CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — Officials from the city of Cumberland and the National Park Service are making progress toward a Potomac River public access point for kayakers and canoeists.

The Cumberland Times-News (http://bit.ly/1s8bemc ) reports that officials toured several potential launch sites Monday. Most say they favor building a ramp near a rewatered section of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal near Interstate 68.

Paddlers would park near the Canal Place retail shops and put in at the canal basin in the C&O Canal National Historical Park. Then they would paddle across the canal, pull out on the other side and carry their boats down the ramp to the river.

City Councilman Nick Scarpelli says the plan would promote economic activity. He says highway travelers would see the paddlers and stop to explore the area.

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Information from: Cumberland (Md.) Times-News, http://www.times-news.com/timesnew.html

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