C&O / GAP Forum

On October 18 my wife and I will be taking Amtrak to Pittsburgh where we'll start an eastbound thru hike of the GAP and C+O trails. If you see an older couple with gray hair feel free to stop and say hello. Oh, and yes we're ready for cold weather.
Happy Trails.

I’m curious how long you expect to take to hike the length of the GAP and C&O Trails?

Sounds like a neat idea. I hope you have a great time!

Most of the discussions here are regarding bikes riding through so it's nice to hear someone doing something different. I'm thinking doing something non-bike myself. I've spent some time working out a plan, just in a spreadsheet so far, to run the length of the C&O. Perhaps when I retire in a couple years.

fallsdownalot here, I thought I'd add a bit of a trip report on our hike.

Amtrak got us into Pittsburgh about 930PM on our start day. We set off for Point State Park and found the start of the GAP at about 10:20PM. We set off and followed the trail to the other side of the Hot Metal Bridge. Once on the other side of the river, at about 12:30AM my wife saw a hotel and decided we needed to get a room. We set out the next day following the trail headed toward Cumberland. At our first break of the day, while we were sitting on some large rocks, we got to meet Rivnut. As we went on we were amazed by the fall colors and how different the geology was from where we live, on NY's Long Island. At first we were averaging about 10 miles a day but as our legs got stronger the daily mileage started to go up. I think the longest was about 15. About a 100 miles in, my left leg developed a problem. Not knowing what it was we kept going, which in hind sight was a mistake. We spent a day in the motel in Myersdale hoping the rest would help my leg. It didn't but we kept going. Also, there was some snow the night before we got to Myersdale. That made things more scenic. During the trip we had temps between high 60s and low 20s, sun, rain wind and snow, but it's all good. If you think the weather is bad it's just because you are dressed wrong. We used a hiker/biker camp site at Ohiopyle State Park only to find that they didn't provide any water there. So it was a long walk up to the regular campground to find water. We stopped in many of the towns along the way if for no other reason but to find coffee, as we don't carry that in our packs. Also along the way I think we stopped to read every sign teaching about the region. I was amazed by the major part railroads played in this part of the country. We met an awful lot of people who couldn't believe that we were walking to DC, I guess it's not done very often. We did meet 1 other hiker going from Cumberland to Pittsburgh. When we arrived in Cumberland we spent 3 days there to resupply again and to give my aching leg some respite. Then we set off on the C+O Canal Trail and noticed right away how different it was from the GAP. We did 20 miles and 2 nights to get us to the hiker/biker site at lock 65. The next morning I decided to end the hike as my leg was just too painful. We hiked back to lock 70 were I was able to get phone service and call the bike shop in Cumberland, Wheelzup, to arrange for a shuttle back to town. There it was another night in the hotel was we made Amtrak reservations to get home. The C+O is just going to have to wait for another trip. A trip to the doctors with some x-rays and an MRI showed that I have a stress fracture in my left tibia bone. The crazy thing is that I don't remember doing anything that might have caused other than walking.
Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Happy holidays to all.
Hey Rivnut, how did you get that name? I've installed many of them during my working years.

Thanks for the trip report, Falls. I (and undoubtedly others) have been wondering how you and your wife fared. You have my respect for starting your trip so late in the fall season and for persevering despite what sounds like a very painful injury. Rest up and enjoy the post-adventure glow!

FDAL:

I was hoping we’d hear from your about your adventure. When I saw you that first morning, you were headed into a full day of rain the following day and colder temperatures were surely ahead that time of year, especially at the higher elevations. I’m heartened to hear you took the time to take in some of the history of our region and the GAP and C&O. If you are interested you will find more discussion of the history of the railroads and other industries in the book “The Great Allegheny Passage Companion” by Bill Metzger. The book is very informative and entertaining. I hope the leg heals well so you can get back on the trails and partcularly the C&O.

As for my pseudonym Rivnuts, I chose it as a somewhat esoteric reference to an element of cycling as most bicycle bottle cage holders are attached to the bicycle frame using rivnuts. Very few have heard or know of them or their relationship to bicycles. Most people presume it is some off color physical reference.

Sorry to hear about the injury but sounds like you had a great time nonetheless. Can't wait to hear about your C&O adventures. ;)

It's funny how close western PA is but how different the weather can be. My mom was from Uniontown so I'm familiar with seeing snow pretty early in the season.

I just want to wish all here on this forum a very happy and healthy thanksgiving.
God Bless
Michael

Thank you, Michael. Wishing you the same. And, of course, many exceptional cycling adventures for all in the months and years to come.

It has been reported that the Big Savage Tunnel will close for the winter on Thursday November 30.

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.

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.

Hi Everyone,
Back with a new question.
Would it be possible to hammock camp the C&O and GAP trails??
Starting around September 12th from Washington D.C.going all the way to Pittsburg .
I plan on camping the whole way with one or 2 hotel stays and as usual thanks for your time and help.

There are opportunities to rig your hammock in many of the camp sites along the GAP and C&O especially if you are flexible where you stay and how you rig it. Along the GAP most of the campsites have first-come first-serve Adirondack shelters or pavilions in which you can rig your hammock even if well-spaced trees are not present. This is not the case at the C&O hiker/biker (H/B) websites.

Well-spaced trees are not universally present in all the C&O hiker/biker (H/B) campsites within, say, 30 yards of the picnic tables and fire rings. However, the wooded areas typically surrounding the mown campsite areas would often offer places to rig your hammock. You may need to be flexible about which H/B campsite you stay at in order to use your hammock. The good news is that the sites are fairly close together to provide real-time options about where you stop as long as you plan to have enough daylight to do so.

I'm leaving on 9/12 for DC from Pittsburgh. Perhaps we'll cross paths along the way.

Thank you and hope to meet you.
Going to be staying at the Fairfield Inn downtown Pittsburg then on to Washington D.C.on Amtrak.

Hey Rivnuts - I'm leaving PGH on September 11. Look for a yellow monkey on my handlebar bag, my navigator.

Safe travels.

Gypsea:

I'll keep my eyes open for that monkey! How many days are you planning to make the ride?

Planning 1st time solo bike-packing trip Georgetown to Cumberland, camping the first 2 nights. I aim to bike 50 - 70 miles per day. Won't know exactly which Hiker-Biker campsite I'll use - depends on how far I get each day. What are the chances of encountering campsites that are full? (I assume it depends on the time of afternoon / evening I arrive). Thanks!

“Full” is difficult to define in the H/B camping sites since there are no defined or controlled number of campsites in them. It’s more a matter of how close to other tents you are comfortable with or how close to the picnic table and fire ring you want to be.

All that said, it’s rare that there are more than 3 or 4 campers at a single site other than those closest to DC. If you are riding 50-70 miles each day, you shouldn’t be stopping at those.

Thanks so much for that answer!
What are the options for charging electrical devices (cell phone, etc.)?

There are no electrical services/receptacles in the C&O hiker/biker camp sites. You’ll need to seek out businesses or commercial/municipal locations in the trail side towns to charge any devices.

After trekking the Paw Paw detour and setting up camp, this was a welcome stop the next morning to refill water bottles, buy some cold water and gatorades, and replenish food. Very friendly and HELPFUL staff. 10/10

What can I expect for traffic and weather on the GAP and C&O trails over Labor Day weekend?

As you know, there is no car/motorized vehicle traffic on these trails other than a few blocks exiting Pittsburgh and leavin McKeesport. There will be a fair amount of walkers and cyclists near Pittsburg and DC but not to the extent of presenting any danger or delay in your progress.

It’s too early to make a believable forecast of the weather for that weekend. But, for what it’s worth, the current long range forecast for Pittsburgh for Friday 9/1 is for partly cloudy skies with a daily high of 77 and a nighttime low of 58F. You can check those daily forecasts as you get closure to that time.