John Butler House

We are going from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. On day 1 we wanted to get some mileage under our belt after a long car ride.

The approximate mileage we wanted to get through was Pittsburgh to Elizabethtown (or less) on day 1.

The issue is we have a rather large contingency (12 riders) so we will need accomodations for all-1 couple and the rest of the riders can double up.

Does someone have a suggestion on accomodation for a night in September?

Thanks!

Elizabethtown? I know of no such place along the trail by that name. A portion of the GAP passes through Elizabeth Township but I know of now place there that could accommodate a large group. Hence I’m not sure how to answer your question but I’ll offer some information to consider. Many large groups riding from Pittsburgh to DC spend the first night in West Newton, PA. There is a BnB there (Bright Morning) consisting of multiple buildings. It is about 35 miles from the start of the GAP in downtown Pittsburgh. If you want to get further down the trail, the next opportunity for a large group to stay would likely be in Connellsville at the Comfort Inn hotel. That would be a 60–mile day from downtown.

I’m not sure if this is the kind of info you’re looking for. If not, please provide some additional details about your desired itinerary and I or others will try to help.

An additional thought came to mind. The John Butler House BnB in Elizabeth Township near Butler Golf Course has four bedrooms that could accommodate eight people which may not be enough for your group. Also it is up a nearly one-mile hill via Rock Run Road off the trail. It's about 25 miles from downtown.

What is the actual mileage you are trying to target?

Take a look at the Mileage Chart on the menu at the top of this website. You'll see a decent chart that lines up mileage from Pittsburgh to towns along the route. That might give a better sense of where to start looking for accommodations.

Maybe just ride to Homestead as a bit of a shakedown / stretch the legs kind of thing. Plenty of hotel rooms there, and restaurant choices as well. Of course, you have to go to Primanti's, but others may not be interested in local culture.

Also, Rivnuts, it's good to see you still here helping folks out. If you ever make it down to the Katy, be sure to find me on that forum...

Bill in Columbia (Houston):

Long time…no hear! Nice to see you are still lurking out there! We miss your insight and affection for the GAP/C&O. Interesting, I did make it to Missouri and ride the Big BAM Tour in the fall of 2024. The Katy had been on my bucket list for some time.

You don’t know how close you came to seeing me during that trip! I was in the ER the Thursday night before departing for Missouri with abdominal distress but was treated and released. Feeling better the next morning I drove with a friend from Pittsburgh via Columbus OH to St. Charles and took the bus to Clinton to begin the ride. Though not feeling great, I made it to Boonville where I became very ill during the night. Enough so, that I was developing plans to abandon the tour, ride to Columbia which appeared to be the nearest hospital and location from which I could fly home. In that event, I was going to try to contact you about leaving my bike with you if I had to fly home. Fortunately, my friend had driven from Columbus to St. Charles so that I wouldn’t have to retrieve a car from St. Charles also but only from Columbus if I did abandon the tour. However, the next morning I felt somewhat better and completed the tour and returned to Pittsburgh. A few days after returning I had emergency abdominal surgery. I know that’s too much information!

All that said, it’s good to hear from you again. Hope to see you in the ‘Burgh in the future. Stay well my friend and keep the rubber side down!

Nice house to stay in.

The food at the golf course next door was great and amazingly cheap. We had dinner and breakfast there. We sat outside, and it was just beautiful.

Bike storage was outdoors, uncovered.

This place is a substantial distance from the trail, and is a substantial distance uphill. If we did it again, we'd just go on to Boston and stay there, next to the trail.

I recently stayed here with a group of 6 and found it very nice and not overly yuppyish.

Given the difficulty of finding a beer in Pennsylvania, the snack bar at the nearby 10th hole was a plus.

But the best part was the adjacent restaurant. In addition to the provided breakfast, we had supper there. The food was good, portions huge, and prices reasonable. For breakfast you order whatever you want from the menu; and mine was so large that I had half of it for lunch along the trail.

The only downside was the almost 1 mile ride uphill from the trail.