C&O / GAP Forum

My husband and I will be riding from Pitts to DC in September. We are regular bikers in our 50's, laset year we rode 375 miles on the Camino de Santiago in Spain that included paved roads and dirt path and lots of hills. Our bike trips are vacations, so we usually take a day off from riding every 4th day and allow plenty of time to cover the full distance. I've read many of the posts and would like to get some feedback on what you experts think are the toughest sections of the C&O so we can break up our mileage days appropriately. Thanks!

Hi Judy! No expert here but I am always willing to try to help folks out when I can. One question for you. Are you camping or staying at a B&B or hotel? How many miles do you think you will do in a day? I ask because there are some some towns that have more to do in them than others. Hancock vs. Paw Paw for example. This may influence your decision of where to stop and stay. (I hope that made sense...lol).

We are trying to avoid camping. Thinking of averaging about 30 miles a day. We know we will have to do 45 miles from Cumberland to Little Orleans since no place to stay in Paw Paw. We have relatives in Cumberland so we will be staying over an extra day there for sure. And when we take other leisure days we will want them to be in places of interest and with a decent restaurant.

I should correct that...really a decent place to sleep would be considerably more of a priority than restaurants. We're not food snob bikers. I guess I should clarify my question...if we were going to have a couple of higher mileage days, are there sections of the towpath that would be better (or worse) for high mileage?

All 185 miles are hard to tell apart on the C&O, that is the condition and surface. I would try to get in touch with the proprietor of the Liberty Gas station in Paw Paw, she told me last fall her partner and her where opening a few rooms across the street.

I know we have had to literally hose off our bikes and ourselves at Hancock, Paw Paw and Cumberland. It seems like we always hit rain around the Hancock area. Rain equals mud and mud puddles and that will slow you down. One of our considerations for mileage was finding a B&B that had a washer & dryer. We do laundry every 3rd day.

A must stop! Tell them you're a trail virgin and you get a shot of "Rocket Fuel" and a chance to sign your name on the ceiling. Be poetic and wax eloquent. Enjoy!

This place is CLOSED! It is now a consignment store.

Very quaint and charming place, however, I am sorry to report it has a bed bug infestation as of spring 2012. Best seek lodging else ware.

oh crap, I just made a reservation here...she has remodeled the Heritage House so I hope the new beds are free of bugs....ughhh, can you actually see the bugs?
how did you deal with this?
i wonder if I need to cancel, we are not going there until Sept and I had a lengthy chat with the owner who seems very nice and accomadating

Stayed at the Tea Horse Hostel in Harper's Ferry June 2012...was a hostel after all but very friendly, talkative group night I stayed. Beds clean w/mattresses covered in plastic, very friendly owner.

We are thinking about an endurance hike and the C%O Trail. Many of the comments discuss biking. Has anyone hiked the trail? If so, what can you share about it? Thanks.

The C&O Canal is 184.5 miles long. Fortunately it's all flat. If you can hike 20 miles a day it will take you a little over 9 days. For your personal safety and peace and quiet don't camp near major road crossings or just outside a town. Best of luck to you! :)

Hi John, in your commented you mentioned about personal safety on camping near major roads and towns on the C&O. I am going to be camping on the hiker biker campsites when I go early this year. Do you know of any problems that have occurred at any of the sites? Because I will be going by myself, just want a heads up. Thanks.

I thru hiked the C+O from DC to Cumberland in the spring of '11. I camped along the trail every night except 1 with no problems. BRING EARPLUGS, I wish I had as there is a lot of train noise during the nights. Resupply along the way was easy and water was available at the hiker/biker campsites once they put the handles on the water pumps the beginning of April. I was out for a relaxing hike and stopped to read every sign along the way and went into most of the towns that are along the trail. If you need a place to stay in Cumberland go to the bicycle shop right by the trail and ask about a B+B run by trail angle Mary.

hiking on flat suface! why dont you try the appalachian trail over 2000 ml. of real hiking.look it up, and good luck

"hiking on flat suface! why dont you try the appalachian trail over 2000 ml. of real hiking"

I've been hiking the AT in sections. Made it just into Maine last year. Hiking the C+O trail is a whole different experience but pleasurable just the same.

What's a realist distance to ride per day when planning on doing say the GAP trail?

Tim, thats a tough one.It depends a bit on your fitness level and age. I rode with people doing 35 miles a day and another doing 100. At nearly 60 and a fully loaded bike, I found 50 or so just about right. It gave me time to get woke up, eat breakfast, break camp, take a few breaks throuhout the day and have plenty of time to finish the day without being overly tired. good luck.

We have done this as our vacation. In other words we were in no hurry. We do our rides in July with loaded bikes. We take lots of breaks for sight-seeing, taking pictures and water breaks. We often strike up conversations with other cyclists. We shoot for about 40 miles a day but this is based on B&Bs. We have done as little as 28 miles and as many as 62 miles a day. As I said we are on vacation so we are not up super early and we stop around 5:00PM. This gives us time to clean up and get something to eat. You will be able to cover more distance in a given amount of time on the GAP than you can on the C&O.

I like to do the entire trail Pgh. to DC in 5 days. As you can see I do Over 60 miles/day. About 6 hrs. saddle time/day. I stay in hotels so there is no camp set up, or clean up. Other wise it is a non supported ride.

Lenny,Your hotels pet friendly on your 5 day rides? If not, do you know any along the way?

The Red Roof Inn in Williamsport loos pet friendly (no extra charge) but the route to the hotel might not be pet friendly if you companion is running along.

Do not take pets, to much stress for both rider and driver.

Rode a few miles on the North Bend Trail today.I Don't recommend it if you have to go more than a few miles to get to it. How about your thoughts JJB? Don't you live nearby?

Yep, I have to agree with you Lenny, it is not the best trail out there. We have gone to North Bend State Park two or three times and hove rode in both directions from the park. We have not been there for four or five years. My biggest complaint is the condition the trail surface is in. When we rode it, it was torn up from horses. Made it almost unbearable to ride on. If memory serves there wasn't a lot of great scenery. I think the tunnels were neat to ride through. I have heard that the East end of the trail, Wolf Summit, may be a little shady, but I have not been there myself.

Glad that this place did not go up in smoke with the store across the street went up in flames last winter. Stop in, say hello and buy something!

Store still closed as of May 2013. Needs to be removed from site. Place is a mess, no hope!

Hey all,

For those of you hoping to stay at the Myersdale Hostel i just called and it is closed for renovations. i was given an alternate number for a place to stay. hang tight i will sahre details as I get them. matt

Hey there, I completed the GAP last year and rode a 26 in "city slick" tire with no knobbies. I am planning on a 3 day GAP & C/O ride in mid June. Any suggestions on a trail tire for the C/O portion? i will have very little weight and no trailer this time...

If your tires are still in good shape you could just put tire liners in the ones you have.Thats what I use.When those tires wear out you can then put the same liners in your next set.

from a traction standpoint, "slicks" are ok?

Matt

Honestly I think you will be better off to use a different tire with tread.The liners will help prevent a puncture but if the Towpath is wet you might slip and slide a bit with slicks.

thanks

Nice simple little restaurant near Marker 161 on the Towpath which is Old Town.If heading towards DC just turn left on the pavement at the lockhouse then a right.Its the old school.You cant miss it. Good food.Friendly.

So I'm trying to determine the so call formal west end of the GAP to start a planned trip in July to DC. I read they plan on finishing the end starting at Sand Castle park in Homestead? Then I go to Google maps and they show a "planned" trail going west along the river at the Sand Castle park as the GAP, then it turns into the Steel Valley Trail and then the Three Rivers Heritage Trail crossing the Hot Metal Bridge. Are these other trails different? So where would the real marked end of the GAP be located in late July?

The trail that I have been riding for years is comprised of many inner city trail segments beyond Sand Castle (west). They are called South Side Trail, Eliza Furnace Trail and others that I don't recall, although they together make up the very west end of the GAP. ending at Point State Park.The section west of Sand Castle is under construction now, and will be finished by summer. It is less than 1 mile.

By the way I believe the Steel Valley Trail begins at Duqusene and continues through Homestead.

Lenny, you are the true source. Going west, I see after crossing Hot Metal Bridge I can follow the Three Rivers Heritage Trail all the way following Penn Lincoln and Lincoln Highway (I376) west on the trail until it comes to Smithfield St. Bridge by Ft. Pitt Blvd. But it goes south over the bridge. I can instead just stay on the north side following it west for about 6-8 blocks until it gets to Point State Park? There are enough signs to keep me going in the correct direction? I can start in Homestead if this starting point (from Point State Park) takes me into unfriendly neighborhoods or bad traffic? What is your educated opinion?

No bad hoods. The worst of the worst you will encounter is the projects in McKeesport and its not bad, and have never Had a people problem. By the way this is Swin Cash's hood. She of college basketball fame.

Planning on riding this summer from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. We plan on coming into Pittsburgh on the Greyhound Bus and would like info on getting from the bus station downtown to the beginning of the trail. Can anyone help with directions or suggestions? Thanks

Go to Allegheny Trail Alliance sight. click directions to trail heads. You should find all you need . I like to start at Point State Park, it is at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. And its on the way to the start point.

Lenny, Will it be done by late July? Is it govt. or private will determine on time completion?

4-23-2013: The Sandcastle road is closed for trail construction. Paving has begun bicycle, pedestrian and car traffic cannot get through until paving is completed. Please respect our contractors request and stay away from this site. Stay tuned for updates. We do not recommend riding Route 837 from the Waterfront to the Hot Metal Bridge: this well-traveled highway has poor sight lines in many areas and non-existent shoulders. Most of the local buses can transport two bicycles per bus. Schedules and maps are available at Port Authority's web site: Visit the Website

The last mile is scheduled for Grand Opening 6/15/13. Go to ATA, Great Allegheny Passage site and look under news and events, scroll down to June 15, and you will find it.

The trail is now open (since May 17) all the way into Pittsburgh. See the GAP website and other information on line.

We are planning a short three day trip on the C & O. My wife and I are planning to bike from Williamsport to Shepperdstown and spend the night. The next day we plan on biking down to Brunswick and then back to Shepperdstown to spend another night. On the third day we would return to Williamsport. First question - an problems with this run? We are bikers however have not done the C & O yet. Second question - we will need to park our car in Williamsport for a few days. Is there overnight parking somewhere relatively safe?

Both days are short rides, with los of time for sightseeing. And yes the williamsport Trailhead has alot of safe parking , with restrooms.

Really nice ride and great sight seeing. We stay at the Bavarin Inn in Shepherds Town.Great rooms and eat at the basement Pub..Food is fantastic.

Thank you!!!!

This shop is great, just a block or two off the C&O in Brunswick, MD. My pedal stripped and fell off on the path just before Brunswick. The Three Points Cycle owner was able to reinstall it safely (and insisted "no charge"), and I was on my way. I encourage anyone on the trail to stop off in Brunswick and visit the shop.

Hondo, are you still doing your ride to DC this month? I am leaving this coming Saturday for my 1st trip. My starting point will be Rockwood because I have ridden between there and Pittsburgh a lot. Looking forward to the challenge and scenery. I will be carrying a spare link after watching your video.

Hey Stillriding, wild that we would cross paths in the middle of the savage tunnel going opposite directions. I hate it we didnt get to hook up going the same direction. I could have used some company on this trip as I didnt really meet up with a lot of talkative people. I still have 2 days of riding left as of this posting from Husky Haven campground . Enjoy your ride and I hope to post one of those "hey look at me riding my bike on the gap" youtube things in a week or 2.Ride safe

Hi Hondo, WARNING LONG POST, its Monday afternoon here. What a low percent chance that we meet in the middle of a tunnel and having never met eye to eye before. Wow! It was a real pleasure for the 10 to 15 minutes we shared talking. Hope all is going well for you. I had a great first day and I was conquering the Great C&O with no problem. It had all the good and the bad that you read about with the rain and shine. Completed 77 miles and was looking forward to day 2. Only two thinks I didn't like. 1st, I, like yourself, was doing a self contained trip, had my whistle, bell and cell phone for any emergencies. The problem was there was no cell phone service most of that area after Cumberland, and the last person I had seen was in 2 1/2 hours ago. So if you did have a problem, no one would be there to help, could be the next hour or it could have be all night. I didn't see any one at the camp sites along the way either. 2ond, I know the C&O is a historical trail, but that does not mean that they can't take care of it, like cut the grass, all camp sites had at lest 1 foot of tall grass with the exception of Spring Gap which looked pretty nice. The grass in some long riding areas of the trail was 3 to 4 foot high (and that was in the middle of the two narrow bike lanes). So I rode all the way to the Paw Paw Camp site thinking it would be nice because you pay $10.00. Wrong, 1 foot high grass to. No trail bikes in site. Maybe its me because I am that neighbor that cuts the grass all the time. Well that night in the tent because I could not get a hold of my family to insure them that all is going well, I decided to just ride through the Paw Paw tunnel, go a little ways up and turn around. Plan B would be ride back to Boston, trail head where I am only 15 minutes from home. That would be a 250 total mile trip and I would be happy with that. Today I was looking at about an 80 mile day back to Rockwood camp ground. Was doing great till about 8 miles into the mountain. Got worse

Continued: Was doing great till about 8 miles into the mountain. Got worse and worse until I was wasted at the top. Was going to camp out on the mountain but my wife said she would pick me up at Meyerdale trail head. Tired as I was I said OK. Got there at 8:15pm. Two days and 148 miles on bike riding I can say I did good, but, didn't make. At 61 I don't know if I will try again but I did have a great time. IF I ever do it again (once this soreness goes away), I won't go by myself, for the company and safety issue. Like you said, there are not a lot of talkative people out and too many that don't even acknowledge your wave or hi and some that my even ride by when you need help. But my hat goes off and a pat on the back to all the riders that do. Hondo, it was my pleasure and until we meet again, safe riding. Maybe next time it will be on the motorcycles.

Hey Stillriding, I finished my ride yesterday and made it home today.Yes,I was a bit surprised at the grass not being mowed on the trail and the campsites.I hate it you had a bit of a frustrating ride and honestly unless you are a loner it can get somewhat lonely on the trail.This year I just didn't meet many talkative people and I like to talk with everyone and I think had you and I hooked up we could have had a blast riding to DC.Oh well,what do you do? In a week or so I hope to youtube the GAP part of my ride.Im not doing any of the C&O since I didn't get to DC and would therefore be incomplete. Keep riding!

A friend and I are planning a GAP/C&O ride for June 20th, expecting to finish on the 25th. As we are both novices, we would appreciate any advice or insights anyone has for us. Also, if anyone near Philadelphia is interested in sharing the rental car expense to Pittsburgh, let me know...

Matt, I would be happy to try to answer any questions you may have but you left your original post / question pretty wide open. Too much info. to try to pass on in a reply. Make sure to read through all of the posts on this site. There is a lot of good info on here.

JBB is right, specific ?? are easy. But it looks like six days are a good time frame for novices, and June is still relatively cool.