Reply to Ending in DC -- Train and lodging

Greetings to any friends here from the Erie Canalway forum. This site has already provided a bunch of good information and the "Trip Planer" is such an awesome tool for those who are not oriented to the trail.

Background -- Last year I rode the GAP (PGH -> Cumberland) and loved it! Decided to do it again and add the C&O (the C&O is a bucket list item). I'm pretty comfortable with my plan at this point which is to be on trail the last week of July into Aug. There are racks available on weekday trains at this point so I am looking to nail down my schedule and make reservations.

QUESTIONS:
(1) What is the deal when I get into DC? I will be arriving around Noon. How far is the Train station and which station do I use? I can see the Georgetown Station on the AMTRAK reservation system, but it doesn't allow me to use it, and defaults to Union Station. (I'm also assuming that having 4 hours is plenty of time.)

(2) It bothers me to not have some fallback plan on the trail (bike repairs or situations that cause me time) that might cause me to miss the train. I'd like to add an extra day to cover this. If I do that, I'm looking for recommendations for a place to stay. I know DC and the Metro rather well (however, not with bike), so I'm open to suggestions. (Save high-end... I don't need too many stars to be happy.)

(3) Assume working in this fallback plan is a smart thing.

(4) I'm typically not inclined to do a lot of stops to include places of interest. However, there is a lot of history in this area. Are there things that I **really should be** taking in while I'm on the trail? Side trips or whatever that I should change my schedule to include?

Thanks in advance! Happy to meet everyone here on the forum.
-bubba

Hey WNYBubba.

Getting to Union Station is breeze! It is Union Station, you are right. DC is a super friendly bicycle city with tons of bike lanes. You can also ride along the National Mall which is surprisingly big. Just punch Union Station into Google maps. I have done this a few times. No problems.

I think other than rush hours, you can bring you bike on the Metro.

I stayed at hotels in Arlington near the airport. It’s a little bit away from downtown DC but I got lower rates out there. You might also get lower rates with Covid affecting how many people are traveling and they might be trying to entice people. There’s a hostel in DC also if you’re looking to save money. But it all depends on your budget.

The extra day is a good idea if you want that. If you were to have mechanical issues, any bike shop you contact should be able to come and meet you at a trail access point and offer you a shuttle into town for a fee.

I will defer to others on this forum when it comes to history, they’ll have some good feedback. I would definitely see Great Falls just outside DC along the C&O. Incredible rapids.

Don’t forget to take the Western Maryland Rail Trail before and after Hancock, MD. It runs parallel to the C&O for 27 miles. The paved trail is a welcome respite from the gravel or dirt paths and possibly mud. Don’t worry, its not cheating even if you’re a purist. I don’t know anyone that has done Pittsburgh to DC and NOT gotten on the WMRT! You can get on at Little Orleans, you will take a detour for 2+ miles that puts you back on the C&O (there a tunnel that is filled with a bat habitat and wouldn’t be safe for human passage), then you’re back on the WMRT until just about the end. Just after you pass mile marker 1, start looking for the interchange to get back on the C&O. If you reach the end of the WMRT, you’ve gone too far, go back 3/4ths of a mile for the switch.

In addition, when you reach Georgetown at the end of the cobblestone trail, it appears you have concluded your ride. But there is still 3/10ths of a mile to go! To reach the Mile 0 marker at Thompson Boat House, follow this video that got me there the first time I did the trail:
https://youtu.be/9kzs51zRsSY

I always cap off my DC trip at the Lincoln Monument and reflecting pool.

If you have time, don’t forget to visit Gravelly Point at Reagan/National Airport right on the Mt. Vernon trail. The planes take off or land right over your head. It’s quite a sight.

John W has done a good job in answering your questions. Regarding side trips or points of interest I would repeat the response I have made to similar questions. Take some time before you embark n the trip to seek out and read about the histories of both the GAP and the C&O. The more you know about these trails, the more you will appreciate what you will see and pass along the way. Knowing about the history of the railroads from DC/Baltimore to Pittsburgh and beyond and the industries, notably coal and coke, that were serviced by these industries will make those simple sights along the GAP more meaningful. Armed with that knowledge, you can almost envision what life was like in the early 1900’s as you ride along and see the vestiges of the steel mills, coal mines an coke ovens. The same holds true for the C&O and its development, use and demise.

John W has done a good job in answering your questions. Regarding side trips or points of interest I would repeat the response I have made to similar questions. Take some time before you embark on the trip to seek out and read about the histories of both the GAP and the C&O. The more you know about these trails, the more you will appreciate what you will see and pass along the way. Knowing about the history of the railroads from DC/Baltimore to Pittsburgh and beyond and the industries, notably coal and coke, that were serviced by these industries will make those simple sights along the GAP more meaningful. Armed with that knowledge, you can almost envision what life was like in the early 1900’s as you ride along and see the vestiges of the steel mills, coal mines an coke ovens. The same holds true for the C&O and its development, use and demise.

We stayed at the Tabard Inn last summer. Easy to get to from Rock Creek, the price was reasonable, and they stored our bikes in a storeroom without any issue.

Thanks to both John W. and Rivnuts for the reply and good info. I'm glad to know about the WMRT because I had heard mention, but didn't realize the impact with using it. I've watched the video about Mile Marker 0 and got that straight! Of course, because it's me... I have already taken some short street tours of the area on Google Maps - Street View!

I also visited the Metro website and found out you CAN take a bike aboard. I will post the excerpt on a thread as a Public Service because many here might want the know.

Rivnuts -- got ya on the history of the GAP and C&O. I have actually done some reading and acquired a decent background. I did stop to read and understand what was going on during my GAP tour last year. I'm never in that much of a hurry not to see points of interest along the trail. Having had a day in Cumberland last year also helped learn about the area. I was more interested in other types of places such as Civil War or other nearby landmarks that I should consider visiting. A good example is Antietam -- I was online and read about the battle and what is there now. It's interesting, but I haven't made up my mind if I am going to stop.

I will post a separate thread to ask my question more pointedly. This one may have gotten lost in this original post with four questions.

Bikes used to be banned on the metro during rush hours but that has changed. You can now take them onboard at any time. Metro is not crowded at all since COVID, lots of room with no one around.

Buy your Amtrak ticket early, as well as bike baggage. the limited bike transport fills up fast.

To add on to Lenny’s comment about buying your bike baggage Amtrak tickets early. You can try and pick dates on the Amtrak web site and you might get lucky and see a ticket for sale but most of the time you will get a “Sold Out” message. Or you can call a ticket reservation agent and ask them “what are the next available dates in June on the Capitol Limited from Pit to DC that you have bike tickets still for sale?” This helped me when I made my reservation a month ago. I kept getting Sold Out and couldn’t find a ticket to save my life so I just called and they gave me 5-6 dates to pick from when I asked. So much easier.