The Great Allegheny Passage Rail Trail and Family Visits
Rail trails are a great way to repurpose a non-functional railroad. All across the US, rail trails are being developed along old railway lines. The tracks are removed and a trail is made - some are paved, some crushed gravel, some compacted, some dirt/grass, some traverse a long distance while others only a few miles. Since trains can't go up steep inclines the trails are always a gentle gradient and usually go through some beautiful territory.
The Great Allegheny Passage is an extremely well maintained rail trail that goes 150 miles from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD. Its surface is a compacted gravel and easy to ride on (not as fast as on a road, but very adequate.) On our part, it was a last minute decision to take advantage of the remaining Autumn weather before the cold sets in. We hit the weather just right with cool/cold nights and warm sunny days, and with the added bonus of the changing color of the leaves. We were planning on camping along the way and just didn't have the necessary capability on the bikes to do that, so we opted for another strategy. We would park the car at a campground along the trail for 2 nights and bike South and back one day, then North and back one day - then move the car further up the path and repeat... Our Coleman stove and supplies from the car made the camping part easy. It would have been fun to do the whole trail without having to go back and forth each day.
The path connects with the C&O Canal Towpath which goes from Cumberland, MD down to Washington DC. Apparently this path is not well maintained with a lot of dirt/mud and ruts along the way. But we met people who were doing the entire C&O and the GAP - 332 miles!.
The camping worked out well - there was only one really cold morning when we woke up to 34°F temps - it was wonderful to find a warm restaurant and have a hot cup of tea and breakfast while waiting for the day to warm up! There are B&B's along the route at various stages so some people choose this option. We found that during this time of year we fit right in with the demographics of people on the trail - many older riders! The rail trail is on one side of the river while the new and functioning tracks are on the other side - SO one down side is that when you camp near the river you continually hear the LONG, LOUD trains all night long. Our camps were Meyersdale, B&B in Confluence, and West Newton.
So the summary -
Pros: beautifully maintained path, good scenery, interesting people along the way, Fall colors, good weather, not crowded, lots of interesting informational signs along the way, restored train stations, bathrooms, great bridges, tunnels, viaducts
Cons: trains at night, riding at one pace since the grade is slight gets somewhat monotonous - it would have been nice to have some small hills here and there
Yes, we would recommend this and yes we would do it again.
The Great Allegheny Passage is an extremely well maintained rail trail that goes 150 miles from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD. Its surface is a compacted gravel and easy to ride on (not as fast as on a road, but very adequate.) On our part, it was a last minute decision to take advantage of the remaining Autumn weather before the cold sets in. We hit the weather just right with cool/cold nights and warm sunny days, and with the added bonus of the changing color of the leaves. We were planning on camping along the way and just didn't have the necessary capability on the bikes to do that, so we opted for another strategy. We would park the car at a campground along the trail for 2 nights and bike South and back one day, then North and back one day - then move the car further up the path and repeat... Our Coleman stove and supplies from the car made the camping part easy. It would have been fun to do the whole trail without having to go back and forth each day.
The path connects with the C&O Canal Towpath which goes from Cumberland, MD down to Washington DC. Apparently this path is not well maintained with a lot of dirt/mud and ruts along the way. But we met people who were doing the entire C&O and the GAP - 332 miles!.
The camping worked out well - there was only one really cold morning when we woke up to 34°F temps - it was wonderful to find a warm restaurant and have a hot cup of tea and breakfast while waiting for the day to warm up! There are B&B's along the route at various stages so some people choose this option. We found that during this time of year we fit right in with the demographics of people on the trail - many older riders! The rail trail is on one side of the river while the new and functioning tracks are on the other side - SO one down side is that when you camp near the river you continually hear the LONG, LOUD trains all night long. Our camps were Meyersdale, B&B in Confluence, and West Newton.
So the summary -
Pros: beautifully maintained path, good scenery, interesting people along the way, Fall colors, good weather, not crowded, lots of interesting informational signs along the way, restored train stations, bathrooms, great bridges, tunnels, viaducts
Cons: trains at night, riding at one pace since the grade is slight gets somewhat monotonous - it would have been nice to have some small hills here and there
Yes, we would recommend this and yes we would do it again.
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Day 1: 17 Oct, we took the Port Jefferson Ferry to Bridgeport, CT and drove into Pennsylvania. It seems that I84 is hugely truck trafficked seeminly forever!!! Can NYC and the congestion in the east influence traffic all the way into Pennsylvania? We camped at a KOA in New Columbia, PA for the night in a mostly deserted campground - but the hot shower was appreciated!
Day 2: 18 Oct, we arrived at Meyersdale and camped at a small campground in town where they have an annual Maple Festival which draws a lot of people in March. There was an outdoor stage there so we camped 'on stage' to escape the wet grass. We didn't get on to bikes until 2:00 so we only rode about 10 miles south past the Eastern Continental Divide (water on the East flows to the Atlantic Ocean and water on the west flows to the Gulf of Mexico), across the Mason/Dixon line, and through the Big Savage Tunnel - then back again.
Day 3: 19 Oct, we had camping neighbors tonight - Skip and Karen retired Coastguard folk were each pulling a small trailer on their bikes with all their camping gear. It was a good opportunity to talk equipment! This was the morning we woke to 34 degree temps and found a restaurant to warm up in and eat some breakfast! Billy had smile-face pancakes. We rode 20 miles north across a beautiful viaduct and through the forest - and then back again.
Day 4: 20 Oct, today we thought we would take a break and do a B&B for the night so we drove the car to Confluence, found a quaint B&B on the river and rode 15 miles north past Ohiopyle and back again. Ohiopyle is a hub of activity with a state park and in warmer weather - canoes, kayaks, fishing... The night was somewhat disappointing as the B&B had paper thin walls and a hot air return unit in our room that sounded like a rocket every time it started up! Oh well...
Day 5: 21 Oct, we drove the car to West Newton and camped along the Youghiogheny River ( we finally had to ask someone HOW to pronounce this - it's kind of like Yog-i-heny) Again we escaped the wet grass by camping in a pavilion since we were the only campers. 20 miles South took us through lots of interesting small towns and forests - and back again. A burger at some tiny town off the river kept us going and got us the 20 miles back again.
Day 6: 22 Oct, we biked 15 miles north but ended up on concrete amongst the traffic in a more populated area coming into Pittsburgh so opted to turn around and head back again.
Day 2: 18 Oct, we arrived at Meyersdale and camped at a small campground in town where they have an annual Maple Festival which draws a lot of people in March. There was an outdoor stage there so we camped 'on stage' to escape the wet grass. We didn't get on to bikes until 2:00 so we only rode about 10 miles south past the Eastern Continental Divide (water on the East flows to the Atlantic Ocean and water on the west flows to the Gulf of Mexico), across the Mason/Dixon line, and through the Big Savage Tunnel - then back again.
Day 3: 19 Oct, we had camping neighbors tonight - Skip and Karen retired Coastguard folk were each pulling a small trailer on their bikes with all their camping gear. It was a good opportunity to talk equipment! This was the morning we woke to 34 degree temps and found a restaurant to warm up in and eat some breakfast! Billy had smile-face pancakes. We rode 20 miles north across a beautiful viaduct and through the forest - and then back again.
Day 4: 20 Oct, today we thought we would take a break and do a B&B for the night so we drove the car to Confluence, found a quaint B&B on the river and rode 15 miles north past Ohiopyle and back again. Ohiopyle is a hub of activity with a state park and in warmer weather - canoes, kayaks, fishing... The night was somewhat disappointing as the B&B had paper thin walls and a hot air return unit in our room that sounded like a rocket every time it started up! Oh well...
Day 5: 21 Oct, we drove the car to West Newton and camped along the Youghiogheny River ( we finally had to ask someone HOW to pronounce this - it's kind of like Yog-i-heny) Again we escaped the wet grass by camping in a pavilion since we were the only campers. 20 miles South took us through lots of interesting small towns and forests - and back again. A burger at some tiny town off the river kept us going and got us the 20 miles back again.
Day 6: 22 Oct, we biked 15 miles north but ended up on concrete amongst the traffic in a more populated area coming into Pittsburgh so opted to turn around and head back again.
Days 7 and 8: 23-24-25 Oct were spent at Billy's brothers home in Milford, NY. Chuck was not there as he was on a 500 mile bike ride in Israel, but we had a great visit with Laura. We tried another rail trail while there - this one goes from Buffalo to Albany, NY for 500 miles along the Erie canal. We did a short section, and were just starting to get into interesting country along the river and the locks, but didn't have time to go very far. We helped Laura plant 150 daffodil bulbs (she did another 150 the day after we left) and we're looking forward to seeing the radient fields of yellow in the Spring time..
Days 9 and 10: 26-27 Oct were spent with Greg, Jess and Flint in CT. Family time is always the best!
Days 9 and 10: 26-27 Oct were spent with Greg, Jess and Flint in CT. Family time is always the best!
