The Paw Paw Tunnel & Fruit Hike

Mid- to late-September should be the time for peak bloom for the pawpaws in our area. With a little bit of luck, their yummy fruits should be falling-off-the-trees ripe as we venture out to the higher elevations of Western Maryland.

This adventure will have two highlights. One will be harvesting pawpaws, if you're so inclined. Unfamiliar to many Americans, pawpaws are native to North America and quite tasty, although not everyone shares this opinion on that latter point. We should be able to find a good supply on or near the towpath if others haven't beaten us to them. The other highlight will be strolling through the pitch darkness of the Paw Paw Tunnel, probably the most impressive engineering marvel along the entire C&O Canal.

We will follow our traditional route for this annual venture, starting with a stroll of 3/5 of a mile through the pitch darkness of the Tunnel. We'll proceed downstream to a picnic area perfectly situated on the banks of the Potomac, where we'll lunch. We'll then return to our cars by taking the reopened Tunnel Hill Trail up and over its eponymous hill. We'll keep our eyes peeled for ripe pawpaws throughout the day. If you want to eat one or more it would be usefull to have a knife, spoon, and paper towels since they might be a little messy.

Total length of our moderate round trip will be 8 miles with several hundred feet of elevation gain on the Tunnel Hill Trail on our return leg.

We'll stop for dinner somewhere along the way on the way back to the East Falls Church Metro station.

We'll meet to form carpools at 8:30 AM in the Kiss & Ride lot of the East Falls Church Metro Station. Bring plenty of beverages, lunch, sunscreen, bug spray, a spoon, knife, and napkins if you'll be consuming pawpaws, and a flashlight for navigating your way through the Tunnel. Carpool passengers should pay their drivers $28 each which includes each passenger's share of the toll for the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway. In addition everyone will pay the $5 Adventuring trip fee.

Please click here to review our release form. When you RSVP to an event, you affirm that you have read and agree to the terms of the release. Everyone must RSVP on their own behalf.