Today I went to Harpers Ferry, WV for some hiking. The town itself is a national park and has historic significance- in industry, transportation, natural heritage, John Brown, Civil War, and African American history - which is best appreciated through visiting the museums or attending some of the events. However, the hike that we did also provided some insight into the efforts made by the Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War.
While Harpers Ferry itself is in West Virginia, the town is at the corner of where the Potomac river meets the Shenandoah River. On the other side of Potomac is Maryland, and on the other side of Shenandoah is Virginia. Hence, the 3 states meet where the two rivers cross. The hike we did was across the Potomac in Maryland Heights. There are couple of options here - a shorter route to a nice overlook of Harpers Ferry (see above picture) or a longer loop that takes you to a stone fort (tho there's not much of it left). If you combine both, you probably hike about 6 miles, plus the walk to/from Harpers Ferry. Most of the trail is shaded with little to see, except occasional wayside exhibits, which are really just explanations of what used to be there with not much to see. Still, you are walking through history.
On the way back from the hike, I really wished I had my swim suit. The river looked pretty enticing with the numerous people tubing on it. There's actually an outfitter nearby called Butts Tubing where you can rent a raft or tube to go down the river on. It looked like a lot of fun. You can even rent a tube for your cooler so you can picnic while tubing!
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