C&O / GAP Forum

Just finished our 10 day bike trip on the C&O and GAP trails. Left our car at the Hampton Inn in Pittsburgh near the AMTRAK station for free. Took the train to DC. Stayed at Chisel Branch the first night. The C&O was wet and muddy and had a hard fall. The EMT’s met us at the Nolan’s Ferry trail head and did a great job patching me up. Stayed at the YMCA in Cumberland. Decided to stay at the Super 8 in Hancock to rest up and got a great meal at Buddy Lou’s. Camped at the Maple Festival CG in Meyersdale and had a very nice breakfast at Donges Drive in diner. Had a nice meal at the Falls Market in Ohiopyle. Final camp was the Adirondacks in Connellsville. Overall a very nice trip. Thanks for all the info we received from this site.

Great story, Wayne. Thank you so much for sharing it ! I truly appreciate and admire your desire to keep going. As one cyclist told me, "If you go looking for adventure, don't complain if you find it." I did not find an inkling of complaint in your post.

Traveling from out of state to ride the GAP/C&O and wondering if anyone has a recommendation of where to rent a gravel bike for the ride. Decided it might be easier than bringing mine.

If you are starting in Pittsburgh, consider Golden Triangle Bikes at (412) 600-0675.

They are located right on the GAP Trail about 1/2 mile from Point State Park which is the terminus of the GAP Trail in downtown Pittsburgh. You may be able to rent a bike from them in DC as well, but I don’t have any specific information to do so.

PS: I have no personal stake in this shop whatsoever.

Can you leave your vehicle at the trailhead for the duration of your trip? We plan on camping on a Thursday night and then returning on either Sunday or Monday.

From the GAP website:

"This parking lot in West Newton is adjacent to the West Newton Visitor Center, and there is additional parking on the opposite side of PA-136. There is room for about 20 cars, although as a busy trailhead, it can be quite congested on a summer or fall weekend. Free to park. Overnight parking allowed."

6/12/23 The snack shack here looks like it has not been open in quite a while. We started this day in Brunswick, MD and with it being Monday, the grill in white's Ferry was closed, as well as, this snack bar, so no food until Georgetown/DC. there was a restroom were were able to fill water bottles.

For future reference, if you take a detour at Billy Goat Trail. You can then get a bite to eat at Anglers Inn across from the trail and return to the C&O Canal Towpath Trail. However, if you are tired of the C&O canal, you can ride on MacArthur Blvd, which has a paved bike lane. About 3.5 miles down, you will come upon MacArthur Plaza where you can find several places to refuel. And less than half a mile from the plaza is a convenience store, Captins Market. And about 1.7 miles from there is Glen Echo Park, which contains an Irish pub and a bakery.

After about 7 miles riding on paved road, you will do a short climb. This is where you will need to take the crosswalk to get over to the paved Little Falls Stream Valley Trail in order to connect to the paved Capital Crescent Trail, which will take you directly into Thompson's Boat Center. If, for whatever reason, you wanted to get back onto the C&O Canal Towpath Trail, there are several opportunities for you to do so while riding the Capital Crescent Trail.

6/12/23-This grill is def closed on Mondays. No water to be had. there are2 derelict drink machine , but only 1 is working. no prices listed, but got soda after scrounging up a dollar bill. Only drinkable water from here to Great falls is at the Lock house at Seneca. do not miss your opportunity.

Too bad they were closed during your stop. The place has really good, fresh food.

6/11/23
This day was our 100 mile day. We started in Paw Paw , WV and ended here in Brunswick, MD. After 102 miles we arrived in Brunswick. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR IF YOU ARE STYING IN BRUNSWICK, BOOK A ROOM IN TOWN, AT THE BOTTOM OF TOWN!!!!. We messed up and stayed at he Travelodge b/c of the connected diner, however, the diner is 2.5 miles STRAIGHT THE FUDGE UP!! Seriously, it was a brutal climb on loaded bikes and the Travelodge does not have an elevator, so if you are on the second floor and want your bike with you, you have to carry it up 2 flights of stairs. The Travelodge itself is nice, clean, and friendly, but you will exhaust yourself getting to it. Eat and stay at the bottom of the mountain/town.

There isn't a hotel or motel in town. The Travelodge and Holiday Inn Express are both uphill from the river. The only lodging at river level is the campground.

The least steep route is up Burkittsville Rd, which has a wide shoulder most of the way (unfortunately this is gone at the traffic light at the top of the hill).

If you use the Holiday Inn Express you can go through town and then take the paved Valley Trail uphill into the neighborhood where the hotel is.

You must have taken a weird route to get 2.5 miles between the tow path and the Travelodge. I used to live a couple blocks from there and was only a mile from the tow path.

6/10/23
updated to this location. It is now called the Inn on Main. The new owners Mo and Amber are super awesome. do not stay anywhere else in Meyersdale. This place is at the top of the hill, right next to the trail. It is a beautifully restored early 1900s house, and each bedroom has a bath. Secured bike shed outback, had wash station, and air pump. Great home cooked breakfast was perfect!, Fridge w/ beer, soda, water etc is accessible at all times.

you will not find a better pub/bar with great people and the best dang burger I have had in awhile. Refill your snacks and drinks down the street at the Sheetz gas station, b/c there isn't water of food for another 45 miles until Brunswick, MD

Hello everyone,
My first time on here and I am wanting to do both trails from Pittsburg to Washington D.C. My questions are where is there a safe place to leave my car should I decide to drive down to Pittsburg then take the train to D.C. and ride back?
Second, was thinking of going around the end of July, maybe August or even September am open to riding these trails either of these months and as anyone would I would like some really nice weather.
Hope this isn't asking too much. :)

Free, safe parking in Downtown Pittsburgh near he train station is tough thing to find. Depending on the date you finally decide to make your trip, you’re welcome to park your car at my house about nine miles east of Pittsburgh. The details would.have to ne worked out, especially since the train to DC leaves Pittsburgh at 5:20 AM for DC.

I’d be happy to shuttle you from/to my house to Downtown.

September is typically a very nice time to make that trip but note the later you take your trip, the shorter the days will be.

If you do the reverse, you can park in my condo's garage. I'm less than 3 miles from Mile 0 of the C&O, and you can take trails or bike lanes to get to / from there.

I seen a comment up dated back to last year, that Bill's Place was closed and up for sale. I was planning on stopping here for a resupply if needed, and a meal.

Is it still closed, or sold and reopened?

Any update would be appreciated.

Seems to be operating. As always, send a text or call to confirm.
https://www.facebook.com/littleorleans/

Unfriendly to bikers. Check out their Google reviews, tons of one star reviews from bikers.

Any known detours the first 15 miles from lock three up to lock 22 heading north due to construction on the Towpath causing to ride on loose dirt and sand?
Thanks in advance.

I've not heard anything about any detours in that section of the C&O Towpath and the NPS C&O website isn't reporting any although that website is not always current.

John W will be passing through there in three days. Perhaps he can provide any new information.

Maybe some resurfacing going on that hasn’t been compacted well yet? Just a guess.

Paw paw tunnel tomorrow 8/29. Anyone do it recently? Closed? Open?

The best plan of attack is to ask all passers-by as you approach the tunnel if they went through the tunnel or took the detour, they’ll have the latest. I must have had 10 people tell me to go through and ignore the detour back in June during my trip. There’s a thread below with this one with some recent updates. Plan on taking the detour unless others went through confirming that you can make it out the other end.

John

Sorry to say, the Paw Paw tunnel closed Thursday.

I just completed an out and back on the C & O and utilized Rivnuts bypass route (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37572392). Worked fantastic in both directions. Heading east, the 2.4 mile climb on the bypass took me about 20 minutes. Minimal traffic even on the short stretch of Oldtown road. I had talked to people in my age group (I'm 61 yrs. old.) that it took them 75 - 90 minutes to climb up using the hiking trail from Cumberland.
Heading back to Cumberland took about 30 minutes to walk the bike up the dirt rock filled path to the top, stopping 3 times for a minute or so. I had already had 60 miles done that day. From there it was 5 minutes back down the bypass route to the trail.
A big THANK YOU to Rivnuts.
Worked out extremely well.

In fairness to others, I myself, did not create that alternate route in ridewithgps. Unfortunately, I don't recall who that rider was to be able to give them the credit for doing so. I simply provided the link to it.

I actually may have been the first to post it, but figured that it is a viable option by checking out the heat map on Strava. So yeah for technology! I do appreciate rivnuts turning it into a map.

Any known detours the first 15 miles from lock three up to lock 22 heading north due to construction on the Towpath causing to ride on loose dirt and sand?
Thanks in advance.

I rode from Harpers Ferry to Georgetown on 6/8/2023 and there were no detours from lock 3 to lock 22 that I can remember. However, when you get to Great Falls Park, they do have some construction going. There are no detours, but IIRC some portions of it were "sandy", so be cautious if you are going fast there.

We stayed here on 6/5/2023, coming from Rockwood. It's a chain, so you know what you're going to get. We did laundry and they had a hose in the back near the dumpsters to wash off your bikes.

If you do stay here, take note that it's about 1.2 miles from the trail and you will need to do some climbing. It averages about 3.5% over that distance with a max grade of 8.9%. Personally, I welcomed it after all that flat riding on the trail and especially the 22 miles downhill after the Continental Divide.

Thanks for your reports on lodging during this tour. This is a valuable contribution to the knowledge base for the rest of us and much more useful than the "evaluations" on something like Yelp. I especially appreciate your honest and dialectical comments on the "B&B" in Rockwood.

Thanks, Terry. I'm glad you found them useful.

I stayed here on 6/7/2023, coming from Hancock. It's your typical lower-end hotel but does the job. If you're facing the lobby, they have a hose to the right side of the building to wash off your bike. The place was clean.

It's about a mile from John Brown's Fort, so if you stay here, you will need to do some climbing. Don't take Washington St there unless you enjoy steep climbing. The climb for that route is 225' over 1.2 miles. If you take the Shenandoah St instead, the climb is only 78' over 1 mile and most of that occurs 3/4 of the way through. However, it will require you to ride 0.1 mile on the high-speed and busy William L Wilson Fwy. It's really not that bad since there is a very wide shoulder.

In the past, I stayed at the Light Horse Inn, which was great, especially their breakfast. However, you do have to climb up Washington St, which averages 4.1% over 1 mile and a max of 8.7%.

I stayed here on 6/6/2023, coming from Cumberland. It was the first motel I stayed at, and it will most likely be the last. There were stains on all of the chairs in the 3 rooms we booked.

On the plus side, they did have laundry facilities but someone changed the settings even though there was a sign that said only "these" settings worked. When I came back 45 minutes later, the light said that it was done but I checked my laundry and it was completely dry. The lady at the front desk was helpful and corrected it. Luckily, I didn't have to pay another $2.75 to re-do the load. The sign should have mentioned what "these" settings were. It turns out that only the hot water setting initiated water to pump into the drum. I also left the other setting at "heavy soil" but am not sure if that affects anything.

If you're facing the lobby, there is a hose out front to the left to wash your bike before taking it into your room. Note that there are no elevators, so if you stay on the 2nd floor, you will need to carry your bike.

Good eats is at Krazy Rays Smokehouse. The hostess was a hoot, and they give you A LOT of food for not much money. It also tasted good, too.

Stayed here on 6/4/2023 after riding from Connellsville. For the price point ($150), I was very disappointed. The owners were not around and "managed" everything remotely. There were no instructions upon arrival except for the code to get into the house. There was no hose (or none offered) to clean your bikes. We found out from someone who was staying there for the night that you had to leave your bikes underneath of an unlocked porch. The rooms only locked from the inside, so basically you are relying on the honesty of small town America that no one steals your belongings and bikes when you leave for dinner.

The 2nd "B" was also apparently missing in the B&B. You have to cook your own breakfast or just eat what is available in the kitchen. With 9 cyclists staying for the night, the pickings were slim. They had no bananas, 6 small "cutie" oranges, and a few apples. There was a dozen eggs, some sausages, some bacon, a bottle of OJ, and enough coffee grinds to make your own coffee. In fairness, I did text the owner back to tell them that there wasn't enough eggs, and they restocked the fridge with 3 dozen eggs and more bacon and sausages. However, there were no bananas. I assume that was due to them not being to get any.

Another gripe is that the room I stayed in, Kayla's Room, had electrical outlets that are very high up on the walls. This is a problem if you need to charge your cell phone, GPS units, etc., for the night. I did notice that the kitchen had a bay of USB ports where you could charge your devices, but that means you will either have to leave it unattended or wait until it's fully-charged. I presume most of their bookings are from cyclists, so it would have been nice if they catered to cyclist needs like providing extension cords to charge our devices and the much-needed hose to wash our bikes.

For the positive... the cleaning service that they use does a very good job. I found that the place was clean but old. I guess everyone has different tastes in home styles. Although it was chilly that night, there was no heat or A/C that you can control in your room like you would at a hotel. The bar of soap was also on the small side. The two of us had to share that and move it between the shower and the sink. Again, at that price point, I thought it was kind of chintzy. However, the towels were the best ones I had on this tour. They were thick like you would have in your own home, and they smelled clean and fresh. The hot water was also sufficient. We didn't run out of hot water in the morning. I was afraid that might happen, assuming everyone took a morning shower.

Stayed here on 6/3/2023, coming from Pittsburgh. It was your typical lower-end hotel with hot breakfast included in the price. The hotel had a hose out front to wash off your bikes, and at the entryway into the lobby, they also provided rags so you can wipe off your bikes after hose down. There was a bin for clean rags and a bin for dirty rags. It was very bike-friendly.

My brother complained about a "funky" odor in his room, so he asked to check out my room. Same thing. He asked the front desk about it, and it was pervasive throughout the hotel. In other words, changing rooms would not have resolved the issue. I think the odor he was smelling were the cleaning chemicals that they used. It didn't bother me that much and actually gave me a warm and fuzzy that they cleaned the place.

excellent hosts and property, nice alternative to West Newton....property is literally 5 minutes off trail...short 'ramp' off trail to road, turn left on road/immediately cross river and coast into town!

I would like recommendations for safe and Economical lodging in or near DC.

Not really anything economical like a traditional hotel in the DC area. The cheapest after taxes might be $125.

If you’re comfortable sharing a room with others, there are a few hostels in DC that might meet your needs.

John

I recently stayed overnight at an Airbnb private room for one at a house about 5 miles from Union Station. It was in 16th Street Heights section of DC. It was one of the lowest price overnight locations I could find. The host was quite pleasant and the room was clean and private. There was a recently remodeled bathroom dedicated for my use. Not a lot to do in the neighborhood but fine if you are simply looking to clean up and rest.

You should try Warm Showers (https://www.warmshowers.org/). I have a couple of friends who host and have been hosted all over the world. They live in the DC area, so they may even host you! LOL

Tne NPS C&O website is now reporting that the contractor-supplied shuttle around the Paw Paw Tunnel Bypass Trail has now been initiated. That website had previously been reporting that that shuttle would be initiated by late September.

More information about the Paw Paw Tunnel bypass can be found at that website.

Just wondering how long the tunnel will be closed. Planning a trip next June 2023

The NPS C&O website states that construction is anticipated to be complete by the end of the 2022/2023 winter. If so, your trip next June should find the Tunnel and it’s downriver exit open to ride through. Just keep an eye on that website and/or this forum for updates.

Just a heads up that the shuttle, which is a supped-up golf cart, has front and rear 'arm' bike racks (the type that go under your bike's top tube). I took it on 9/26 and my bike had a bag going under the top tube, so I had to throw it in the truck bed of the shuttle... luckily I was the only biker taking it up (towards Cumberland). I would imagine heavy ebikes might not be supported either. Hopefully they learn quickly and switch out the racks for 'support' styles that go under the bike's wheels (like on buses). Otherwise, it seemed to be a well-run operation.

JDH:

Thanks for that information as I am leaving to ride back to Pgh from DC next week with a full frame bag.among others. I may have to pack differently unless we hear they have indeed changed their rack style. What route did they take?

Rivnuts:

With a full frame bag, I think worse case scenario is that you just take it off when you get there. The shuttle supposedly only runs Mon-Friday 9-5 while operations are ongoing, and you aren't allowed to go on your own, as there is no shoulder to get past the dump trucks. So if you plan on getting there on the weekend or outside those hours, you can just lug your bike like others have done for months. I also wouldn't be surprised if they have come up with a work around, as many bikes would have been stymied by those racks. There is also a private shuttle that I am sure was mentioned on some other post you can coordinate with. Hope that helps.

I'll be doing this ride from Pittsburgh to DC. For those that have taken this shuttle, how long does it take? I know it supposedly runs every 30 minutes, but how long does it take once you're on the shuttle?

And where do they drop you off? Is it at the top where Tunnel Hill Trail (the bypass) intersects Tunnel Hill Rd? And how long does it take to descend?

I'm just trying to get a sense on the duration of this bypass. Without the shuttle service, NPS says it will take around 1.5-2.5hrs to do this 1.6-mile bypass on foot.

Thanks!

The shuttle is on the downriver side. It runs from the top down to where the tunnel bypass rejoins the Towpath for maybe 3/4 mile. Once you’ve boarded the shuttle it’s, perhaps 15 minutes, 30 minutes top. The time to walk up, over and back down is dependent on you level of fitness and the load on your bike. In my opinion, 1.5 to 2 hours would be a worst case scenario for an able-bodied cyclist to walk the entire detour. Others may have different experience.

Thanks for the information, Rivnuts!

Rivnuts, I saw this posting on Reddit: "Did the ride 2 weeks ago. Coming from DC they pick you up at the bottom and shuttle you to the top...then you have to push down about a mile of slightly sketchy single track. Coming from Pittsburgh you have to push up that mile of sketchy single track, then once up top they give you a ride back down the other side." Is this correct? Because on the map, I see that a road connects to the trail at the bottom at Oldtown Road and at the top at Tunnel Hill Road. So If I were riding from Pittsburgh to DC, wouldn't the shuttle take me up to the top? Or is there a temporary road that I'm not seeing on Google Maps where the shuttle runs?

One more question. I see that you created this route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37572392. I was planning to ride this while the other members of my party hopefully can take the shuttle up. So when you got to the top, did you walk down or bike down? It looks pretty steep, with grades maxing at 14.5%.

I have not taken the shuttle but did use the the same alternate route last summer. The map you linked to, coming from Pittsburgh, is what I rode in June. It is ridable, but quite steep in spots. I then rode down the detour back to the trail. The part that I rode down, the downstream side, is where they have the shuttle because they are hauling debris from the trail up to the road.

Maybe if you don't want to push up the detour or ride up the alternate route when coming from Pittsburgh, you could get an Uber from town to the top and take the shuttle down. If I was coming from DC, after the shuttle to the top I would just ride down the alternate route back to the trail.

Thanks, Andy. I definitely want to ride it up. I have others that are going with me who do not want to ride it up. They will, however, have someone give them a lift to the top. So I guess that means we either walk, bike, or take the shuttle down. I agree with you. If I were coming from DC, I would definitely ride down on the road. It's less steep and smooth. So I think the reason why I may be confused is there are two paths, right? One is a hiking trail "bypass" that you can see on the map, and the other one is the construction "detour" where the shuttle service operates?

Never mind, Andy. I found a different post, presumably from you form last year, where it mentions that the trail was widened for the detour, so I guess they are one and the same after all.

man910: Sorry for not replying sooner as I’ve been riding the OTET Trail. Travelling from Pgh toward DC you’re on your own getting up the hill. After you reach the top the shuttle will take you back down the other side. That downhill side is wider not as rugged as the uphill side allowing the shuttle to take you down. That downhill side has been used by the contractor’s vehicle and it’s been pretty badly torn up. Hence the shuttle.

To clarify, the uphill side has not been widened. It is narrow, rocky and rooted. If wet, it can be quite slick as well. If you can ride to the top, that would be very commendable. I’ve only seen a couple of young bucks try and I’m not sure if they made it all the way up or not.

No worries, Rivnuts. I'm referring to riding up to the shuttle using the route you laid out via roads. It doesn't look that steep. I hope your reference to the young bucks is via the trail.

I, myself, did not lay out that alternate road route to the top nor have I ridden it. My comment about any steepness and young bucks does indeed refer to the posted tunnel bypass route itself. Of course "steep" is a relative term and function of strength and fitness of which I have but a limited amount at my age.

I recently did the road bypass to the top from Pittsburgh to DC. Except for a very steep but short section at the end of Sulphur Spring Road, which is a dirt road, onto Oldtown Road, it wasn't bad at all. Oldtown Road itself has cars traveling at high speed, but you are only on it briefly, 0.11 miles. Once you get to Malcolm Road Southeast, it's paved without any cars (no double yellow lines), which made for good climbing. Then the final ascent on Tunnel Hill Road is dirt. Towards the end it gets a little bit steep, but not as steep as the section on Sulphur Spring Road. If I were going towards Pittsburgh, I would have ridden this way down instead of taking the official detour. It would have been more pleasant and faster.

I can also confirm Rivnut's post that the shuttle was not available on Tuesday during business hours. I guess they discontinued it. Luckily, it was dry, so I was able to ride down without any problems although it was unpleasant since I had to ride the brakes down all the way.