C&O / GAP Forum

As Fall is now upon us and Halloween is just around the corner, beware of the wicked walnuts! By that I mean walnuts have fallen all over the trail, especially along the C&O. They are often obscured by fallen leaves. For those riding narrow tires, the walnuts present a danger of losing control if hit head on with the front wheel. I saw one rider go down hard as a result.

Be careful when riding through these areas.

Any specific areas to be mindful of on these Wicked Walnuts?

As I mentioned in my post, they exist more frequently along the C&O versus the GAP where they do not appear as often. On the C&O they are more prevalent where the Towpath is lined with trees. Unfortunately, this is much of its length. If you divert to the WMRT along the C&O route around Hancock, they are less prevalent and more visible.

You just have to have more short range vigilance rather than always looking casually far ahead on the trail. It just makes the ride a little less carefree and enjoyable.

Also, for folks not familiar with walnuts, they are a little smaller than a tennis ball and are green when they initially fall turning dark brown over time. The green outer layer is removed when walnuts are sold in stores. You can google walnut images to see what I'm talking about. They're pretty easy to spot when they're nice and bright green but do get lost in the leaves and they darken up.

They are also murder on your ankles and easy to trip on for runners.

Hello,
I'm hoping to ride with my Mom for about 4 days next summer on the path from DC. I was looking at multi-day rentals from a DC bike shop and a basic hybrid was reasonable at $35/day. I was shocked that their e-bike was $100/day. Is there a cheaper alternative for e-bikes or is that the going rate?

In addition to the daily rate and if riding one way only, check on if and how much a one way "drop off" fee may also be.

Although not riding with the bike tour operator 2 Wheel Escapes recently or in the past, I did cross paths with their end-of-season gourmet glamping tour group this past Sunday evening,

I observed an extraordinary level of support and accommodation provided by Greg, Rhona (sp?) and staff of 2 Wheel Escapes for their distant customers. Further they were very friendly to those of us camping at the same location but not their customers.

If what I observed was representative of their service, I would recommend them for next year's bike touring season should you have need or desire to do so.

Hi everyone ,
How is it riding the C & 0 from Washington to Cumberland in mid October?
Wondering if the colors are starting to pop ?
Also weather wise this time of year ?
Thank you for any and all help.

Michael

I just finished riding and camping from DC to Pittsburgh today. Leaves are falling and the trail was covered with them along the way. Lots of yellow to go along with green leaves but the reds and oranges are generally yet to come. In my opinion, we are still a few days or one good frost from reaching peak colors along the trail.

The most colorful stretch on the trip was on the GAP between the Eastern Continental Divide and Deal, PA.

The weather was a mixed bag. The first three days were warm and comfortable for riding and camping. Friday night brought heavy rains extending into the early morning. That made the C&O a sloppy mess between Little Orleans and Cumberland with lots of puddles and mud. Not a fun day's ride.

The weather turned significantly cooler on Sunday and thereafter along the GAP, especially at night. It was well down into the 30's on Sunday night in Meyersdale on the GAP.

Traveling from Cumberland to DC on C&O Oct 16-18 if anyone is interested to join us.

Did not get the opportunity to visit this place. Limited operating hours. As of this posting, it is closed on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday.

This is my first time on the trail . I’ll be learning as I go.
I’m planning on driving to Cumberland then taking the train to DC on Thursday 10/5. Where I’ll begin the ride back at 11:30 am from Union Station I’m planning on camping on the trail .. if anyone is starting the ride around the same time that that knows the trail , it would be great to ride with others

Unfortunately you’ll be one day behind me. I’m arriving at Union Station on 10/4 to begin riding back to Pittsburgh on my ninth trip between the two.

Note, I’m surprised by your arrival time in DC. My train thru Cumberland doesn’t arrive in DC until 1:05PM.

Thanks for catching that. I meant 1:30
From DC

E ,
Read your comments about starting in Cumberland can you please tell me where there is long term parking that can be trusted?
Or for that fact anyone here this sounds interesting to me and the train is just right.

Ed, Everyone thanks for your time.

From the GAPTrail website:

Free overnight parking is allowed at the municipal parking lot in Cumberland at 16 Howard Street under I-68 which passes overhead. Other riders have indicated they have parked there in the past.

I was thinking that the Amtrak station had a parking lot . But there are so many things that I don’t know like do I have to make pre-arrangements for my bicycle. I read on some post that it’s $20 to transport the bicycle and others there’s no charge ….

Sprockets:

Although I've been through the Amtrak station in Cumberland a number of times I can't recall if there is overnight parking there or not. Regardless, the municipal parking lot on Howard Street is just a few blocks from the Amtrak station albeit along city streets.

If you are planning on taking your bike on the train you need a rollon "bicycle" reservation costing $20 to go along with your "personal" reservation. You need to make that reservation before arriving at the station insofar as there is but a limited amount of those bicycle reservations available. Not to throw a wet blanket on your plans, but they are rarely available on short notice. You should contact Amtrak to see if bike rollon reservations are still available.

Alternatively, if you can box up your bike you can ship it as "baggage" for similar cost as the rollon reservation.

There is long term overnight parking along Howard St. right underneath I-68 in Cumberland and within walking distance to The Crabby Pig and all kinds of shops. Parked there 4 weeks ago.

Large Parking lot. Not on the street.

Rivnuts.
I want to think you very much for your help with getting me started. After reading your last reply. I quickly made my train reservation and was able to get the last bike roll on spot available from Cumberland. I appreciate you …..
curious to know , do you set a mileage goal per day are do you just ride casually.

Sprockets:

Although I am retired I can't afford to be as casual as I might like. (My marriage still matters :-) My daily mileage is determined by the planned duration of my trip which depends on a number of factors including places along the route I plan to explore, the amount of daylight at the time of year and the need to reach the end destination on a given day. That said, I typically take 6 to 7 days to make the trip from Pittsburgh to DC or vice versa. That results in riding between 45 and 65 miles per day. Many take fewer days by riding more miles each day.

The length of each day's ride depends on available or preferred overnight locations. When camping there is more flexibility in planning each day's ride, especially along the C&O Towpath with the frequent hiker/biker (H/B) campsites. When planning to spend overnights in hotels and/or BnB's your daily mileage options are less since you are generally limited to the larger cities and towns along the route.

FYI, keep your eye on the weather. The forecast cold front at the end of this week along the route may bring some softness or puddles especially between Cumberland and Little Orleans. Using the WMRT rail trail that parallels the C&O Towpath on either side of Hancock MD would avoid some of those potential wet conditions beyond Little Orleans.

Have a great trip. If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask.

I’m staying there now. It’s called the Crosstrails Hostel and is not in Harpers Ferry. You have to go past mm 59 and double back up a hill to the hostel. Google tried to take me on Harpers Ferry Road to Sandy Hook Road cutting off before mm 61 to Harpers Ferry. These roads are closed and ther was no way to access them from the trail. It caused a heap of confusion. I’m glad i came this way because now I just have to go back down a hill and will be further down the trail. It used to be an American Youth hostel for 50 years a volunteer told me but they had staffing and other problems and shut down for a time in 2019. Now there’s a manager and several volunteers. You can make online reservations. It’s $30 to stay in the dorm. They have men and women’s dorms. They have a private room and camping too. They do host groups from time to time and then are not open to the public. I think it’d be better than the KOA cause you can stay inside out of the elements. You get a towel, blankets and sheets. They offered breakfast food too, but it didn’t say that on the website.

Patty: I’m a little confused (as is often the case). For me to be clear, if you were riding upriver, where did you cross over the railroad tracks to get to Sandy Hook Road without getting on Haepers Ferry Road near the railroad tunnel?

Please forgive my ignorance.

I believe that you would cross the railroad tracks closer to mm 58 where the Appellation Trail turns north off the C&O trail.

After crossing the RR tracks go to the left on Keep Tryst Rd. Go up the hill ~.7 mile turn left on Sandy Hook Road.

Another tenth of a mile after Sandy Hook Road is the Guide House Grill (great place by the way), a great liquor store.

"Ah said the blind man, now I see it". An uphill jaunt but doable. Thanks for that info. I'll be passing by that way next week in route from DC to Pittsburgh.

I just want to add my experience with the Hostel. Last Fall, I made reservations to stay one night at the Hostel. When I called to get directions, from the Harpers Ferry trail marker, I was told that there was not an opening that night. I explained that I already paid an overnight fee via credit card. The manager said sorry, but my reservation was cancelled, on the spot, and that I would receive a refund. We ended up staying at the KOA in Harpers Ferry. Despite phone calls and emails, I never got a refund from the Hostel. That is my experience and obviously do not recommend staying there.

It’s close to the Crosstrails Hostel in Sandy Hook/Knoxville.

Make sure you fill your water bottles before you get to Indian Flats. Water pump here is busted.

Maybe the State Park is .2 mile from the trail but it appears that the actual campground is 3.7 miles out of town. Not that convenient on a bike. Looking for confirmation of this and if there is any camping closer to town and the trail.

The GAP Trail itself passes through Ohiopyle State Park and the town of Ohiopyle. Ohiopyle State Park is quite large. The Kentuck Campground is also located within this state park and has showers, water and electricity if you choose. However, as you note, it is nearly 4 miles from the town of Ohiopyle via road with the majority uphill with grades up to 15%. The ride up to the Kentuck Campground is not for the faint of heart.

Earlier this year five primitive camp sites with picnic tables and composting toilets were developed for bicyclists directly on the trail itself at mile marker 72.6 near Ohiopyle obviating the need to ride up to Kentuck Campground albeit with no showers. You'll find the announcement of these sites at the gaptrail.org website.

Whichever you choose, you would need to make a reservation via the PA State Park Website.

Note there is also a campground virtually on the GAP Trail in Confluence PA some 10 miles south of Ohiopyle as well as one in Connellsville PA about 17 miles north of Ohiopyle. You may want to consider these as well.

I spent a week at the campground at the top of the hill this summer and traveled the trail in support of a youth group doing rock climbing a few miles downstream of the campground. The Hiker-Biker camp is truly right next to the trail and the campground proper is only a half mile away, by a gravel road that should have stairs built in. I made it up on my mountain bike but it took a lot of focused breathing and coming down requires impeccable brakes. I did come down on my recumbent but I won't ever do that again, I will walk my bike down. If you have 45 minutes, you can get a hot shower and a thrill ride back to camp. I think there is a foot path that is less steep but I didn't take it.

In my experience, the large campground at the top of the hill was extremely noisy. I wouldn’t recommend it. Granted, I was there on a weekend night. The party-crowd was out in full force and the State Park staff was oblivious to the situation and chose not to enforce posted “quiet hours”. I’d never camp there again. The new hiker-biker sites on the trail sound like a far better alternative.

Stopped here on 9/20/2023 and the food was great and so was the service and they also filled my water bottles.
A nice lunch break and many picnic tables or tables inside to sit and eat.
Highly recommend the stop.

Hey everyone, so this pending Gov't shutdown, how does it affect the C&O and GAP? Campsites, water stops? Thanks..

I’m certainly no expert on the ins and outs of a federal shutdown but I’ll offer some thoughts.

I understand that the national parks fall under federal discretionary spending and their employees are vulnerable to a shutdown. I would not expect any impact on unmanned hiker/biker sites or the non-potable water sources (I.e. pumps) therein along the C&O Towpath. However, the pay-to-stay campgrounds along the Towpath operated under the auspices of the C&O National Park Service might be affected. While there are generally no park attendants at these, the ability to make reservations could be affected. If you made your reservations before the shutdown, I would think you could still stay there.

There should be no impact on camping sites and water sources along the GAP other than at the pay-to-stay Outflow Campgound in Confluence, PA operated by National Park Service.

All the other sites are private, state or municipally owned and thus not affected by a federal shutdown.

I don’t know if Amtrak might be affected or not. I hope not since I have a reservation to take me and my.bike to DC on 10/4.

During previous shutdowns the C&O park was officially closed. Locations with gates had the gates up along with signage indicating the closure. There will not be police posted along the way keeping you from using the tow path though (or at least I've never seen that).

It was reported today that this summer’s construction work to reroute the GAP entrance into Point State Park will reopen on September 27. This work eliminates but parallels the narrow path from the Mon Wharf Parking Lot into Point State Park. With the opening of this new trail section, the temporary GAP route along downtown Pittsburgh streets will no longer be required.

Recent correspondence confirms that the path is still closed but still planned to be open on 27th.

I rode by there today and it was still closed but crews were working to finish installation of a railing as well as clean up the construction area. I would expect it to reopen on or before 9/27 as reported.

Bill: I’ve crossed paths with two gentlemen from Houston on the GAP within the last week. Neither happened to be you by chance was it? If so, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself.

Not me, Riv! Trust me, if I meet anyone on the trail within 30 miles of Pittsburg, I will ask if it's you.

While construction of the GAP Trail reroute into/out of Point State Park appears complete for use, the GAP website revised the reopening date from today to mid-October. The detour through downtown street bike lanes to connect Point State Park and the GAP Trail at Smithfield Street remains in place.

In the last few days, I've been rerouting and rescheduling my trip between Pittsburgh and DC due to the forecasted weather. Doing so has reminded me of things to consider when planning such a trip.

1. While the Fall is a beautiful time to make the trip, you are vulnerable to the residual effects of seasonal hurricanes. Similar to two previous trips, my initial Fall itinerary has been affected by predictions of consecutive days of rain along the way stemming from storms coming up the Atlantic coast. The GAP, and especially the C&O Towpath, will become soft and even quite muddy in spots after multiple days of rain making the trip much less enjoyable if not agonizing. Having flexibility in your schedule and reservations to avoid this situation is well advised. This leads to a second observation.

2. If you are planning to use Amtrak between DC and Pgh and also planning to take your bike onboard, you'll have more flexibility to change your schedule, if desired, when transporting your bike from Pittsburgh to DC. Bike reservations on Amtrak are more available in this direction rather than from DC to Pgh. If you plan and get reservations for you and especially your bike, changing your reservation for weekend travel is nearly impossible as those reservations sell out early and are in strong demand during the biking season. Although still difficult to change, weekday reservations are more readily available albeit with daily differences in cost. Also, note you cannot simply change the direction of an existing Amtrak reservation. To change the direction of your train trip, you must cancel the original reservation, albeit with the stipulated cancellation charge, and then make a new reservation in the other direction which may not be available on the same date as the initial reservation.

3. Delaying a Fall trip to avoid the rain can also lead to notably lower day and night temperatures especially at the higher elevations, e.g. Meyersdale, PA. This may require additional cold weather clothing or camping gear.

Now... what to do, what to do.

Hello:

Our group had to postpone our trip in September and was wondering if anyone has experience riding in the month of November and if that is reasonable for weather, accommodations, daylight etc.

thanks for your comments!

I have done DC to Pittsburgh in November ending up in Pittsburgh the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Weather can be unpredictable over 6 days riding. Most notably having to bike through fresh 1 inch of snow between Frostburg and Rockwood.

Restaurants and lodging options may be limited.

Yes the days are shorter, but if you start at dawn, you still have enough time to reach your next stop before dusk.

This website says that the campground is .9 from the trail but it appears to be more like 2.4 miles from Ohiopyle unless I'm missing another access from the trail.

While riding on the GAP trail today I noticed a pair of black rimmed eyeglasses laying on a post in Sutersville. If you are in the parking area at Sutersville, going west on the GAP Trail, you cross 1st St, there is a post and the glasses were laying on the post. I took a photo of them, but can't figure out how to post a photo here.

While riding on the GAP trail today I noticed a pair of black rimmed eyeglasses laying on a post in Sutersville. If you are in the parking area at Sutersville, going west on the GAP Trail, you cross 1st St, there is a post and the glasses were laying on the post. I took a photo of them, but can't figure out how to post a photo here.

It was reported today that this summer’s construction work to reroute the GAP entrance into Point State Park will reopen on September 27. This work eliminates but parallels the narrow path from the Mon Wharf Parking Lot into Point State Park. With the opening of this new trail section, the temporary GAP route along downtown Pittsburgh streets will no longer be required.

Paw Paw tunnel is open. My son rode thru it on Monday Sep. 4th

What is the status of the Paw Paw Tunnel?

I don't have current firsthand knowledge of the tunnel exit's status but the NPS C&O Canal website still reports it as being closed. That same web site has long stated that the tunnel exit should open by mid- to late-summer 2023. If true, it should be getting close to reopening.

I'll try to ask inbound riders toward Pittsburgh what they encountered if they passed through that area. I'll be riding through there in mid-September and am hoping that the tunnel exit is indeed open by then. I've made enough treks up and down the tunnel bypass trail.

Thanks - I'm planning on passing through northbound on 9/20 or 9/21. Will check back with the forum closer to my ride.

In speaking with inbound travelers yesterday, the Paw Paw tunnel exit was still closed as of the middle of last week.

Oh well Paw Paw still closed as of last Friday the 18th.

Still not as bad as the detour I took to bypass the Greer tunnel closure on the Montour trail.

Open guess if the Paw Paw tunnel will be open on Sept 1 on my return trip home.

Update...Hallelujah!!! I looked at the NPS.gov web site today 8-25 and NPS claims that the PawPaw tunnel scaling project is complete and is OPEN to through traffic!!!

I will believe it when I pass through going back to Alexandria on September 1.

Humorously, the Tunnel Bypass Trail itself is now closed! That’s bad news for those masochists out there that were looking forward to trekking up and over the tunnel on a hot, rainy day with a fully loaded touring bike. :-) But don’t count me among them!

Seriously. Great news after a very long wait.

Great news! I'm starting in Pittsburg on the 9th so should be hitting it on the 12th or 13th.

Yes I much prefer taking 20 minutes to walk through the paw paw tunnel rather than the 45 minutes over hill over dale of the tunnel bypass. Hopefully this is the last time the paw paw detour is ever mentioned.

Hello everyone ,
Question does anyone know if there is water at Swains Lock at mile 16.6 ?
Thank you for your time.

Yes. There is potable city water up by the lock house and parking lot.

Thank you

A great bike shop right on the trail. The visitor center was closed the day I rolled through town, and they let me fill up my water bottles, charge my phone, and hang out and talk about bikes and travel for awhile. Overall just friendly and helpful folks. They also have a large selection of trail merchandise.

I also had a very good experience there. I broke a rear derailleur near Little Orleans, converted my bike into a single speed and limped to Cumberland on my way to Pittsburgh. The staff there was very helpful in finding a suitable, used derailleur for my old bike along with a new chain.

With their support I was able to ride up the continental divide and beyond with a functioning set of gears. Kudos to them.