The Paw Paw Tunnel

Flashlight, hiking boots, or both.

Start Mile: 154.8
End Mile: 156.4
Time: 3 hours
When: Afternoon

Directions: From Berkeley Springs, take WV 9 west to Paw Paw. Make sure to stop and enoy the view at the overlook along the way. Before you get to Paw Paw, 9 will oin 29. Rt 9 turns into rt 51 at Paw Paw. There is a boat lanch on the WV side of the river. There is a parking area for the C&O Canal Park on the right once you cross into Maryland.



We decided to go for a hike on Memorial Day afternoon. It had been over ten years since we had been to Paw Paw so we decided to go to the Paw Paw Tunnel.


There is a path down to the river at the parking area for canoes.


The superintendent's house still stands across the field from the parking area.


The Western Maryland Railroad crosses the Potomac once again where the path from the parking area meets the Towpath.


There is a camping area before the tunnel where Buck played in the water by this pump.


At this point, the canal is much higher than the river.


The south side of the tunnel is impressive.


The tunnel does not seem that long when you enter it but it is three fifths of a mile long. You will not be able to see without a flashlight.


The north side of the tunnel has a boardwalk alongside the canal.


Just what are you looking at?


Those are iron bars drilled into the shale to stabilize the excavated wall leading to the tunnel.



There are springs along the path before the Tunnel Hill Trail.


The Tunnel Hill Trail is two miles of hiking over the mountain. I was hurting pretty bad at this point so we headed back to the truck.