Great Allegheny Passage - The GAP

The Great Allegheny Passage (the GAP) is a 150-mile multiple use rail-trail system between Cumberland, Maryland and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 52-mile Montour Trail provides a connection to the GAP from the Pittsburgh International Airport. The flat, crushed limestone trail was once the rail bed for the Western Maryland Railroad. This trail is suitable for all ages and is ADA accessible. Rental bicycles are available. The trail is excellent for hiking, jogging and cross-country skiing and can be used to combine a bike ride or hike with some excellent wilderness trout fishing or hunting. All motorized vehicles and equestrians are prohibited. More information on the Great Allegheny Passage can be found at www.atatrail.org.

The GAP is connected to the 184.5 mile C&O Canal Towpath in Cumberland and provides a non-motorized, nearly-level trail system between Washington, DC and Pittsburgh. Segments of the Great Allegheny Passage and all of the C&O Canal Towpath are part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, one of eight nationally-designated scenic trails. 

The first section of the Great Allegheny Passage was a 9-mile (14 km) section near Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania which opened in 1986.

Allegheny Trail Alliance

The GAP is maintained by The Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA), a coalition of seven trail organizations in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. The ATA member trail organizations are:

• Mountain Maryland Trails from Cumberland to the Mason-Dixon Line
• Somerset County Rails to Trails Association from the Mason-Dixon Line to Confluence
• Ohiopyle State Park from Confluence to Connellsville
• Regional Trail Corporation from Connellsville to McKeesport
• Steel Valley Trail Council from Clairton to Homestead
• Friends of the Riverfront from Homestead to Pittsburgh
• Montour Trail Council from Coraopolis to Clairton

Allegheny Trail Alliance
P.O. Box 501
Latrobe, PA 15650
1-888-282-BIKE
atamail@atatrail.org


While the scenery is outstanding, and trail features such as towering bridges and long tunnels provide some excitement, the real treasures of the route are the wonderful people who live in nearby communities along the GAP. Make sure to breakfast at local restaurants and chat with the locals who gather there each morning. You will get a sense of place that simply cannot be accessed by reading books. Make it a point to stop and chat with the local walkers you meet along the way to hear stories about old times and current developments!

http://www.bikecando.com/yoders-motel.aspx
http://www.thegreatalleghenypassage.com/trail-towns.html
http://www.atatrail.org/
http://www.traillink.com/trail/great-allegheny-passage.aspx
http://www.railstotrails.org/news/recurringfeatures/trailmonth/archives/0707.html
http://bikewashington.org/trails/gap/
http://www.bike-the-gap.com/
http://www.laurelhighlands.org/outdoors/biking-hiking/great-allegheny-passage/

Now the longest rail-trail east of the Mississippi River, the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) spans two states in its course along great rivers and across mountain passes. Running from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, Maryland, the trail traces the paths of railroads that helped build America.

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), also known as the Cumberland & Pittsburgh Trail, is a rail trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania. It is the central trail of a network of long-distance hiker-biker trails covering hundreds of miles through the Allegheny region of the Appalachian Mountains, connecting Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and beyond.

The multi-use trail, suitable for biking and walking, occupies abandoned corridors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Union Railroad and the Western Maryland Railway. The Great Allegheny Passage extends 150 miles (240 km) from Cumberland, Maryland to Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a 52-mile (84 km) branch (Montour Trail) to the Pittsburgh International Airport.

The smooth bicycle trail offers panoramic views and plenty of peace and quiet. It’s a family-friendy trail, fast to dry out after a rain and suited to short rides near fun towns. Even so, an end-to-end ride on the GAP requires careful planning. Skip a lunch opportunity and you may not find another for a while. Refilling water bottles can be hit and miss. Accommodations are well spaced, but not numerous. Also, getting to a starting point on the trail, biking to the other end and finding a way back to cars, trains or the airport is a logistical challenge.

The GAP is part industrial history lesson, part nature excursion and part fun house, with thrilling and spooky moments: barely lighted corridors through mountainsides, whitecaps on rivers a hundred feet below and the lonely sound of a freight-train whistle. The trail is a world-class biking destination. The trail was built at the cost of $65 million after the rail tracks were abandoned in 1975. The trail feels remote but is within a half-day’s drive of much of the Northeast. Along the way, bicyclists cross the Mason-Dixon Line, sweep through farmland and gain 1,750 feet of elevation from Cumberland west to the Eastern Continental Divide. At Cumberland the Great Allegheny Passage joins the C&O Canal towpath, which stretches east to the District of Columbia. Bicyclists are able to travel unimpeded from Pittsburgh to Washington, some 335 trail miles. Yet the railroad grade route is so gradual that riders usually can’t see the hills they are climbing, even when they feel the slow burn in their quads. Travelers have the uncanny feeling that they are burrowing through the Allegheny Mountains instead of traveling up, over and around them. In a sense this is true; the trail builders have made ingenious use of old trestles, bridges, viaducts and tunnels to help bicyclists punch through.

For more information on the Trail Towns and the expansion of the Trail Towns to new trail corridors, please visit www.trailtowns.org.



Great Allegheny Passage - Bike trails are re-creating towns along the river. The towns you will pass through, with a starting point at Connellsville Ohiopyle, are, in order:

Homestead

Only nine miles from Pittsburgh Homestead, Pennsylvania is becoming a hotspot for trail users. There is the Waterfront, which is an outdoor mall area for people to shop and eat, but I went into town to explore a little bit. I stopped into Blue Dust, who identified me as a trail user since I forgot to take off my helmet, but they were very accommodating. They offered me water even though I did not get anything from them. They also have an extensive selection of craft beers on tap and infused liquors. Since my trip, I have visited Blue Dust twice on local bike rides. As you ride, you will also pass the Homestead Pump House, which is the site of the 1892 Homestead Strike and Lockout for Steel Mill workers. I recommend taking a tour here in order to see part of Pittsburgh’s well-known history.

West Newton

Has a local town bike loop worth checking out. About twenty-six miles from Connellsville, West Newton has several attractions located right on the trail and across the bridge in town. If you’re biking early in the morning like I was, the Gingerbread bakery has a variety of baked good to help you refuel. There is also the Trailside Restaurant and West Newton Bicycle Shop that can serve food and take care of your bicycle needs in one location. Although I did not get to stay at Bright Morning Bed and Breakfast, I got a tour from the owners and the next time I roll through, I will be staying there. They just expanded for the third time due to the high volume of trail users seen on the trail.

Connellsville

Many riders say the 28-mile second stretch is their favorite, from Confluence to Connellsville PA through Ohiopyle State Park.  The path is hewn into the mountainside above the class five rapids of the Youghiogheny River, and the views are spectacular all along the way.  With its mountains, forests and water, Ohiopyle Park draws two million visitors a year; 150,000 people a year go down the Yough River by raft or kayak.  Falling Water and Kentuck Knob, two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous residences, are only a couple of miles from the park.  But the area empties out when school’s in session, spring and fall are drop dead gorgeous in the mountains, and it’s still prime season for bicycling, hiking and river adventures.

Known for their variety of murals in town, I took the Connellsville bike loop through town to sight see a little bit. I found El Canelo Mexican Restaurant, which serves a diverse selection of Mexican food and beverages. They also have a bike rack in front of the restaurant so that you have a safe place to leave your bike in town while you eat. If you get into town later, there are Adirondack shelters at the trailhead that are first come, first serve and Bud Murphy’s is the local hangout. Connellsville always is jam-packed with community activities as well, so make sure to look up Connellsville to see if any events will coincide with your ride.

Ohiopyle and Ohiopyle State Park

Hemmed inside 20,000 acres of state park land, and an easy shuttle ride to Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece Fallingwater, Ohiopyle is a small village with a Key West vibe in the center of the Ohiopyle State Park. The Youghigheny River flows through the park, with Class 3 and Class 4 rapids for kayaking, tubing and rafting. The “Yough” [yawk] provides some of the best whitewater boating in the eastern United States, as well as spectacular scenery.

There are several waterfalls and a natural waterslide in the town of Ohiopyle. A new visitor's center was built in 2014 and has a spectacular glass-enclosed overlook of the main waterfall, Ohiopyle Falls, where kayakers go over the falls in an annual event named "Over the Falls," which is usually held in late August. Get a closer look at the Ohiopyle Falls by hiking the Ferncliff Trail.

For more on Ohiopyle, go to http://raspberrytrail.blogspot.com/2015/09/ohiopyle-and-ohiopyle-state-park-hemmed.html.

Confluence

Also known as “Turkey Foot,” their town motto is, “where mountains touch rivers.” I recommend stopping in to the Confluence Cyclery even if you don’t need anything for your bike. The owner is incredibly friendly and knows what is going on in town. They often have local arts and music events going on, such as Fiddleheads, which is a group of country, folk, and bluegrass musicians who get together every third Tuesday of the month and jam out to whoever will listen. You’ll never get the same show twice.

Hardensville

Markleton

Rockwood

A nice gateway leading into the town is the Rockwood mural. When I asked if the man in the mural was a portrait of someone, the locals told me it was Maynard, a resident of Rockwood who manned the Visitor’s Center until he was one hundred years old. There is also a local bike loop in town that takes you right past the Rockwood Mill and Shoppes.

Garrett

Meyersdale

At about Mile 22, there is the Big Savage Tunnel. It is the longest tunnel on the GAP. While it is big and somewhat daunting, it is lit to help trail users get through the tunnel safely. About eleven more miles up the trail is the town of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. Known as “Maple City,” they host the Annual PA Maple Festival late March every year for the past sixty-seven years. An incredible place to spend the night here is the Levi Deal Mansion. An extensively renovated and gorgeous bed and breakfast, the owners of the Levi Deal Mansion know how to treat bicyclists spending the night while biking on the GAP. They provide wash cloths and hoses to clean your bike and yourself up and then often have homemade cookies and ice cream. After biking all day, I really appreciated the homemade chocolate ice cream they gave me.

The expansive Salisbury Viaduct located west of town and the Keystone Viaduct east of town serve as special attractions for those exploring the trail. Pedaling across the Salisbury Viaduct, a 101-foot-high 1,908-foot-long steel trestle, gives you the feeling of hang-gliding over the valley.

Meyersdale is also the closest town in Pennsylvania to the Mt. Savage Tunnel, a 2,100-foot long lighted pathway beneath Mount Savage that provides a stunning vista of the Cumberland Valley from its eastern portal.

These impressive feats of engineering were built during the country's Gilded Age, when the push was on to connect the East with the burgeoning Midwest. Coal was mined locally and shipped on the railroads to feed the country's needs for energy during the Industrial Revolution. The rich veins of nearby Shaw Mines are still mined today.

Wind farms located on the ridges east and west of Meyersdale contribute to the country's energy needs today as they tower above the landscape, providing stunning backdrops for trail users.

Meyersdale has been the home of the Pennsylvania Maple Festival for more than 60 years, celebrating the rich heritage of a land that was first known to be occupied by the Monongahela Indians who captured the sweet water from maple trees to make maple sugar. This annual early Spring rite lures visitors to Festival Park on Meyers Avenue and features car shows, a parade, and the Lions pancake house where pure local maple syrup is served.

Although the Western Maryland is silent except for the voices of trail users exploring the hillsides and valleys of the Alleghenies, trains still rumble through the town on CSX tracks, carrying commerce of the nation from the Midwest to Baltimore on the former B&O.

Frostburg

There is a switchback leading uphill into Frostburg. Depending on the start time, Dante’s is a great bar and restaurant to stop to eat a late lunch or dinner while listening to some live, local music ranging from hard rock to bluegrass music. They also have a great range of microbrews from across the country.

Cumberland

Cumberland is a logical starting point for an adventure because the serious climbing is largely out of the way within the first 24 miles — with mostly straightaways and descents after the trail crosses the Eastern Continental Divide. The passage is on a railroad grade, meaning there are no sustained strenuous climbs. Some riders cut out much of the first day’s climbing by traveling on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, which accepts bicycles and travels to Frostburg, Md., a convenient stop along the trail.  As an alternative, you can ride the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad from Cumberland up to Frostburg, and vice versa 

Cumberland is an historic town that has evolved into a vibrant arts community. Cumberland’s Town Centre is comprised of a three-block pedestrian mall with adjacent side streets and offers fine dining, unique shops, stylish living and blossoming artist colony, all housed in significant turn-of-the-century architecture. Canal Place Heritage Area, at the western end of the C&O Canal, showcases the heritage of this former railroad hub. It also features an enticing mix of retail, galleries and recreation. Boat rides on the canal and excursions aboard an old-time train powered by a steam locomotive are available from Canal Place. The “Trestle Walk” at Canal Place connects the restored Western Maryland Railway Station – home of the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and the Allegany County Visitor Center – with the C&O Canal Tow Path, where you can begin an invigorating hike or bike ride.

Within a few blocks of Canal Place, visitors can enjoy the many shops and restaurants that are part of a pedestrian walking mall as well as museums and historical sites on Washington Street.

Other websites:
downtowncumberland.com
explorecumberland.com
visitcumberland.org/
canalplace.org (http://www.canalplace.org/?page_id=122) - links you to Allegany County Tourism (https://www.mdmountainside.com/), GAP Trail (http://www.atatrail.org/), Maryland National Historic Road (http://marylandnationalroad.org/), Downtown Cumberland Business Association (http://visitcumberland.org/), Maryland Heritage Areas (http://www.marylandheritageareas.com/)