C&O / GAP Forum

Hi All,
I am solo traveling the C&O from Cumberland to DC. Will anyone be in the area or riding around the same time?

How did it work out for you? In your opinion, is the ride considered "easy" enough for a 12 year old?

We are planning a trip from Pittsburgh to Georgetown during Spring Break 2023 and are still not sure if our 12 year old will be able to ride with us.

I am riding the DC to Pittsburgh route and making plans to meet my sister at Dravo Landing to ride my last section together.

Is she able to park temporarily at Dravo Landing at Henderson Road to drop off her camping gear then park overnight at the trailhead in Buena Vista?

There is no parking at Dravo Landing. There is no public access to Dravo Landing via Henderson Road. The closest parking is in Buena Vista off of McGowan Road. That parking location is about 1.5 miles from Dravo Landing.

Another option would be to meet and camp with you at the GAP Trail Campground in West Newton which is about 7 miles from Dravo Landing. It is a pay-to-stay campground albeit at a modest cost and offers showers and access to places to eat while there. Just a thought.

The Yough Twister ice cream and sandwich shop near the Sutersville trailhead is currently closed. Its sign has been removed and significant external work on the structure are being made. It appears some of the internal kitchen equipment has also been removed.

It is unclear whether there are plans to reopen in the future.

Awww, that's sad. It was a classic.

To: Bill from Houston

Good news Bill. I rode by the former Yough Twister again today and learned that it has been sold to a local businessman and will be reopened after interior and exterior remodelling is completed. Given the extent of the remodelling in progress and the fact that the biking season is past its peak, I don't expect it will reopen until next spring. We'll see.

FYI, the new owner of the Twister had previously bought the gas station across the street and had it remodelled. I was told that it will reopen in the next couple of weeks as a convenience store/gas station. I heard they may add a bike shop in that building as well. Once again, we'll see.

Good news! Thanks, Rivnuts.

Does the Confluence trailhead have an address that would enable one to find it on GPS?

Here are the GPS coordinates that you can input into Google Maps to provide directions to the trailhead in Confluence. There are no houses or businesses nearby for a unique street address.

39.8073441, -79.3647117

It’s on Ramcat Rd just north of Rt 281 (Robert Brown Rd).

The parking lot is located at:
865 River Rd, Confluence, PA 15424

The link below gets you right there.
Rivnuts is correct in their previous post as to the actual trailhead location which is about 1/4 mile from the parking lot


https://goo.gl/maps/hgTrV9RRpq19GihV9

The parking lot is located at:
865 River Rd, Confluence, PA 15424

The link below gets you right there.
Rivnuts is correct in their previous post as to the actual trailhead location which is about 1/4 mile from the parking lot


https://goo.gl/maps/hgTrV9RRpq19GihV9

The following notification has been posted to the GAP web page regarding the detour at the Paw Paw Tunnel later this month:

Update on Paw Paw Tunnel Detour and Temporary Shuttle

Contractors deployed by the C&O Canal National Historical Park to remove eroding rock material from the closed eastern portal of the Paw Paw Tunnel will begin hauling away scaled material using Tunnel Hill Trail -- the current detour for thru-travelers during the existing eastern portal closure. Beginning around August 24, the contractor will provide a temporary shuttle service between the intersection of the towpath and Tunnel Hill Trail to the intersection of Tunnel Hill Trail and Tunnel Hill Road. This shuttle is intended to run roughly 7:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday, every 30 minutes, through late October. Outside of these hours, the normal detour will be re-opened. Click for more information directly from the National Park Service, which can field your questions.

Has anybody experienced this contractor-provided shuttle? I'll be riding west up and over the Paw Paw Tunnel tomorrow and curious as to what to expect. I'll provide my feedback tomorrow after I go through the area.

Update: according to the National Park Service CHOH website, the shuttle service will not commence until August 29th.

The GAP website posted a new trail alert today as stated below:

"Contractor Vehicles on GAP Near Frostburg (GAP Mile 14) Partially Obstructed: Be aware of contractors working near the GAP between Helmstetter's Curve and Frostburg."

The GAP website has been updated to indicate that the work near Frostburg on the GAP has been completed and the contractor has cleared from the area.

What would be the cost of returning 2 people/2 bikes back to
Rock wood or Meyersdale from Cumberland. Thanks

Is overnight parking allowed @ Visitor Center or anywhere close to the Canal? this is a pick up point for an trip from DC - Thanks in advance

You might find the parking lot at Lock 44 at Williamsport is even more useful in that the easiest way to get a bike across the canal from the trail.

An adored favorite of mine. Lovely people. Get “John’s Breakfast”, a massive pile of delicious calories (with real maple syrup!) that will dramatically increase your chances of biking all the way back up the steep hill to the trail.

You can't go wrong having breakfast at the GI Day Room Coffee Shop on Main Street either although you'll still have to ride back up the hill to get back to the GAP Trail.

And Donges has super cheap ice cream cones, shakes, and sundaes. No cyclist can resist. ;/)

A shout out to Donges as a Motel also. My traveling partner felt it looked a little "sketchy" at first, but nothing else was available that day. In the end we both felt it was just fine. Above all, it was clean. The people were nice. And a great value. If you do not want their style of food, there are several places within walking distance. I would definitely recommend it.

is the Lock 70 schoolhouse Inn located before or After the Paw Paw Bypass?

If you’re going Cumberland to DC it’s before and DC to Cumberland its after.

We are looking for a bike-friendly hotel somewhere near Bethesda that we can get to on our bikes.

Bethesda, or at least parts of it, is on the Capital Crescent Trail which connects to the C&O.

I would just turn the Biking tool on on Google Maps and look for hotels near the Capital Crescent Trail. I would call and ask if they will allow your bikes in to your room or if they can store your bike.

John

Interesting article from the Pittsburgh Trib about the volunteers that keep local trails in top-top shape, including the GAP.

If you’re looking to get involved or donate some volunteer hours somewhere, you’ll get no better satisfaction than giving back to your local trail. Whether it be clearing low hanging branches, mowing grass, cutting trees, painting benches/picnic tables, weed wacking, filling in washed out gravel, removing fallen trees, etc., these organizations would love to have you. And as the article states, some of the volunteers are getting on in age and need younger people to take over.

https://triblive.com/local/regional/stepping-up-volunteers-donate-thousands-of-hours-of-time-maintaining-the-regions-myriad-hiking-biking-trails/

John

The part of the article that really surprised me (could be the same for any local trail really) is just how few people keep it all together:

“Despite having more than 8,000 registered council members, Thompson said she estimates 80 people volunteer regularly.”

I was surprised to see that number so low. Just 1% of trail members are keeping it in riding shape.

Hi all,

I last did the trail in 2013. My wife and I are looking to rent e-bikes in Washington D.C, take the train up to Cumberland, and ride the bikes back down. Is anyone aware of services that do that?

Thanks,

You need to make sure Not to get Fat tire bikes. They the trains are not set up for that. I am coming from Florida with my bike which as 4 inch fat tires. I wound up putting my bike in the rack and bringing my car up to DC in order to use the train.
They are not up to speed on transporting electric bikes via train. Best bet call Amtrak when you have the specification of your rentals.

I'm looking to bike the GAP this Oct. What is this CG like? Do you recommend it? Is it clean? Safe/

Great place for camping. If you arrive early enough, you can claim half of the covered band shell. I saw and used power outlets all along the side of the grass. Showers. Walking distance to restaurants. Can’t ask for a better location.

GC ???

Ignore my earlier question. The title of the message is clear. I agree with John W. The Maple Festival Park Campground in Meyersdale is one of my favorite camping spots for all the reasons John W cites plus there are picnic tables under that theater shell as well as electrical receptacles. There are stores to obtain necessary items there also.

The only drawback is the trek back up the hill to the GAP trail from the campground but it is rideable with appropriate gearing and fitness.

The Cherry Tree Lodging is 1/2 mile from crossing the bridge into Harpers Ferry from the C&O. The address is 630 Washington St. See cherrytreelodging.com.

One bedroom is offered at $100 plus tax. It contains 3 twin beds. All linens are provided. Downstairs from the bedroom is the bathroom with shower, laundry room and kitchen. Locked shed for your bike. You can also rent by the bed - $40 plus tax - in a shared room.

No drop-ins please. Please book using the website or else call Laurel at 304-702-7004.

I have submitted this business through the bikecando.com website but it has not been posted yet.

Very affordable, delicious TexMex/Salvadoran food, perfect for a biker's gargantuan appetite, even if you have to go up a big hill to get there. Because of that hill, I recommend going the long way around, up Burkittsville Road and right on Souder Road. Retuning to the canal, take the plunge down Gum Spring Road and find out why I recommend avoiding it as an uphill. While you’re up there, the municipal pool is nearby and you might be able to get a shower.

Never again. They told me they were busy, and my food would take 25 minutes. No problem, fair enough, thanks for letting me know, I said. Well, it turned out to be an hour and a half. They were unashamed and unapologetic, about this. Worst of all, when I asked for a glass of water they wanted to charge me 75 cents for it! Which is just plain unethical. And the food was rather lousy when it finally showed up. Please do not annoy the people who run this place by patronizing their restaurant, they clearly hate life in all its particulars.

I rode the trail from Pittsburgh to DC in June and would say that the trail surface for about 1.5 miles downstream of Dam 4 (between MP83 and MP 84.5) is downright dangerous. It appears that some resurfacing was attempted and was a complete failure. This area was always a bit soft, with the trail being sandy. Now, though, there is the new resurfacing material on top, but something has caused there to be a large washboard effect. I have ridden washboard roads, and this is similar to that, only the distance between the peaks and troughs is maybe 10 times larger, so the bumps are very rough. And this was difficult to see with the new surface and the shaded surroundings, so you would hit these sections with little to no warning. The old surface, while bad in places, was at least easier to visually determine the surface quality.

Also, further downstream in other sections of resurfaced trail, patches where there was erosion were done with a fill material that was much coarser than the original resurfacing material, but the same color composition. So again, you would come upon these sections of very rough trail with very little time to react to the changing conditions.

If the NPS could at least provide some signage both for the long section around MP84 and the short patch areas, that would go a long way to mitigating the hazard that these rough surfaces present.

Andrew: Thanks for the warning of that area.

I would go on the C&O’s web site and email them about this. I’m not sure if they peruse these forums or not. I have alerted the C&O in the past and have gotten responses from them, usually within 48 hours.

John

Hi John,

Thanks for the suggestion. I did send them a message right after posting here. Hopefully I will hear back soon. I was pretty upset with the Park Service that day, but it took a few days to get home after that, and then life happened, and I forgot to contact them until now.