ABOUT THE PARK:
DIRECTIONS: GPS: 15 Howard Street, Cumberland, MD
The address works. Parking is under I-68 so coordinates might put you on I-68 instead of under.
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| Parking under I-68 right off of exit 43B for both the end of the C&O Canal Trail and the start of the Great Allegheny Passage. |
TRAIL MAP:
DISTANCES:
This was part of a hiking and biking weekend in Maryland.
Great Allegheny Passage Bike Shuttle - 35.7 miles
THE BIKE:
I highly recommend
this shuttle service. For only $39 ($49 if you rent a bike) they shuttle you from Cumberland, MD to Deal, PA for a 25-mile all downhill ride back to Cumberland on the GAP. If you want more of a workout, add on in the opposite direction before heading downhill, which is what I did, because once past the Eastern Continental Divide, you are mostly coasting downhill at about 10-12 mph without even pedaling. But so much to see and such a great ride!
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| From the parking lot, heading over to the SHOPS AT CANAL PLACE sign ... |
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| ... then right at mile 0 of the Great Allegheny Passage. |
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| A short distance ahead is the Western Maryland Railroad Station and at the far end ... |
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| ... the Visitor Center with the shuttle pickup at the bike racks up ahead. |
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| The shuttle bus. They load up your bike (or bring the rentals along) and off you go for a half hour drive to Deal, PA. |
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| Drop off at the Deal, PA trail parking. |
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| I headed in the direction of Pittsburg to add on 10 miles since 25 miles all downhill would not be enough for me. |
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| Coming up on ... |
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| Turning back at mile 30. |
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| Back over the Keystone Viaduct. |
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| At the Deal, PA parking lot where I had been dropped of, continuing on to start the 25-mile ride. |
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| Very soon coming up on ... |
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| ... the Eastern Continental Divide and the highest point of the GAP. |
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| Looking back from the other side. |
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| It is looooooong and looks daunting. It was a bit creepy but also exhilarating. The tunnel has lighting but it is dim. My headlamp helped a little. |
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| It is .6 miles long and took almost 5 minutes to ride through but it felt longer. Note that those big doors close at some point towards the end of November and do not reopen until April and there is no way around. |
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| Coming out the other side the views are breathtaking although the pictures in horrible lighting don't do it justice at all. |
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| There are motion detection lights but they do not illuminate until you have passed them. Should have turned my headlight on because it was DARK in there! |
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| Frostburg, MD after the only uphill portion. |
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| At this point I could hear a train. |
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| The town of Mt. Savage. |
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| There was still some decent foliage around. |
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| Tracks and Yaks that provided the shuttle for this ride, also offers railbike tours. |
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| I saw three headlights coming towards me so I waited before entering the tunnel and that was a good decision - turned out to be three of those <insert explicative> ebikes speeding through. |
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| Now there is that "partial clouds" that was the forecast for the entire day. |
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| The Narrows |
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| The trail continues straight ahead to just the other side of where that white bus is blocking the trail. |
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| Back at the parking lot on the left just around the bike lockers, I loaded my bike up and ... |
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| ... headed back over to ... |
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| I had the portobello mushroom sandwich (which was delicious) and a cup of coffee with raspberry chocolate cheesecake to go. |
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| That raspberry chocolate cheesecake had been calling my name for 250 miles on the drive home so when I stopped for gas, I just had to have it. SOOOOO GOOD! |
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