Our tour starts at the Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center just 14 miles north of Washington, D.C., where we load our bikes and luggage on a truck and board our motorcoach headed for McKeesport, PA. This is the start of the Great Allegheny Passage, a 141 mile path connecting with the C&O Canal in Cumberland, MD. Once we join the C&O Canal, we retrace 184 miles of history of the towpath through wonderful scenery along the Potomac River Valley.
The Great Allegheny Passage surface is made of packed crushed limestone and provides a smooth easy ride. As it was built on abandoned railroad beds it is nearly level. Travelling west to east, we experience an average of 1% slow/gradual upgrade.
The C&O towpath is flat and “very rustic” - most of the trail is hard-packed dirt with some areas mixed with small stones for traction, and maybe a pothole or tree root here and there. There is a drop of about 625 feet in elevation from near the Eastern Continental Divide all the way to our destination in Great Falls.
After reaching McKeesport, PA, we gather our bikes and head out on the Great Allegheny Passage. This first day is a relatively short ride in to Belle Vernon. The trail follows along the Youghiogheny River with beautiful overlooks and one long hill to get us to our hotel for the night.
We leave Belle Vernon the next morning with cool temperatures and light fog. Following along the banks of the Youghiogheny River, we stop in Connellsville at a local cafe for a few cups of coffee and a warm-up. In the early 18th century, European traders found weath in the fur trade here and later other natural resources - iron and coal laid the foundation for the iron and steel
industry. We cycle more woodland areas in to Ohiopyle where we park our bikes for the night and take a shuttle to Fallingwater, a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
On day 3, we catch our shuttle back to the GAP trail in Ohiopyle. Along the way, we make a short stop at Fort Necessity. Once in Ohiopyle, we collect our bicycles and begin cycling through the beautiful Casselman River Valley. Our first stop is the Sisters Cafe in Confluence for one of their famous apple dumplings. Confluence is known as the town where “the mountains touch the rivers”. Continuing on the trail, we stop in the once thriving rail town of Rockwood for lunch at the Mill Shop Coffee Shop & Bakery. We stop several times along the trail to admire and photograph some of the artwork and sculptures provided by the Rockwood merchants. Cycling more beautiful scenery, we cross the 1900 ft Salisbury Viaduct to our destination of Meyersdale, PA.
As we leave Meyersdale, we start a gradual climb to the highest point of the GAP trail and the Eastern Continental Divide. From here, it is an exhillerating 10 miles downhill along the trail, through the Big Savage Tunnel, over the Mason-Dixon line, and in to Frostburg, MD. We make a short stop in Frostburg to explore the town and have a cup of coffee and snacks at the Trail Inn cafe. Another 14 miles downhill to Cumberland we reach the end of the GAP trail and connect to the C&O Canal. As we are riding down to Cumberland, the Western Maryland Railway Tourist train passes us on its way to Frostburg. The bike path is just a few feet from the railroad. This evening we enjoy a historic walk around the restored downtown Cumberland area and Canal Place. Cumberland is known as the “Queen City”. Here we see a sculpture of a mule and its handler in front of the Visitor Center/Train Station. Mules were the “engines” of the C&O Canal boats. Mules were treated not only as workers but also as pets and companions.
It’s our fifth day of cycling and we begin on the C&O Canal this morning as we leave Cumberland. Immediately, we find the towpath a bit rougher than the GAP trail; more bumps, rocks, tree roots, pot holes, etc. Since the C&O Canal is a National Park, maintenance of it is very limited in order to keep it in its natural state. We cycle past many locks and lock keeper houses along the towpath. Suzie, our tour host, provides everyone with a picnic lunch in a canal park in Old Town, about 20 miles in to the ride. Following the river, the towpath then zigzags for about 10 miles to the Paw Paw Tunnel. The tunnel is 3,118 ft long (completed in 1848) and was built to bypass the Paw Paw Bends, a 6-mile stretch of the potomac River containing five horseshoe bends. There are no lights in the tunnel so we advise having a good flashlight and walking through the tunnel rather than trying to cycle through it. Another 15 miles and we reach Little Orleans and Bill’s Place where we stop for drinks and snacks before heading up the hill to the Town Hill B&B for the night. After dinner, we are entertained by Rick Garland with historical story telling and piano serenades.
The next morning we have a nice 7.5 mile downhill ride from our B&B to the towpath. Soon, we connect with the 24-mile paved Western Maryland Rail Trail. This provides a very pleasant break from the roughness of the towpath. We stop in Hancock, MD, to check out the C&O Bicycle Shop and for coffee and snacks at the local Park-n-Dine Restaurant. Continuing on the rail trail another 10 miles brings us to Fort Frederick. We tour the Fort guided by our host dressed in period attire from the French and Indian War. Our day concludes in Williamsport, MD, with a mexican dinner at the Desert Rose Cafe.
Day 7 we leave Williamsport cycling quiet rolling backroads to visit historic Antietam Battlefield. The Battle of Antietam was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. With about 23,000 casualties on both sides, this was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. After visiting the Antietam Visitor Center and listening to a park ranger tell the story of the Battle of Antietam, we continued on backroads to Shepherdstown, WV, for lunch. We cycle about 3 more miles on rolling backroads before reconnecting with the C&O Canal. Nine more miles and we reach Harper’s Ferry, WV, set on the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Once again, Suzie has arranged for a local historian to entertain us after dinner with the history of Harper’s Ferry and the Shenandoah River Valley region. Harper’s Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown’s attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States.
On our last day, we are set for a long day of cycling back to Great Falls. However, with the threat of Hurricane Sandy, Suzie arranges a bus to take everyone back. We welcome this change in plans as we are not looking forward to riding in the rain, wind, and cold (not to mention being on the dirt towpath in this kind of weather). Back in Great Falls, everyone collects their bikes and luggage. We say our goodbyes to our new friends. Many in our group were trying to get on the road for home before the hurricane makes landfall while a few of us shuttle back to the Comfort Inn in Gaithersburg, MD, where we stay safely tucked in til our flights home.
This was a great trip and one of our favorites. We highly recommend it. And, by all means, take plenty of time to explore the area as you cycle the GAP and C&O Canal.
Look for more pics on the right side of the page under the caption "LINKS TO CYCLING PICS AND OTHER SITES WE LIKE".
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