National Park Service Chesapeake and Ohio Canal U.S. Department of the Interior

National Historical Park

C&O Canal

 Junior Ranger

 Activity Book
Welcome!

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal 

Junior Ranger Program

Let’s begin our Junior Ranger exploration of the C&O Canal! Before roads were built, rivers and creeks 

were used for transportation. George Washington had a vision to use the Potomac River as a navigable 

waterway for transportation of cargo. Waterfalls, rapids, and a constantly changing current stood in his 

way. A canal with a consistent water level could take travelers from Washington DC to the Ohio River. 

The canal was built from 1828-1850. The canal extended 184.5 miles from Georgetown, MD to Cumberland, 

MD. The canal and canal towns were prosperous for 74 years during the canal’s operation from 1850-1924. 

How to Become a Junior Ranger

Today you will follow the life of a typical canal kid. Your job is to walk the mules on the towpath as your 

captain steers the boat. Your 5-to-7- day trip begins in Cumberland and ends in Georgetown. Explore the 

towpath by walking or biking as you complete the following activities to becoming a Junior Ranger. Junior 

Ranger activities can be done anywhere along the canal. Return your completed book to any park visitor 

center to become a Junior Ranger.

Number of activities to receive your badge:

Ages 6 and under................................ 3 Activities

Ages 7-9.............................................. 5 Activities

Ages 10 and up.................................... 7 Activities

Checklist to document your progress:

1. Getting to Know Your Route 2. Cozy in Your Quarters 3. Canal Song

4. Towpath Partner 5. Locking Through 6. Draw an Aqueduct

7. Wildlife Bingo 8. The Arrowhead 9. Interview an Employee

10. Safety and Trash Seek 11. Participate in a Ranger-led program. Have the Ranger 

 initial here. _________________

Parents are encouraged to get involved and help 

the kids on their Junior Ranger exploration!
Cumberland

Georgetown

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 80

120

100

110

130

140

150

 170

90

160

180

Let’s begin! 

You are headed to Georgetown with a few stops along the way. First 

figure out how many miles a day you will be traveling. 

1) In order to travel 184.5 miles in 7 days, how many miles a day

 do you have to walk? (184.5 ÷ 7 =)________

2) Typically you will walk 3 miles an hour. How many hours a day

 will you walk ? (total miles per day ÷ 3 miles an hour =) ________ 

3) Now that you’ve figured out how many miles a day you will walk, 

 plan your stops along the canal. The numbers on the map are mile 

 markers. Starting at Cumberland head downstream and put a circle 

 at the places you will stay overnight. You should have 6 stops.

2

Day 1: Your journey starts in Cumberland, MD. Here your boat is 

loaded with coal for the trip to Georgetown. Your job is to drive 

the mules the 184.5 miles down the canal. The captain will make 

sure you have plenty of food and hay for the mules. A typical trip to

Georgetown takes five to seven days. Don’t forget your straw hat and 

drink plenty of water.

Use a park map to locate these 

places. Write them down on your 

map: Williamsport, Brunswick, 

Hancock, Old Town, Taylors 

Landing, Rileys Lock.

Are they near where you will 

stay? ___________________

Place a star at your current 

location.

Getting to Know Your Route

 Cumberland Williamsport Georgetown
Cozy in Your Quarters

Day 2: Today you will pass through the Paw Paw Tunnel. 

The tunnel cuts through the mountain, shortening the canal by six miles. 

The tunnel is only wide enough for one boat to fit through at a time. 

Make sure your lantern is lit and placed at the front of the boat 

before entering the tunnel.

Your boat is your home on the canal. 

It is 90 feet long and 14 1⁄2 feet wide. That’s 3 school buses long!

Label the boat below to get familiar with your new home. 

• Mule Shed- Housed the mules when they were off duty or sleeping.

• Family Cabin- Where the family cooked, cleaned, and slept.

• Cargo Hold- Underneath the boat housing the goods or cargo.

• Hay House- Food for mules were kept here. Sometimes hired workers would sleep in the hay house.

At Cumberland you can tour a boat replica. At Georgetown and Great Falls you can go on a boat pulled 

by a mule. If you have a chance to participate in one of these, answer the following questions:

How long did it take you to lock through? ______________________________

How were small children kept from falling off canal boats? 

_________________________________________________________________

Could you and your family have lived on a canal boat? Explain why or why not. 

_________________________________________________________________

3 Cumberland Williamsport Georgetown
Towpath Partner

Canal boats had different engines than boats today. Connect the dots to see what your engine looks like.

 

4

It takes 10 minutes to go through a lock. How long will you be at Four Locks?_________________

Canal Song

Day 3: This morning you arrive at the community of Four Locks, named for the four locks situated next to 

each other. A lock moves your boat either up or down to account for elevation change along the canal. It 

will take a while for your boat to move through all the locks giving you a chance to rest. While you wait for 

your boat to lock through, you may want to sing a song for fun. To pass time mule drivers would sing songs 

as they traveled on the canal.

Below write your own song to sing along the towpath. Walk along the canal to find things to sing about.

A mules parents are a male ____________ 

and

a female ____________.

At Great Falls and Georgetown you can 

meet a mule. If you have a chance to visit a 

mule, write down two things you learned. 

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

 Cumberland Williamsport Georgetown

D
 Walk or bike to the nearest lock.

Which lock did you see on the canal?_______ 

Locking Through

Day 4: You are traveling through Williamsport today. You pass 

by the Cushwa Basin on your way to Lock 44. The Cushwa 

Basin was an essential stop along the canal. Much of the coal 

from Cumberland was unloaded here to two 

Williamsport coal dealers. 

Open gates 

and exit 

lock. 

Enter the 

lock by 

opening 

front gates. 

Close front 

gates. Secure 

boat in lock. 

5

Open wickets. 

Water level is 

lowered. 

 Cumberland Williamsport Georgetown

As you approach Lock 44 the lock keeper, Harvey Brant, needs your help 

to lock the boat through. Harvey will operate the right gate and you will 

operate the left gate.

Number the pictures in the correct order to get your boat through the lock.
Draw an aqueduct across the river bed so you can continue down the towpath. You are almost at 

Georgetown!

Draw an Aqueduct

Day 5: Today you will cross the Monocacy Aqueduct. 

Aqueducts are arched bridges that carry the canal across 

rivers and creeks. These are bridges for boats. Aqueducts 

have between one and seven arches which support 

the bridge.

Walk or bike to the nearest aqueduct. What is its name? ___________________

What creek or river did it cross? ________________________

What is the strongest part of an aqueduct and why? _____________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

 Cumberland Williamsport Georgetown 6
Wildlife Bingo. 

Day 6: Today you will arrive in Georgetown. Upon arriving in Georgetown the boat is unloaded and you will 

start your trip back. The canal at Georgetown is a sliver of preserved land providing homes to many 

different plants and animals. It is a good place to look for animals and birds. Wildlife can be spotted all 

along the canal. 

Take a walk on the canal and look for wildlife. When you see something, mark it off on the bingo card. See 

if you can get four in a row. 

7

What sounds do you hear today that are similar? _____________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

What sounds do you hear today that they would not have heard? _______________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Wild Strawberry

Fish

Snake

Blue Jay

Sycamore Tree

Great Blue Heron Deer

Squirrel

Wildflowers

Poison Ivy Turkey Vulture

Honeysuckle

Turtle

Cardinal

Butterfly Bald Eagle

 Cumberland Williamsport Georgetown

Sit down and listen to the 

sounds around you. Write 

down three things you hear. 

________________________

________________________

________________________

What sounds do you think 

canal children would have 

heard when the canal was in 

operation? _______________

________________________

________________________

________________________

________________________
Interview a National Park Service Employee

Now that you are becoming a Junior Ranger, you may want to find 

out what Park staff do. There are many different jobs in National 

Parks. Find a Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park 

employee or volunteer and ask for an interview. 

You get to fill out the last question about yourself.

Employee’s Name_____________________________________________

Employee’s Job Title___________________________________________

How long have you worked for the National Park Service?_________________________________________

What do you like best about your job?_________________________________________________________

What is your favorite place on the towpath?____________________________________________________

Here is a question about you, our newest Junior Ranger: 

Why do you want to become a Junior Ranger?__________________________________________________

Represents all animals

Represents history

Represents land formations

Represents all waters

Represents all plants

8

The Arrowhead

The Arrowhead is the emblem of the National Park Service. It is found at park visitor

centers and entrance stations. Rangers also wear it on their uniforms. The Arrowhead is 

made up of symbols. These symbols represent each of the things that the Park Service 

protects. 

Look at the design of the emblem and draw lines to the pictures that represent various 

aspects of the Arrowhead

	 	 	 	 National Park Service Motto:

“The National Park Service cares for the special places

 saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.”
Do you know how long it takes 

your trash to decompose?

Plastic bag ..................10-20 years

Plastic water bottle....30-40 years 

Aluminum can.............90-100 years

Styrofoam................over 100 years 

9

Safety and Trash Seek

The C&O Canal today is used for recreational purposes as well as providing a window to the past. Walk 

along the canal and find people hiking, biking, walking dogs, and camping. See if you can spot safe and 

unsafe activities. Take a trash bag with you and pick up any trash you find. It is your responsibility on the 

towpath to be safe and leave no trace. The C&O Canal is a trash free park. Remember to leave with 

everything you bring in. 

Circle all unsafe activities and trash in the picture.

List 3 other ways to keep the park clean: _________________, _________________, __________________

List 3 ways to practice safety in the park _________________, _________________, __________________

Trash Free Park! Leave No Trace!

Take only pictures

 Leave only footprints

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Junior Ranger Certificate

This is to certify that _________________________________________________ is a 

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Junior Ranger and will help the 

National Park Service protect our nation’s natural and cultural heritage.

Junior Ranger Pledge

As a Junior Ranger, I promise to 

protect the plants, animals and 

historic objects in our National Parks. 

I will continue to explore, protect, 

and learn about our National Parks 

and historic places and share what I 

have learned with others. 

Park Ranger Signature Junior Ranger Signature

 Date
If you are unable to take your completed activity book to a visitor center you can 

mail it to:

 C&O Canal National Historical Park

 1850 Dual Highway, Suite 100

 Hagerstown, MD 21740

 

After receiving your book, it will be returned to you along with your Junior Ranger 

badge.

Continue your Junior Ranger exploration online. There are over 50 activities for you 

to complete while exploring National Parks from your living room. 

Visit: www.nps.gov/webrangers

 

Special Thanks to: 

Sara Davis, Student Conservation Association Intern

Deborah Britt, Hagerstown Community College Intern

C&O Canal NHP Interpretation Staff

 

Explore, Learn, and Protect. This booklet was printed on recycled paper.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!