C&O / GAP Forum

Does this site allow for overnight parking? If not, where nearby allows overnightparking. We are planning on kayak camping.

I don't know about the legality of it but there should be plenty of space. That said, it's also pretty remote so be sure not to leave anything of value.

Where is there free long term parking on the trail closest to georgetown? I want to do the whole thing all the way to pittsburgh and take the train back to DC. Then I'll ride to my car.

I biked Pittsburgh to DC 2 weeks ago. I parked at Great Falls Tavern, MD (then biked to DC Reagan National Airport, rented a car, drove to Pittsburgh, dropped the car off in downtown Pittsburgh, rode to Point State Park and then back to my car at Great Falls). Parking at Great Falls Tavern is plentiful and free. If you alert the NPS either online or at the entry gate, you'll feel better about leaving your car.

I considered Amtrak, but recent info made me wonder how that would work out. It sounds as if the bike racks aren't currently being used, but bikes are laid down in the baggage cars. There have also been recent notices on the Amtrak site about possible bus transfers due to construction if the train got behind schedule by more than an hour. Too many unknowns for me. Good luck and enjoy the trails.

Are the pumps open from Cumberland to Hancock? I am planning on a overnight trip with my dog and planning with regate to the amount of water.

Dave - The pumps are working but I would bring enough water on your person to reach the next town because sometimes the park service tests the water and if it’s not up to standard, they remove the handles.

I would say always carry enough for emergencies.

Good luck,
John

Does anyone have a sense of the current conditions (Aug 5th) between Georgetown and Harper's Ferry after TS Isaias? My son and I have been planning on riding/camping it starting tomorrow through Sunday but if conditions are bad we'd postpone.

Posting at a request and to offer up a trail report to anyone interested. This was mid July 2020.

@John W. from Pittsburgh, PA -- It was really nice. Typical, I had planned on doing about 50 miles each day. I arrived in PGH on Tuesday evening and stayed [w/ permission] at the Marriott Courtyard in Homestead ["trailhead parked" in my van] and had permission to leave vehicle there for days.

Wednesday morning I rode without packs into PGH on the south-side and arrived at Point Park for "official" start and headed back on the north-side, the official GAP trail route. Stopped at my van, loaded up packs and headed out. Made good time into West Newton where I intended to find dinner before camping at Cedar Creek Trekker Campground. Grabbed dinner at the Burger place in West Newton [not great] and when I jumped on my bike the chain broke! [Note: I knew I was having a bit of an issue even before leaving. I had taken the bike into a bike shop in Rochester that replaced my bottom bearing. However, I didn’t think that the issue with shifting was properly addressed.] It was minutes after 5:00 PM and I thought I would be stranded, but thankfully West Newton Bike Shop answered the phone, was only a few blocks away and was open until 7:00 PM.

I cannot praise the shop, and specifically the tech named Jerimo enough. What great service and dedicated perfection! Admittedly, I was now able to better describe my problem now that I had miles ridden. Ended up with a new cassette, chain and middle chain ring [my influence on the latter to make it right]. Jerimo did the work and then spent at least 20 minutes testing and fine tuning everything. Even better, I felt I got fixed up for a *very* reasonable price. The bike now rode perfectly. I’d recommend this shop wholeheartedly to anyone needing service or parts [or new bikes as limited as the supply is these days]. It is a nice shop.

Onto Cedar Creek -- great campground, shared some area with a couple guys who were hiking and biking and had an enjoyable evening. Complete with free split firewood there to use. Enjoyable evening, decent outhouse and water source.
Day miles: 52

Next day on the trail [Thursday]. Stopped by a trail-side stop about 4 miles down where I was served a great breakfast and treated to some fresh fruit & veggies. Mid-day I linked up with a fellow biker [Logan, from Dayton, OH] who was nearly finished with his bike trek from Seattle, WA to DC! We rode about 20 miles together and enjoyed sharing stories. We avoided any rain in the hot and mostly overcast day, and parted as I arrived at the Outflow Camping Area… he looking to put more miles for that day. Overflow area was excellent – nice camping area, nice bathhouse with showers and a burger/ice cream place right outside the campground. Enjoyed some fellow biker company, but rain and a pretty heavy downpour made for an early bedtime! I had taken a back-up bivouac tent that leaked a bit… nothing bad, I can deal with things. The trail is in really nice shape and we even ran into workers laying down new trail surface.
Day Miles: 43

Friday – got packed up and went into Confluence for breakfast. Gas station with homemade cook-to-order meals was really good. This is a really interesting part of the trail with lots of highlights. Rockwood trailhead was really nice – a fine example of what can be done. The Mason Dixon Line, the Salisbury Viaduct and several tunnels keep the trek up to the Eastern Divide fun. I was planning to stop over in Frostburg at the Trail Inn Campground, but decided that adding 14 miles downhill wasn’t a big deal so I continued *down* into Cumberland. I bought a room at the Radisson, had a delightful Italian dinner in town and did a bit of exploring.
Day miles: 64

I had purposefully left an extra day open in case there was some emergency that tied me up – I didn’t want to miss the only train that had a bike rack that I had paid for. Bike racks on the train sell out. I spent Saturday cruising around Cumberland – quite the interesting town with lots of history. I had my gear stored at the hotel, so I picked it up and headed to the train station around 6 PM. The train is really nice, clean and surprisingly quite. When I arrived back in PGH, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. However, I felt comfortable locking my bike at the train station. There was a rack in the employee parking area that was very secure looking. Locked up, took my bags and called an Uber back to Homestead. Unloaded and drove back to the train station, picked up my bike and was on the road.

Overall… I had a great time. I didn’t have a lot of time to do a lot of research so I was just focused on doing the ride. Comparing it to the Erie Canalway, I found it to be much more rural in nature. The campground options were excellent and easy to use. The trail is in excellent shape [although I understand the C&O is different and not as nicely cared for]. The Erie puts you closer to and through more small towns and eventually in an urban area, and the bike path isn’t in as nice of shape in different parts. So, hey – that’s why you get out and do them both!

WNYBubba,

What an amazing recap! Really enjoyed your story and sharing it with us here on this forum.

Glad you got your chain sorted in West Newton. Cedar Creek might be the best free campsite on the trail (Connellsville is nice also). The free, split firewood is a such a nice touch. On my trip I stayed at Roundbottom. A lovely site but it’s a bit more rustic than Cedar Creek. I had to walk up and down the trail to find wood on the edges of the trail as there zero wood inside the campground. But it’s all worth it for that campground fire.

Was that downhill to Cumberland nice or what? : - ) From the view of the mountains, the tunnels, and the mason dixon line, and the gradual downhill, there may not be a better section of trail than the continental divide to Cumberland.

If your ever back in the Pittsburgh area for a ride, make sure to let us know on this forum. Happy to meet up and give you a tour around or provide assistance on your way out of town. Others have done so on this forum. Thanks again!

John

Thanks John.
A couple thoughts... turns out that the Overflow campground was also without charge. There is a small fenced area that is not reserved that doesn't carry a camp fee. So, only paying $80 hotel for four days out was quite the bargain [although my Erie tour was even less]!

Agree that the Eastern Divide is an awesome part of the trail. I thank you for giving me a heads up about the down into Cumberland -- it was motivation for my decision to continue on. What surprised me was that it wasn't a crazy, fast coasting ride. In fact, I had to keep peddling the entire way down. Not hard, but the grade is quite mild.

Lastly, the firewood was great. But, this past late winter I was up in Vermont spending the weekend with hiking friends at a hut on the AT. I learned about a great fire-starter and wanted to try it out myself. I worked amazingly fine! Here's the deal: you pack cotton balls into a small container [I used a metal tin] and then smother it with Petroleum Jelly. Wow -- it does the job. The petroleum is flammable and one or two balls provides a long hot flame to get the fire going.

Thank you for the kind invitation. I'm returning one... if you get into western NY or, better yet, make some plans and come up and do some riding!

According to my map, the last free campground is at mile 15. Can anyone who has ridden in that area please verify this?

Swains Lock, mile 16.6 is the closest (or last depending on direction). Please check if it’s open though, due to Covid restrictions. Last I checked, and it’s been a month since I last looked, it was the only one still closed after all of the others opened back up.

After that, Horsepen Branch, mile 26.1 is the next closest.

Swains Lock is also one of the few Hiker/Biker sites that can be reached by car so it can be noisier and more crowded. Horsepen Branch is only accessible by bike or foot so it will be quieter.

John

Is Steve's place still open? Are they still accepting guests?

I had the same question, the numbers listed on their webpage all ring to dead numbers.

We are planning a Bicycle ride from west newton pa to DC.
Most of our trip is planned the only place I didn’t make hotel reservations is Leesburg VA. Seems the nearest hotel is in downtown Leesburg the distance from the whites ferry To the hotel is about 4.5 mile. Is there a bike trail or bike path for this section. or the only way is to ride on route 15 which it looks like a highway.
Looking forward to advice
Thank you,
Avi

There is no bike trail from the Whites Ferry Landing to Leesburg. See the responses to a similar question asked under the previous forum discussion topic whose subject was "Whites Ferry to Leesburg" posted on July 20.

The only way to bike from White's Ferry to Leesburg is unfortunately Highway 15. You are only on 15 for about a mile. It has a wide shoulder. I used to ride it all the time. The downside is that traffic is going 60 mph, so if a car veers off, doesn't see you, or wants to be vicious, you're toast. You might try riding against the traffic. At least that way, you will see the car before it hits you. But the northbound lane, leaving Leesburg in the morning, is trickier. Probably best to ride in on the southbound lane with traffic behind you and ride back the next morning on the same lane facing the traffic. You might also think about seeing if an Uber or Lyft can get your bike in the trunk. I want to stress that the road is plenty wide, but you have very high speed traffic. Some drivers seem to think the should can be used to pass slow cars on the right side. Take a look on Google Street View and see if you would feel comfortable riding the shoulder.

I know the previous comments are well-intended, but it's never safe (or legal) to ride a bike against the flow of traffic. Ride with the flow of traffic and use a mirror to see what's happening behind you.

I wasn't lightly advising to ride against traffic by leaving town on the southbound lane. A stranger will have trouble finding the safest route to the northbound lane. Instead, they will take what appears to be the shortest route out of town, and they will require them to cross four lanes of 60 mph traffic. That can be exciting but not the way you want to start your day. And the "safe" route still requires you to ride about 200 yards across a grass field and then another 100 yards on a section of Route 15 that doesn't have a shoulder, where you are on the road with 60 mph traffic. So I thought I would simplify things and suggest people leave Leesburg on the same Southbound lane they rode in on. You're riding against traffic but it's safer than taking the northbound lane. I don't know that it is illegal in Virginia to ride against traffic but it may be illegal to ride a bike on a divided highway anyway.

Richard, as I said previously, I know that your comments are well intended. But, just to be clear, it's illegal in every state to bicycle against traffic. The League of American Bicyclists summarizes the laws this way: "In all 50 states, people on bikes are required to follow the same laws as other drivers.

Here are a few key principles that underpin all US traffic laws: ....

Ride on the Right
In the United States, everyone must drive on the right-hand side of the roadway."

In Virginia, the relevant statutes are Va. Code Ann. §§46.2-100 and 46.2-800.

There is a Best Western in Leesburg. They will pick you up at the Whites Ferry crossing. It’s a good service. I used in June. You can hose off your bike and the hotel will store it inside. The hotel is clean

Last year I did the same with the Hotel in Downtown Leesburg. I forget the name of it. I don’t recommend that one. The shuttle is a small pickup. My bike was damaged and they would not pick us up at the ferry. We had to instead bike out to the highway and waited 45 mins

The B W was great!

I rode from Cumberland to Brunswick. I found a grocery store in Brunswick about 2.5 miles uphill on acceptable roads from the towpath. That is about my "limit" on what I consider as convenient to bike to from the towpath. I then continued on the towpath to Point of Rocks. There was a small convenience store there and a banana was a dollar. I got scared about this and returned to Cumberland. I saw your post about Leesburg. Is there a grocery store (not convenience store) that is convenient to the towpath? About how far from the towpath? If there is no convenient grocery, what is the next town towards DC that has a grocery store that is convenient to bike to? I need to get to a grocery store every day to buy certain things. Also, is mile 15 the last free campground? I won't ride more than a few miles past the last free campground, where ever that is. Thank for any info.

To Jim Days. Brunswick is the biggest town on the Maryland side of the river, so that was you best bet. There is nothing close to the towpath between Point of Rocks and Georgetown except the "store" at White's Ferry. The Montgomery County section of that is the Agricultural Preserve where stores are unwelcome. I've never been inside the store at White's Ferry, but I think it is mainly soft drinks, maybe beer, and sandwiches. People who are waiting for the ferry get out of their cars and pop in for something to snack on. It doesn't sound like that's what you are looking for. Same thing with Harpers Ferry. Old Harpers Ferry, which is the part on river level, caters to tourists with restaurants and shops. You have to climb up Bolivar Heights to find anything like a store. The shopping areas of Leesburg are much farther from the towpath than what you found in Brunswick.

OK, according to what you said, there is no easy to get to grocery after Brunswick. Can you tell me what is the last free campground? Is it at mile 15? If there is a free campground at mile 15, I could stock up on groceries in Brunswick and then ride to mile 15,camp for the night, turn around and stock up again in Brunswick on the way back to Cumberland. For info for anyone else, I found good nearby grocery stores in Cumberland (Savealot, Martins), Hancock (Savealot), Shepherdstown (Food Lion), Brunswick (Weis).

Stayed in Leesburg once and they provided a shuttle from near the ferry landing.

Hi is detour still in effect for PAW PAW tunnel? What is effect of detour on travel time and difficulty of trip to Little Orleans?

As noted by John W under a different forum topic the Paw Paw Tunnel is open.

Has anyone eaten at Amanda's Place in Paw Paw and how difficult is it to bike to.

I haven’t stayed there since it has become Amanda’s Place but it is not difficult to ride to. You simply leave the trail on a paved path and ride to the bridge over the river and then ride along the road shoulder on into Paw Paw. Its perhaps a mile and slightly uphill.

Amanda’s is a wonderful place to eat at!

EASY trip off the trail to bike to just as Rivnuts said. Talked to the owner, Amanda, for a quite a bit. Great restaurant owner, super friendly, and outstanding food. An oasis in Paw Paw. Highly recommend.

John

Gotta agree, it's a bit of an unexpected surprise. Easy to reach, salads were fresh, food was good. My only regret was not taking her advice and getting a ride around the PawPaw tunnel detour.

Hi what is Paw paw tunnel detour and how does it impact trail??

The detour was an horrendous narrow path uphill slog that added about 90 minutes to our trip on a 95 degree full pack trip. But, that was 2 years ago and I believe the tunnel is open again
.

Tunnel is open. I just went through it at the end of June.

Does anyone know its hours?

No, but here's their number. Give them a call to get that info first hand.


1 Henry W Miller Hwy

304-947-5988

hat trail is the better ride, forum talks of large tree roots on rail trial.

When I went three years ago, I thought it was bad in a few spots. But when I went this past June, I only noticed a handful of them. I was trying to be mindful of what mile markers they occurred between but I gave up as there hardly any bad segments, just some random bumps. I would say the WMRT is the better ride.

Is Liberty store still open?

It was last fall when I last stopped there.

Yes, still open. I was there just this past June.

John

Hello,

Curious about Amtrak and bikes , I purchased a ticket for the 10th of August one way to Pittsburgh and paid for the $20 bike upgrade as well. I've seen some chatter here about Amtrak not honoring the bike upgrade? Would I potentially be forced to box up the bike at union station? Would really like to avoid that. Anyone on this page done the trip recently? I've tried calling Amtrak and asking but they weren't very helpful.

Thanks,

Matthew

From what others have posted in this forum, they’re honoring your bike ticket but the bike storage cars are not being used during Covid so they just lay them down in some storage area or something like that. You should be good. No one has had issues from what I’ve read.

Scroll through a few pages of this forum, a few others have had the same question.

John

I'm am from Texas and planning a thru ride in late August and wanted to inquire if anyone has suggestions for the following:

The best way to get from Pittsburgh international to the Trailhead in downtown Pittsburgh?

I've read about the Montour trail being a possible option, but can't figure out if it would work.

Similar question would be the best way to get from the trails (end in my case) in DC to Reagan National?


I might be one of the only persons left who has never used Uber, but would they transport a person and bike?

Thank you,

Reagan National Airport is easily accessible by bike from the C&O Towpath (or from the parallel Capital Crescent Trail) if you cross the Key Bridge to Arlington, VA (the Key Br. will be the first bridge crossing the Potomac as you enter the DC area). Just across the Key Br., turn left on the Mount Vernon Trail and follow it to the airport. There is a well-marked paved connection from the Mount Vernon Trail directly into the airport. (I don't have experience with the Montour Trail, so can't help with that.)

Consider the bus to downtown Pittsburgh from the airport....

https://www.portauthority.org/pdfs/28X.pdf

As noted in the earlier response, there is a Port Authority bus that runs from the airport to downtown Pittsburgh. All Port Authority buses have two bicycle racks on the front of the bus. A face mask is required to ride the buses.

If you are not committed to starting the GAP trail at its origin at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, you can ride from the airport to McKeesport via the Montour Trail and its extension to the airport and pick up the GAP trail there in McKeesport. That is about a 50 mile ride. Doing so bypasses the first 18 miles of the GAP from downtown to McKeesport.

You can, and I've done it, ride from the airport to downtown via the Montour Trail and its extension and the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. While the latter is a "trail" it is not well marked or easily followed by those not from the area. Further, nearly all of it is on busy roads albeit you can ride on a sidewalk adjacent to portions of those roads. Frankly, I wouldn't recommend this to those not familiar with the region but, if you are adventurous and not grossly risk averse, you can do it. I can provide additional details if you are interested in this route.

Thank you for the information. The McKeesport via the Montour Trail sounds an interesting opion to connect to the GAP trail.

This will likely be my first and last ride on the GAP,C&O so would I miss a great deal by not starting at Point State Park?

Obviously you would miss downtown Pittsburgh. The origin of the GAP at Point State Park ("The Point") where the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers join the form the Ohio River and the fountain there is rather unique. From there you can look across the river and see Heinz Field and PNC Park the homes of the Pgh Steelers and Pirates as well as other downtown features. The skyline of downtown Pittsburgh is very visible from there. As you leave downtown Pgh, there is much history of the old steel industry along the Monongahela River most of which has been demolished with shopping centers and industrial/commercial arks built on those mill sites. The ride from Pittsburgh to McKeesport is all paved but free from car traffic. Aside from the Point and downtown and the history along the way, that distance is rather bland albeit an easy ride. On the other hand, once you reach the Montour Trail itself from the airport, the majority of the Montour Trail is more remote and less traveled by bikers with a crushed limestone surface and passes through woods and residential areas. The Montour Trail Extension from the airport to the Montour Trail itself and the Steel Valley Trail at the other end of the Montour that links you to the GAP Trail in McKeesport are on roads with a modicum of traffic. For your first and only ride of the GAP/C&O, you'd probably want to start at the Point to "experience" the entire formal trail.

If you need/want additional local info or assistance in navigating these trails, feel free to contact me at:

Rivnuts@yahoo.com

1. The body is way more capable that we think it is. I haven't ridden 350 miles in six days since I was in my 20's, I'm in my 50's now. There were moments when I though I had dumped all I could into my ride... there was always another 10 or 15 miles still in my legs.

2. You don't need all the stuff you think you're going to need. I could have lightened my load and made due with less.

3. Stop and take in the views. I stopped often just to admire the beauty of the land. In hind site I should have stopped more. There were a number of moments were I saw something in the forest and said "wow." Now that those moments are just memories I wish I had taken a moment to pause, take a photo, and just breathe in the beauty.

4. Stars are amazing. Living in a large city I don't get to see the night sky in all its splendor. If you're camping on your journey, take a moment at night to look up.

Another suggestion for this trip would be:

5. Take a few minutes before and during the trip to learn and appreciate the history of each of the trails and imagine what they were like and how people lived in their eras.