The C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth and, for nearly 100 years, served as a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recreational treasures. The Washington, DC, area has a four-season Mid-Atlantic climate, with warm, humid summers and winters that can be cold and snowy. Precipitation averages 2-4” monthly year-round, and conditions gradually become cooler and wetter farther west along the canal where the elevation is higher.