Great Allegheny Passage Biking

Meet the tour shuttle at the Pittsburgh airport, then you’ll be driven to McKeesport, Pennsylvania. The group will assemble to prepare your bikes and gear, and then you’ll have a welcome dinner where your guides will go over important orientation information.

Today your bike ride will be along the gravel path that follows the Youghiogheny River. You’ll follow its shady banks as it meanders towards the town of Connellsville, where you’ll spend the night.

Continue along the river as you bike towards Ohiopyle in the Laurel Highlands. On the way, you’ll pass Fallingwater, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed heritage landmark. When you stop for lunch you can take the shuttle back to the house for a tour if it sparks your interest!

After lunch, you’ll be following the Casselman River as it skirts around the foot of Mount Davis. You’ll continue cycling all the way to Rockwood, where you’ll be stopping for the night.

Your route today will bring you to the newly restored Pinkerton tunnel. This sequence of bridge-to-tunnel-to-bridge is finally open to bicycles and is a popular highlight of the GAP.

Then, you’ll be riding 30 meters above the Casselman Valley as you cross it on the Salisbury Trestle. Your route begins a gentle climb as you approach the Eastern Continental Divide, which separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico and is the highest point of the Passage.

Shortly after the Divide, you’ll reach the Big Savage Tunnel, which is a short trip through the mountain itself. Take in the spectacular view as you emerge from the tunnel and cycle past the Mason-Dixon Line to Cumberland

Start today’s bike ride from the Western Maryland Scenic Rail Station and head east through the countryside to West Virginia (country roads, take me home…).

As you leave Cumberland you’ll have reached the end of the Great Allegheny Passage and begun the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail. You’ll find the paths are dirt trails now rather than the gravel track you’ve been on so far. You’ll be riding through some gorgeous, rugged country after passing through the Paw Paw Tunnel.

The day ends in Little Orleans, where you can relax for the night.

Today you can enjoy the nice paved Western Maryland Rail Trail, which runs parallel to the C&O Canal. You’ll be cycling to Fort Frederick and then on to Williamsport for an evening in this lovely waterside town.

The group will leave the C&O Trail today to make a stop at the National Battlefield of Antietam. There will be time to walk the field and learn about this historic Civil War landmark.

Afterward, you’ll return to the trail and ride to Harpers Ferry, where you’ll take the ferry to make the crossing where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet.

This morning you’ll ride along the trail as it follows the canal. You’ll pass the canal locks and the last auto ferry to still operate the Potomac crossing.

Enjoy the relaxing ride through Great Falls Park, where you’ll see the water falling over the jagged rocks that had once been an imposing impasse on the Potomac. A shuttle will pick you up here to bring you to the hotel on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. for the night.

Your day starts with a ride along the last stretch through Maryland into Washington, D.C. The paved path is undergoing refurbishment, but you’ll still be able to visit the plaque that marks Mile 0 and signifies your completion of the C&O Canal Trail. Congrats!

From here you’ll take the paved path into the capital to visit the National Mall. You’ll have time to explore the area and visit the inspiring Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The final leg of your journey takes you to visit George Washington’s Mount Vernon home, where you can reflect on his contribution to the building of the very canal you’ve been following. This is where your tour ends, and your shuttle will bring you to the airport.