Pittsburgh to eastern Pennsylvania — the GAP Trail, the C&O Canal, and a patchwork of back roads and rail trails the rest of the way back to where I grew up.
This summer's adventure heads east. In late June I'll roll out of Pittsburgh and point the bike toward home — roughly 390 miles of trail and back road that strings together two of the most storied rail-trails in the country and a patchwork of quieter routes beyond them.
The first leg is familiar ground: the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) from Pittsburgh up over the Eastern Continental Divide to Cumberland, Maryland, then a stretch of the C&O Canal towpath along the Potomac. I've ridden both the GAP and the C&O before and love them — but this time they're just the opening chapters.
From there it's all new to me. After leaving the C&O, I'll turn north and work my way across Pennsylvania on a mix of paved and gravel roads and a few more rail trails, finishing on a river trail near where I grew up, where I'll be visiting family. I've never ridden any of the route past the canal, and honestly that's the part I'm looking forward to most — new roads, old stomping grounds, and family waiting at the finish.
Planned route and elevation profile via Ride with GPS.
Once I'm on the road, this is where the day-by-day account will live — the route, the stops, the people, and the photos along the way, just like my other trips.
The setup I'm bringing on this one — going light and staying in hotels, so there's no camping gear to haul. Useful if you're putting together a kit for a tour like this.
I'm always happy to have company for a stretch — whether it's a day on the GAP or the whole way home. If this route sounds like your kind of fun, reach out.
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