Current Use
In modern times, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates and maintains the canal. The Dismal Swamp Canal is one of two inland routes connecting the Chesapeake Bay and the Albemarle Sound. About 2,000 recreational boaters transit the canal each year as they pass through the Intracoastal Waterway.
The Virginia portion of the canal was located in Norfolk County, which today is the City of Chesapeake, where the northern portion of the canal at Deep Creek connects with the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.
The southern end of the canal leads to the Albemarle Sound. The Dismal Swamp Canal Visitor Center is the only Visitor Center in the continental U. S. greeting visitors by both a major highway and a historic waterway. It is located in Camden County, North Carolina, on scenic U.S. Highway 17 three miles south of the Virginia/North Carolina border.
The Canal is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark. The historic canal is now recognized as part of the National Underground Railroad and along with the Great Dismal Swamp, is noted as a former sanctuary for runaway slaves seeking freedom.
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