Mile: 0 - 1

The first mile of the canal includes the canal's first four locks, which raise the level of the canal in quick succession from the level of the Potomac to the level the canal will hold for the next four miles. Access to the towpath is possible from several of Georgetown's numbered streets. The first mile of the canal provides some visual interest as the canal passes through an urban landscape. Birding possibilities in this section are limited, however.

The canal's Georgetown Visitor Center is at 1057 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, approximately mile 0.5. 

By public transportation: The start of the canal in Georgetown is reachable from the Foggy Bottom station on the Blue and Orange Lines. Walk west on Pennsylvania Avenue and M Street to 30th Street. Turn left and walk along 30th Street to the canal.