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The C&O Canal Towpath Trail and Great Allegheny Passage
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Trail conditions
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Peter Liaw from San Jose CA on 6/20/2019 5:59:34 AM:
We just road from Cumberland to Hancock. The trail was pretty muddy and bumpy. Is it like this all the way to DC?
 
Richard from DC on 6/20/2019 11:57:27 AM:
It's usually muddy until you get to Violette's Lock, which is about mile 22. From there on into DC, the towpath is compacted sand.
 
Peter from Dallas on 6/20/2019 12:39:08 PM:
I did DC -> Pitt last week. The stretch between Hancock and Cumberland was definitely in the worse shape, very muddy. We did have rain the previous night, and during the day, but I think that it still would have been muddy. Conditions should be better on the other side of Hancock with variable trail conditions, some sand, some gravel, a bit of mud, and some crushed stone. The 15-20 miles N of Harpers Ferry seemed to be a bit bumpier than the rest of the trail.
 
Stephen from Jamestown,NC on 6/22/2019 9:15:08 PM:
Just completed DC to Pittsburgh this past week. C&O is pretty much mud and muck. Certainly passable but be prepared to get dirty/muddy. The GAP is fine, not much mud. Several trees down on both trails too. All and all it was drier than last year but still plenty wet.
 
Peter Liaw from San Jose CA on 6/23/2019 7:23:52 AM:
Thanks for your feedback. We arrived in DC Friday night. Cumberland to Hancock was definitely the worse part of the trail. There was a paved path for over 10 miles that would have saved us some rough riding through mud and mosquitoes but we but we missed it. It was not marked at all. Conditions were better from Hancock to DC.
 
Anonymous on 6/23/2019 2:02:52 PM:
Do you know approximately where the over 10 miles of paved path is?
 
Rivnuts from Homestead. PA on 6/23/2019 5:49:33 PM:
The paved Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT) runs parallel and within sight of a portion of the C&O Towpath. It runs from about 2 miles east of Fifteen Mile Creek (Little Orleans) to 11 miles southeast of Hancock for a total of about 28 miles. It was formerly only about 22 miles (11 miles on either side of Hancock) but has been extended to the west to within a couple of miles of Fifteen Mile Creek. You need to be watchful while traveling on the Towpath to find the new ramp that takes you up to the WMRT.
 
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