Linking Up Trail Surface, Terrain, and Equipment

When you ask "what’s the trail like?", you usually have two things in mind: trail surface and hills. Trail surface will make a major difference in your choice of bike. You might be interested in our trip report .

Trail Surface

On the trails of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, between Pittsburgh PA and Cumberland MD, the trails are built on railroad grades. The finished sections are mostly smooth packed crushed limestone. A few sections are paved (asphalt).

The C&O Canal towpath between Cumberland MD and Washington DC is mostly two-track, similar to a one-lane dirt road with two packed tracks spaced about 6-8' apart and a modest hump in the middle. Some sections are better, some are a bit rougher.

The few gaps in the trail are paved, but they have big hills.

Rain can affect the trail conditions: The rail-trails west of Meyersdale PA drain pretty well and aren't too bad in the rain. The towpath east from Cumberland MD gets sloppy in the rain with puddles in the tracks and a few muddy sections, but it's still passable. We rode from Paw Paw WV to Hancock MD in an all-day rain on Memorial Day weekend a couple of years ago. We were soaked, but we didn't have trouble riding. In case of really heavy, torrential rain, certain sections of the towpath could flood, though.

Hills

There are no significant hills on the finished trails. The rail-trails on the Pittsburgh PA side sometimes have a noticeable gradient, but nothing you'd call a real hill. The trails of the Allegheny Trail Alliance are now complete from Pittsburgh PA to Cumberland MD except for three gaps that require either vehicle support or riding on the road.

There are definitely hills on the detours around trail gaps. The gaps are 16 miles between Hazelwood PA and Boston PA (near Pittsburgh), 8 miles between Confluence PA and Ft Hill PA, and 33 miles between Meyersdale PA and Cumberland MD. See the instructions for road detours around these gaps.

The towpath is complete from Cumberland MD to Washington DC except for one long-established 4-mile detour just south of Williamsport MD. This detour has a steep quarter-mile hill at each end – you start by riding up, ride 3 miles or so in rolling farm country, and finish by riding down. The detour route is marked adequately but not extravagantly with small signs. A traffic-free alternative is under development.

Equipment

Most people probably use hybrids or mountain bikes. We recommend either a hybrid or touring bike with slightly knobby hybrid tires or else a mountain bike with semi-slick tires instead of off-road knobby tires. We've ridden these trails on both of these setups. Be sure the riders are comfortable on the bikes, especially the seats.

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This page is part of the Allegheny Trail Alliance's site in support of the Pittsburgh to Cumberland Trail, a motor-free recreational rail trail connecting Pittsburgh PA and Cumberland MD. Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000 by Allegheny Trail Alliance, Bill Metzger, Mary Shaw, and Roy Weil. Amenity information courtesy of FreeWheeling Easy. We encourage you to create links to this site and to print copies of the maps for your personal use. We prohibit other uses of this site, especially if they generate spam or other mass communications -- see our Privacy Policy.. This page was last modified on 04/22/00. Send email to ATA or contact the ATA or member trails.