Billy Goat Trail Section A Hiking Guide
Section A of the Billy Goat Trail is the hardest and most popular of the three Billy Goat sections along the Potomac at Great Falls. For 1.75 miles it climbs over angled rock, boulders and short walls above Mather Gorge, then drops you back on the C&O Canal towpath for an easy walk to the car. The scrambling, not the distance, sets the pace.
Permit: Great Falls Tavern is the only fee area in C&O Canal National Historical Park: $20 per private vehicle, $15 per motorcycle, or $10 per person 16 and older on foot or bike, all cashless. The $35 annual pass and America the Beautiful passes also work, and the pass covers Great Falls Park in Virginia.
Route and Numbers
The Park Service lists Section A at 1.75 miles one way and says it makes a 3.7-mile loop when you return on the towpath. Most visitors need two to three hours for the rock section alone. The park gives no climbing figure; hiking sites estimate the loop's gain at somewhere between about 180 and 280 feet, which undersells the effort because so much of it is hands-and-feet movement over short drops. Follow the blue blazes and do not cut around the rocks.
Go Downstream, One Way
The park asks hikers to walk Section A in one direction only, starting at the upstream end below Great Falls near the Stop Gate and finishing near Anglers, where the trail rejoins the towpath about 0.7 miles north of the Anglers access. One-way travel keeps people from jamming up at the Traverse, the steep rock face that stops many first-timers. A two-way exit trail at the halfway point lets you do only the upper or lower half.
Parking and the Entrance Fee
The closest parking is the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center lot, inside the park's only fee area: $20 per car, paid by card at the entrance station, or $10 per person if you walk or cycle in. The towpath back to the tavern is flat. The park has been repairing flood damage to the Great Falls entrance road through 2026, so expect occasional single-lane traffic with flaggers on the way in.
High Water and Rescues
Section A closes when the Potomac rises. Under normal conditions the park shuts it when the Little Falls gauge reaches 5 feet and reopens it at 4.8 feet, and it can close at lower readings, so check the C&O Canal conditions page or call the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center (301-739-4200) before driving out. The Park Service counts more than 400 emergency rescues a year on the Billy Goat Trail, and cell service can drop out. Swimming or wading here can bring a fine of $200 or more, and the currents are deadly.
No Dogs on Section A
Pets are banned on Section A and on the boardwalk to the Great Falls Overlook, including dogs carried in a pack or carrier. Sections B and C allow leashed dogs, as does the towpath, on a leash of six feet or less. The canal is a trash-free park, so plan to carry out everything, including dog waste.
Hiking tips for Billy Goat Trail Section A
- Check the C&O Canal conditions page the morning you go; Section A shuts when the river is high.
- Wear broken-in shoes with sticky soles, since most injuries here are sprains and falls.
- Carry about 2 liters of water per person; the rock holds heat on sunny days.
- Start at the upstream end near Great Falls and keep moving downstream.
- Bring a card for the entrance station, because the park does not take cash.
Nearby trails to explore
- Sugarloaf Mountain Loop (Maryland)
- Cunningham Falls via the Lower Trail
- Annapolis Rock and Black Rock via the Appalachian Trail
Hike this trail with TrailMates
Section A is more fun with someone to spot you on the Traverse. Use TrailMates to find hikers from Baltimore for a Great Falls morning, check the river level and carpool plan in the event's group chat, and meet at the tavern lot. Download TrailMates on the App Store or Google Play.