Reply to Places to stay in White's Ferry

My daughter and I are biking from Pittsburgh to DC. Our last stop is White's Ferry. Any hotel/B&B recommendations would be appreciated!

Across the river Leesburg is a few miles away. 1 of the motels use to offer a free shuttle. Can't recall which one.

White's Ferry is sort of the middle of nowhere on the Maryland side at least for hotels. There are a number around Leesburg, Virginia. You can take the ferry across the river for a few dollars, and Leesburg is just a couple of miles away. Unfortunately, the road there is dangerous. Once you get off the ferry, you have about a mile to Highway 15. There are several, small, blind hills on that road. I ride it but always worry about someone coming up behind me at high speed. But since bikes are the last things off the ferry, usually you can make it to 15 without anyone coming up from behind. Highway 15 is more of a problem. Cars whiz by at 60 mph. There is a wide shoulder and rumble strips to let cars know if they stray onto the shoulder. All the same, I don't enjoy the two-mile ride on Highway 15 into town. It's pretty safe once you get into Leesburg though. Streets in the old part of town are narrow but have sidewalks. Many of the newer areas have walking paths. There may be AirB&Bs to be found on the Maryland side. Otherwise, there isn't a hotel within ten or fifteen miles. White's Ferry is in the county agricultural preserve, meaning commercial buildings aren't allowed. You really have to go on into DC to get a hotel. It's about 30 miles on the towpath and an easy three hours.

Best Western in Leesburg sent a van to pick us up and take us back for free. Very helpful staff. Another hotel was going to charge us so call if you stay somewhere else. Lots of restaurants in the main hotel area.

Comfort Suites in Leesburg, VA has a "bike and stay package." They pick you and your bike(s) up for free from the shuttle and take you to your room. They have a hose outside to wash your bikes and let you keep your bikes in your room. Once there, if you don't want to ride your bike anymore, they will also provide a free ride to a restaurant or anywhere else in town and come pick you up when you want to return. They also provide food for you to take with you on the remainder of your trip. (Except we forgot to pick up our free food for the ride home!) Phone: (703) 669-1650

Tampa Biker, Thanks, I couldn't remember the name of the motel that offered a shuttle. I'm not sure why Richard stated there were no lodging choices within 10-15 miles of White's Ferry. Leesburg is only a couple of miles and yes biking on the road is a pain in the butt.

I just crossed Whites Ferry on September 8 during my excursion from Pittsburgh to DC.

The cost to cross the ferry on a bicycle is $2.

The total mileage from where you turn off the C&O trail to get to the ferry to where you turn on to the W&OD trail on the other side of Downtown Leesburg is 5.0 miles.

The distance from the ferry to 15 is 1.2 miles. Traffic on that road is not as bad as others have stated. Unless you have your music turned up too loud you can easily hear approaching traffic.

Make no mistake- 15 is a busy road, at least until the 15 bypass. The good thing is that during that part there is a 10 ft wide paved shoulder with a rumble strip between the traffic and you.

At the bypass where 15 becomes business 15, the paved shoulder becomes much narrower, but the speed limit drops to 35mph to 25mph at the edge of downtown. There is a sidewalk if the shoulder seems too sketchy.
Once in old downtown Leesburg, there isn’t anyone going 25mph. I felt safe riding down the center of the traffic lane downtown.

If you opt for the W&OD trail at Leesburg, it will be a completely different biking experience. The W&OD is a paved rails-to-trails that runs beneath a big power line, is rather treeless and boring, crosses roads, and passes through a number of built up areas. I'm not a fan although tastes differ. The C&O on the other hand just starts to get interesting between White's Ferry and Georgetown. The towpath is still dirt, and hence possibly muddy, until you get to Violette's lock at the 23 mile mark. But before you get there, you pass Edwards Ferry, which used to be another ferry across the river and which was the site of a lock allowing boats from the river to enter the canal, particularly canal boats from the Goose Creek Canal across the river in Virginia. During the Civil War, Confederate guerilla units were crossing the river from White's Ferry to Pennyfield Lock (mile 20) and Union cavalry patrolled the towpath. At Violette's, you look across the river at Trump National Golf Course. The river is partially damned there and a lake is formed by the backed up water. Here you also pass Seneca quarry which provided the red sandstone you see on building in DC like the Smithsonian castle and the broken viaduct over Seneca Creek. The last lock keeper here was John Riley. His family lived in the lockkeeper's house you see until his young daughter drowned in the canal and the family moved away from the water. Eventually you'll get to Great Falls. The walking path to the Falls is still closed, I think, buy you can still see parts of it from the towpath. Traffic on the towpath picks up from here to Georgetown but it isn't too bad. In sum, the towpath has a lot more history to it, river views, and trees than the W&OD Trail does. While the towpath north of White's Ferry is not in good condition, the surface from Violette's Lock to Georgetown is macadam (rocks and gravel mixed with clay) and stays pretty dry. But if you are tired of the towpath experience and just want to get the ride over with, the W&OD is an alternative.

Thanks everyone for the input. Booked at Comfort Suites and they pick up from the ferry!