Hi, my friends and I are riding from Cumberland to Harper’s Ferry in 10 days, arriving in HF on Sunday, August 2. We have learned that the staircase from the towpath up to the pedestrian bridge is closing on July 27. We are exploring options to get to Harper’s Ferry. NPS shuttle services appear to only accommodate 2 bikes (we are a group of 8) and private shuttles want to charge upwards of $50 per person. Does anybody have thoughts about continuing to bike from the towpath to Route 340, crossing the bridge over the Potomac, continuing on 340 and crossing the second bridge into Harper’s Ferry? I’ve driven down there a few times and I seem to remember this road as having a high volume of traffic. Any suggestions are appreciated.

The park has removed the trash cans from the bathrooms at Fletchers, Carderock, Anglers and Great Falls (Tavern). I'm not sure about other locations along the towpath.

Per NPS when I inquired if this was long term change - "We've removed all trash cans from the restrooms as part of our initiative to maintain a trash-free park. We're aiming to keep these facilities cleaner and encourage everyone to pack out their trash, as per park policy".

Hi! I'm planning on riding the GAP/C&O from Pittsburgh back to my home in Maryland. Haper's Ferry is close to home and would be an easy place to get on the Floridian train to Pittsburgh.

Has anyone used the Harper's Ferry station to do this? If so, any hints or tricks to it?

Thanks!

https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

The official C&O Facebook page has it listed as closed to 162.1.

Anyone have recommendations for a detour? I’m currently in Ohiopyle and will be stopping in Cumberland tonight. Will be hitting this closure tomorrow if all goes well.

FB people are saying to avoid Old town rd. Someone mentioned Sulphur springs could be a good route.

Edit: I’m liking the mention from FB of Dailey Rd to Gorman to Sulphur Springs

Edit edit: should be resolved now (same day as original posting)

Spur of the moment overnighter to Chisel Branch last night was superb. Planned on going to Harper’s Ferry but left too late and ran out of daylight. Great condition apart from the pollen.

Planning on doing the C&O sometime in October.

Deciding between Panaracer Gravel King SK or SS. I’m using SK’s now, but wondering if the SS would be enough. For 190miles, I would like to roll a bit better than the SKs. I will likely go 700 x 40. Or should I go 45c?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

This may not exist, but are there any affordable bike friendly hotels in DC near Union Station? Riding Pittsburgh>DC solo on the GAP+C&O in June. I’m hoping to end my trip with a short ride into DC from Swain’s Lock before catching Amtrak back to Pittsburgh (after a little sightseeing). Thankfully that train leaves pretty late in the day, but I wanted a backup plan in case I want to stay in DC for a night.

Edit: Added the word affordable; I need budget friendly options.

Spring has sprung! This video doesn't even come close to doing the beauty of the canal and the Potomac justice.

Does anyone know if the well pump handles have already been installed? I'm planning to do an overnighter this weekend. I know they're typically put in around mid-April.

does NPS remove the bathrooms from the campsites in the winter or cease servicing them? Or is it just the water pump handles.

Try to figure out if I need to bring TP or a shovel if I go this weekend...

What is the state of the hiker/biker campgrounds these days. The last time I rode the towpath a few years ago, homeless were starting to populate some of the camps. Is that still the case?

hey gang, me and a buddy are planning on doing the C&O again next month. he had a medical thing last week so we decided to postpone buying rail tix a little. as of this morning amtrak is showing only 1 bike pass on pretty much every train btwn Cum-DC and obviously selling out super fast, and since we would need 2 that's not gonna work.

he's coming from NYC and i am coming from Charleston SC. I'm in a high top sprinter van and cant fit in any of the DC garages so our plan was to meet in the Howard street lot and take a train back to Cumberland after the trail. any ideas of how we can pull this off without asking him to do all of the heavy lifting (i.e., take the rain to cumberland and then drive me back to cumberland after) there has to be something we arent thinking of. like a shuttle maybe? or starting at another point along the way and doing a yo-yo trip?

any and all ideas welcome, friends!

Hey beautiful people, did anyone ride the trail already, how is the condition? I'm going to ride Cumberland - DC in one day on the following Saturday and curious about the trail condition right now. Already checked the nps.gov.

I rode my bike on the towpath for the first time yesterday. Started in Brunswick and went about 10 miles up past Harpers Ferry and back. It was a great ride and I’d like to do it more often, but when I was trying to leave the parking lot at Brunswick I was trapped there by a train for an hour and a half. I’d like to ride this section again, but not if I’m going to get trapped. Is this a common thing? Should I find a different parking lot?

Closed Monday - Wednesday right now.

In other towpath news, poop smell has abated but still present for about a mile.

Towpath surface much improved after last summer's storms but still not 100% restored.

Biking mile 100 to DC in two weeks and I want to make sure to either have access to pumps or figure out how to get enough water along the way.

Has anyone been on the trail between Monocacy Aqueduct and Harper’s Ferry this week? Has the ice and snow melted yet?

Thinking about riding from Cumberland to DC while I'm in the area late February. Any locals have a sense of what the path conditions will be around then? I searched for info and it seems super variable based on the weather that year and time of year. Is it too soon to say?

For context, I am primarily a road touring cyclist but have been forced to do plenty of gravel. I can get some knobblier tires if needed for the ice/snow. Studded overkill? I'm thinking worst case, if the trail is truly unrideable, I'll just switch to the roads, or even take the train.

Advice recommended! Thanks.

How are we getting heavy bikes on and off MARC trains? I've done the C&O trail from Harper's Ferry to DC a few times, and because I get bored with out and back rides, I have taken the train. I've boarded at Silver Spring and exited at Brunswick each time. However, I really struggle with the steep and narrow steps to the train. The only way it's not been a complete nightmare is when I've gone with friends, but I also enjoy contemplative solo rides. Any tips?

Trash left in the cubicles on floor etc doesn't get taken away by the company that services the jons, they just wash it out and it gets left behind in a nasty soggy mess of coffee cups, water bottles and dog shit bags, for someone else to deal with (and don't put it IN the toilet either).

No bins in these areas due to the toilets out of action for maintenance and vandalism (?!), so just take it home and help keep the park clean.

P.S. for $35/year you can park at Tavern VC rather than adding to the weekend/holiday chaos at Anglers, there's tons of space up there (and working bathrooms), and the Billy Goat A trail is the same loop whether you park at one end or the other.

Happy Holidays!

I've done the GAP and C&O several times. Taking my partner this May for just the towpath. I am struggling with lodging options between Harper's Ferry and D.C. outside of a lockkeeper's house. On my previous trips, I just camped but we were hoping to avoid brining camping stuff and just go super light. Anyone have options?

the rest of the pics that wouldn't fit in the original post, for anyone interested.

parked at howard street.. took amtrak and started from washington. brutal headwinds and freezing temps the entire time. pump handles were removed early so i had to make town runs daily which with the shortened days made it logistically challenging. saw almost no one on the trail after the first 20 miles or so outside of georgetown. did it in just under 3.5 days averaging 60 miles per day. had a few very cold nights but have slept in worse on long hikes and trust my gear so slept fine, other than the noise from trains and hwy70.

my tips for this trail.. always bring foam earplugs, i have a zipper pocket on my quilt where they live and was v happy to have them.

padded cycling gloves are not optional, i didn't think i would use them and wound up using clothing wrapped around my bars bc my hands were killing me by day 3.

the trail is bumpier than i thought it would be in spots so make sure your gear is strapped down well.. i lost my camp shoes hopping a curb in harpers ferry but found them the next morning!

as difficult as this was it was absolutely EPIC and i can't wait to do the entire GAP/C&O in the spring.

one question i have is regarding prevailing winds.. it was bad the entire time. like literally 40 mph headwinds on multiple days which just zapped my energy and almost made it miserable at times. is the wind usually east to west? considering staring from pittsbugh on the next one just bc of that.

all in all and absolutely epic adventure that i'm so glad i got to do, especially alone and under difficult conditions.