Hiking through History: Part One

View from Maryland Heights/NPS Photo; Volunteer Photographer Buddy Secor

Catherine Oliver

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has been called one of the most walkable parks in the country, containing trails praised by hikers as some of the DC area’s “must-do” circuits.

But did you know many of these trails also traverse the drama of the Civil War? This week’s post features two hikes that offer differing perspectives of Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 bombardment of the town, an attack that resulted in the largest surrender of Union troops during the Civil War.

Maryland Heights
Rating: Difficult
Distance: 4.5-6.5 miles round trip, 3 to 4 hours.
Battlefield features: earthworks, remains of stone fort, encampment site, graffiti, wartime paths
Natural features: Iconic view, shaded mountain trail, portions rocky and dense with vegetation (especially around the Stone Fort)

Many visitors to Harpers Ferry tackle the challenging Maryland Heights Trail for its iconic view--one of the best in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. However, this mountain is also critical to the Civil War story of Harpers Ferry. More than one soldier would note that whoever controlled Maryland Heights, controlled the town. This theory was put to the fire, literally, in 1862, when Stonewall Jackson ordered Confederate troops to force Union soldiers from the mountain. Days after the mountain changed hands, over 12,000 Union soldiers in Harpers Ferry surrendered.

Find the Maryland Heights Trail by first crossing the Potomac River bridge and walking north along the C&O Canal for 0.3 miles. A small footbridge crosses the canal bed to Harpers Ferry Road, and the trail head is just on the other side.

Maryland Heights hiking trail/HFPA Photo; K. Simmons

This trail winds up a wide rocky path, retracing the road cut by Union soldiers to haul cannon up the mountain in 1862. A side loop offers a midway stop at the site of the former naval battery before heading to the rocky cliff that provides one of the most famous views in the park. 

Those seeking a more strenuous walk can try the Stone Fort Trail, which heads steeply up the mountain  through the site of an encampment to earthworks and ruins of a fort, and eventually loops back to the main trail. If the Stone Fort Trail becomes unbearable, hikers need have no shame: even Abraham Lincoln gave up and turned around on this walk when attempting a visit in 1862.

Bolivar Heights/Schoolhouse Ridge North
Rating: Easy to moderate; portions drivable and accessible to those with limited mobility
Distance: 0.3 to 2.4 miles (with side trails), 15 minutes to 1 hour. 
Battlefield features: Cannon, earthworks
Natural features: Fantastic view of Harpers Ferry gap, woods, meadow, excellent sunrises and sunsets

Bolivar Heights hiking trail/HFPA Photo; K. Simmons

During his 1826 siege of Harpers Ferry, Stonewall Jackson ordered an attack on Bolivar Heights, the hill behind the town on which a number of Union troops were positioned. After the battle Union troops quickly reclaimed the town, and Bolivar Heights became the site of an extensive encampment.

This trail offers a level, cannon-studded walk along an earthwork trench toward the site of a former federal redoubt. The open view allows the historian to analyze the landscape and see how the different pieces of Stonewall Jackson’s attack came together. Side trails offer the more adventurous a forested hillside path, which release unto rolling meadows that housed the Union skirmish line. Crossing the Bakerton Road, hikers can climb up Schoolhouse Ridge to explore the Confederate line of attack and its representative cannon.

Bolivar Heights trail with cannon/HFPA Photo; K. Simmons

Bolivar Heights has its own parking area, accessed from West Washington Street. Portable restroom facilities are usually onsite. Those unable to walk down Bolivar Heights may reach the skirmish line and Schoolhouse Ridge via the Bakerton Road. Wayside parking areas are provided.