Cumberland Terminus (C&O Canal)

Submitted by JohnC on Tue, 08/13/2019 - 22:00

Starting from Interstate 68 (mile 0), take exit 43b (Industrial Boulevard; Route 51) and head South of the Interstate for a short distance.  Stay to the right and turn right following the brown sign for Canal Parkway.  Turn right just before the Power Station at 0.6 miles.  Follow the dirt road almost to the canal and park on the grass (not on the canal).  Scope the river out from here.  It may be useful to walk downriver a little bit (up to or perhaps even past the 184 mile marker).  Rare birds reported from the Cumberland Terminus include Yellow Rail, Least Tern, American Avocet, Harlequin Duck, and the counties only Lesser Black-backed and Great Black-backed Gulls.  The Potomac River here regularly attracts waterfowl.  Such desirable species as Long-tailed Duck, Gadwall, all three Mergansers, Canvasback, Pintail, and Goldeneye have been seen here.  When the water level is low and there are small islands of exposed substrate, there can be shorebirds.  I've seen Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Baird's, and White-rumped Sandpipers among the more common species.  The only Black-crowned Night-herons I've ever seen in the county were along the bank of the river here.  The river is a corridor for migration and is a good spot for finding swallows and migrating nighthawks (though nighthawks are easy to find in Cumberland and Frostburg during the summer).
 

County

Cumberland Terminus Map