A brand-new fall tour allows you to explore a different side of D.C.: its canals.
You know — those little waterways you sometimes pass by around town.
In today’s episode of “Matt About Town,” WTOP’s Matt Kaufax uncovered the wonder of LocktoberfestDC and consumed the quintessential D.C. trifecta of bikes, beers and a little obscure U.S. history!
The free tour, which only runs once annually, is happening on Sept. 28 this year. Organizer Tom Haser, who founded LocktoberfestDC in conjunction with the National Park Service, told WTOP two walking and two biking tours will be offered.
Along the tour route, you’ll ride for approximately 6 miles along the path of the city’s historic waterways, like the C&O and Washington City canals, while also passing by some of D.C.’s most iconic landmarks and monuments at dusk.
Haser told WTOP the idea for the tour came from a desire to tell the story of D.C.’s lockkeepers, workers who presided over the 70+ canal gates that enabled boats to pass through D.C.’s canal system back in the 19th century. In the early to mid 1800s, D.C.’s canals were vital to getting around the District — and business was booming!
The tour’s feature attraction is the Lockkeeper’s House on the National Mall, which sits just across the street from the Washington Monument. Matt learned that this home used to be a waterfront property, back when D.C.’s canal system ran directly through what is now Constitution Avenue.
This is just one example of the many cool history facts you might uncover on this tour. But, as Matt found out, LocktoberfestDC doesn’t just focus on learning.
The tour ends in Northwest D.C. at a popular German biergarten, Sauf Haus, where all guests can reward themselves with beer, brats and pretzels for completing the trek, and ring in the fall season properly!
This technically isn’t the first year of LocktoberfestDC. Haser told WTOP they did a smaller version last year — as kind of a prototype. But 2024 is the first year they’re really going all out — as Matt realized when he rented a bike and went on this one-of-a-kind adventure!
To sign up to be a part of Locktoberfest before Sept. 28, you can visit www.locktoberfestdc.org, or sign up through Event Brite. Spots are offered on a first come first serve basis, and all you need to bring is yourself and (if you choose the biking option) your own set of wheels!
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