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Nat'l Recreation Area
Nat'l Recreation Area

Dismal Swamp Canal

Maryland · MD

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We display cached information from agency feeds. Hours, fees, permits, closures, fire restrictions, and conditions change without notice. Outdoors is not the permitting authority. Confirm current conditions for this park using the links above before you go — you are responsible for compliance. Last verified by us: May 20, 2026. Our copy is more than a month old — please reconfirm with the agency before relying on it.Spot an error in our data?

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Park entrance fees, hours, and ranger-issued closures change without notice and may be out of date here. Always confirm current conditions, fees, and access restrictions with the managing agency before you travel. Outdoors is not responsible for closures, fines, or denied entry resulting from outdated information.

The Dismal Swamp Canal and the Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal form alternate routes along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW) between the Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound. The AIWW provides pleasure boaters and commercial shippers with a protected inland channel between Norfolk, Virginia and Miami, Florida. The history of these two canals, which contain the only locks along the AIWW, paints a vivid picture of the development of transportation that goes back over 200 years. Boating and fishing are allowed at Lake Drummond in the Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge.

Source: recreation.gov

From Wikipedia

The Dismal Swamp Canal is a canal located along the eastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina in the United States. Opened in 1805, it is the oldest continually operating man-made canal in the United States. It is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Source: Wikipedia — text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Verify alerts and operational details with the managing agency below.

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Hunting in this park

Hunting is generally prohibited in this National Park Service unit

Verify current park-specific rules with the National Park Service before planning any hunt. See NPS regulations

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