Rails to trails maps series#

On the last 15.5 miles to Cumberland, you’ll parallel the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, which runs steam locomotive excursions on weekends and many weekdays. If you’re here in mid-September, you can enjoy local music and crafts at the Appalachian Festival.

Rails to trails maps series#

You can visit downtown via a series of uphill switchbacks to a regional museum and a restored 1891 train station that serves as a restaurant. Home to Frostburg State University, the college town features a vibrant restaurant and art scene. Crossing the old Mason–Dixon Line-the traditional border between the North and the South-into Maryland, you’ll roll into Frostburg in 5 miles. (Note that this tunnel is closed from late November to early April.) Along the way, enjoy spectacular views of the Casselman River Valley, which offers a vivid display of colorful foliage in the fall.įrom the tunnel, it’s mostly downhill to Cumberland. Highlights of this section include traversing the newly restored 849-foot-long Pinkerton Tunnel crossing the 101-foot-high Salisbury Viaduct, which spans more than 1,900 feet, and the slightly smaller Keystone Viaduct and exploring the 3,291-foot-long Big Savage Tunnel, which offers welcome relief on hot summer days. Popular with whitewater rafters, the river in this area features rocky outcroppings, boulder-strewn banks, and soothing waterfalls.įarther east, past the town of Confluence, where the Youghiogheny and Casselman Rivers meet, the GAP makes its way to the Eastern Continental Divide. Here you’ll find two dramatic trestles and some of the wildest rapids along the route. The former industrial towns along the route that once were vital to the mining, steel, and glass industries now welcome trail users with a variety of amenities and ser-vices, the new mainstay of many of their post-industrial economies.įollowing the meandering Youghiogheny River, you’ll pass through several of these towns before reaching Ohiopyle. Along the way, see the remnants of the Steel City’s past in the form of a large industrial furnace, a ladle car, and a former steel mill, in addition to an array of interpretive signage.Īll along the GAP, you experience a sense of remoteness and tranquility amid the landscape of lush forests, wildflowers meadows, and sparkling rivers, but you’re never too far from a town. Heading east, it crosses over the Monongahela River on a former railway bridge and travels west along the water until it meets the Youghiogheny River at McKeesport. On its western end, the trail begins at historic Point State Park in Pittsburgh. It was the first pathway in the country to be in-ducted into Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2007. The Allegheny Trail Alliance, formed in 1995, spearheaded the piece-by-piece completion of the route. The first section of trail was completed in 1986. Before setting out, it’s a good idea to check the GAP website for local trail conditions and for opportunities for dining, lodging, and shuttle services. The GAP got its start in 1978 when a local nonprofit bought a segment of unused railroad. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are popular wintertime pursuits. While most users are on foot or bike, equestrians are allowed on grassy adjacent paths between Boston and Connellsville Rockwood and Garrett and the Pennsylvania–Maryland state line and Frostburg, Maryland. Abundant historical sites from the French and Indian Wars, as well as from the era of Western exploration, can be found. Eastbound travelers will find a slight but steady grade from Pittsburgh to the Eastern Continental Divide. Westbound travelers from mile marker 0 in Cumberland will experience a steep grade in the 23.7 miles to the Eastern Continental Divide-the high point of the trail. The route mainly follows old railbeds between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, in many cases alongside scenic rivers and streams. The GAP is also a host trail for the 3,700-miles-plus Great American Rail-Trail-which will one day form a seamless connection between Washington, D.C., and Washington State-and hosts part of the September 11th National Memorial Trail, which connects the World Trade Center, Flight 93, and Pentagon Memorials.

The biggest allure might be the ability to travel off-road for over 330 miles-all the way from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.-when combining the GAP with the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (C&O Canal Towpath) in Cumberland, Maryland. Trail users marvel at the scenery along one of the longest rail-trails in the United States. The welcoming small towns along the route entice travelers with lodging, camping, markets, and dining. Ever since the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) was completed in 2013, overnight bicycle riders and backpackers have flocked to the 150-mile rail-trail that travels through Western Pennsylvania and Maryland.