GAP and C&O Canal 6 Day Bike Tour

Ride the Great Allegheny Passage & C&O Canal from Pittsburgh PA to Washington DC

6 days of biking through beautiful country! This trip takes place on a rather unique trail system, considered by Conde Naste Magazine to be one of the seventeen most beautiful rail trails in the world. This is a world class ride that is filled with a multitude of natural, cultural and historically significant sites. The initial 125 miles on the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland are located on abandoned railroad bed (and some back roads).

The final 180 miles from Cumberland to downtown Washington D.C. are on the C&O Canal Towpath which is the heart of the C & O Canal National Park.  

What this means to cyclists is: 305 miles of trail that begins at 761 feet in elevation, climbs over the Allegheny Front of the Appalachian Mountains at 2932 feet in elevation using several tunnels along the way, and terminates at sea level. All of this happens with a maximum grade of 2% with only a very few exceptions.

Your trip will begin just outside of Pittsburgh in Boston, PA. It won't be long until the buildings are exchanged for a canopy of trees. We will then head down the trail and back through history. Along the way we will ride past remnants of the early 1900's industrial revolution when Pittsburgh Steel was king, Victorian Mansions, Civil War Battlefields, Historic Districts, Canal remains and good ol' Americana.

Your trip includes:

• Sag van support
• Two support staff
• Breakfast for 5 days
• Lunches and snacks for 6 days
• Lodging for 5 nights
• Dinner night 1 & 2
• Optional: Visit to Fallingwater Day 2
• Click here for the 6 Day Trip Itinerary & Details and a day to day breakdown of the Bike Tour.

Custom bike tour departures available for groups of 6 or more. Please complete this custom bike tour request form and we will contact you shortly.

If you have reserved your trip already, please click here to complete your Pittsburgh to Washington DC Bike Tour registration form.

Interested in more information on the history of the C & O Canal? We have some tid-bits for you:

Read more on the History of the C and O Canal Towpath

Read more on the C & O Canal Towpath Sites and Facts

Read more about the C & O Canal National Park