Harpers Ferry Hostel

I’m staying there now. It’s called the Crosstrails Hostel and is not in Harpers Ferry. You have to go past mm 59 and double back up a hill to the hostel. Google tried to take me on Harpers Ferry Road to Sandy Hook Road cutting off before mm 61 to Harpers Ferry. These roads are closed and ther was no way to access them from the trail. It caused a heap of confusion. I’m glad i came this way because now I just have to go back down a hill and will be further down the trail. It used to be an American Youth hostel for 50 years a volunteer told me but they had staffing and other problems and shut down for a time in 2019. Now there’s a manager and several volunteers. You can make online reservations. It’s $30 to stay in the dorm. They have men and women’s dorms. They have a private room and camping too. They do host groups from time to time and then are not open to the public. I think it’d be better than the KOA cause you can stay inside out of the elements. You get a towel, blankets and sheets. They offered breakfast food too, but it didn’t say that on the website.

Patty: I’m a little confused (as is often the case). For me to be clear, if you were riding upriver, where did you cross over the railroad tracks to get to Sandy Hook Road without getting on Haepers Ferry Road near the railroad tunnel?

Please forgive my ignorance.

I believe that you would cross the railroad tracks closer to mm 58 where the Appellation Trail turns north off the C&O trail.

After crossing the RR tracks go to the left on Keep Tryst Rd. Go up the hill ~.7 mile turn left on Sandy Hook Road.

Another tenth of a mile after Sandy Hook Road is the Guide House Grill (great place by the way), a great liquor store.

"Ah said the blind man, now I see it". An uphill jaunt but doable. Thanks for that info. I'll be passing by that way next week in route from DC to Pittsburgh.

I just want to add my experience with the Hostel. Last Fall, I made reservations to stay one night at the Hostel. When I called to get directions, from the Harpers Ferry trail marker, I was told that there was not an opening that night. I explained that I already paid an overnight fee via credit card. The manager said sorry, but my reservation was cancelled, on the spot, and that I would receive a refund. We ended up staying at the KOA in Harpers Ferry. Despite phone calls and emails, I never got a refund from the Hostel. That is my experience and obviously do not recommend staying there.

I stayed at the Cross Trails Hostel last night. I’m surprised at the negative reviews here. Booking a dorm bed via the website was painless, and the staff had no trouble with my booking when I arrived. Directions from the trails (AT and C&O) to the hostel are on the website. The place is clean, quiet, welcoming, inexpensive, and exactly as advertised on the website.

The only exception worth noting is that the Hillside Restaurant reportedly 0.3 miles from the hostel has recently closed and decamped to Purcellville. This means you must either hike/bike back to Brunswick or Harper’s Ferry for dinner or buy some groceries in advance to cook in the hostel’s kitchen.

If you’re biking from downriver and plan to shop at the Weis grocery store in Brunswick (as recommended on the hostel’s website), be aware that hill up to the highway from the river has a 12% grade. A bit of a slog with a loaded bike at the end of a day’s ride…

There are a few routes to get you to the weis from the tow path. I would do walnut st from the train station, right on georgia ave, left on brunswick st, right on valley trail (across from west end playground), bear left about 0.7 miles to stay on valley trail. This will take you out past the beach volleyball court onto potomac view pkwy, which is behind the weis. Of course, you've still got about 300' of elevation gain to deal with but I suspect most people riding the tow path will be more comfortable on this route.

Has anyone stayed here recently?

No idea on the hostel. I was also looking into that for mid October. Am hoping to see others chime in on this as I need to book a place too.

Let me tell you about my Harper's Ferry Hostel experience. I called them about a week ago and reserved two campsites for this past Wednesday, September 28th. The location says "on the trail." We rode into the Harpers Ferry area of the C&O, but there was no Hostel or anything else at that mile marker. I called the Hostel and the person I spoke with said they were booked solid for that night. I explained that I paid for two tent sites and he repeated that they were booked solid with a large group. He said he would refund my money. Nothing in the way of an apology. In other words, they were not going to honor the agreement. So, we transported our heavy E-bikes, with equipment, up the winding stairs to the bridge going to Harpers Ferry. Then, we rode our bikes up some very steep hills to the KOA. The Harpers Ferry KOA is fantastic! It's just not very convenient. As we left town the next day, we saw a large youth group on top of one of the mountain overlooks. My understanding is that we were looking at the Hostel location. I don't like to give anyone a bad review, but that was our experience with the Harper's Ferry Hostel. It is not on the trail and advise riders not to stay there. If you're going to climb a mountain to stay at the Hostel, then do yourself a favor and go to the KOA.
UPDATE-Despite sending the Harper's Ferry Hostel 3 emails, I still do not have a refund posted to my credit card.