Augusta Canal Lake Olmstead Trailhead

The lake is actually the legacy of an 1870 project to enlarge the Augusta Canal. The $371,000 expansion - costly for its day - was funded by voter referendum and included a dam across Rae's Creek to help enlarge the canal, built in1845. Initially, the canal was routed over Rae's Creek via an ornate aqueduct.

The primary engineer hired to expand the waterway, however, had other ideas, one of which ultimately led to the lake that bears his name. Charles Olmstead, who worked on the 350-mile Erie Canal linking Buffalo, N.Y., and Lake Erie with the Hudson River, was hired by Augusta Mayor Charles Estes.

Hikers, cyclists and runners regularly head for the Augusta Canal's wide, level towpath, once used by mules to pull canal boats to the Canal headgates. Additional trails into wooded and urban areas add variety to the outdoor experience.