goat Trail (also written as Billygoat Trail) is a 4.7-mile (7.6 km) hiking trail that follows a path between the C&O Canal and the Potomac River within the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park near Great Falls in Montgomery County, Maryland. The trail has three sections: Section A, the northernmost, is 1.7 miles (2.7 km); Section B is 1.4 miles (2.3 km); and Section C, the southernmost, is 1.6 miles (2.6 km)

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

Section A is best accessed from the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center area or the parking area near Old Anglers Inn. Section B is best accessed from Old Anglers Inn, and Section C is best accessed from Carderock, Maryland. All sections of the trail are free, although an entrance fee ($5 per car - 2012) is charged when entering and parking near the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center. No fee is charged when parking near Old Anglers Inn or Carderock. Dogs are not allowed on Section A, but are allowed on a leash everywhere else in the park. It takes 2 1/2 hours to do the Section A loop from the parking lot.

The three sections of the trail do not connect directly with each other, but are connected to each other by the towpath along the C&O Canal. The end point of section C is about 2.75 miles (4.4 km) southeast along the towpath from the starting point of section A.

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  Students scaling a steep cliff face on Section A of the trail.

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  Students overlooking the Potomac River. The opposite cliff face is Virginia.

References

• Great Falls Trail Descriptions (PDF) from the National Park Service website
• Great Falls Trail Map (PDF) from the National Park Service website
• The Washington Post. City Guide: Billy Goat Trail