Big Savage Tunnel reopens for season
2015 Biking season on the Great Allegheny Passage is in full swing
The tell tale sign of this, is the reopening of The Big Savage Tunnel. This year the magic date is Friday April 3rd.
Measuring 3300 feet in length the tunnel was built by the Western Maryland Railroad and was completed in 1912. This was only one of the 9 tunnels and thirty (30) + bridges on the route from Big Pool, Maryland that were part of the Western Maryland RR plan to compete with the B & O Railroad, by making their route shorter.
The tunnel was named for John Savage, who was a surveyor who nearly met his demise at the hands of the local native Americans in 1736.
The Big Savage Tunnel, located near the Mason-Dixon Line, and the Eastern Continental Divide is closed for the winter from December 1st to April ish each year. Located at an elevation of about 2500 feet this area receives an immense amount of snow making biking impossible for these months. The tunnel is well lit for its entire length, and usually a bit on the breezy side.
This tunnel is actually a mile west of the Big Savage Tunnel, and provides a sweet photo op!
Those of us who liver here think it is pretty cool structure, and now a lot more people know. This regional icon received national attention: **Named on CNN’s list of “50 Spots, 50 States for 2014” representing Pennsylvania!
The view from the eastern side of the tunnel (closest to Frostburg, MD), is stunning. You are on the edge of the Allegheny Front, essentially a giant escarpment that delineates the eastern edge of the Appalachians, and the end of the piedmont region.
The public TV station from Pittsburgh did a nice little video on the Big Savage Tunnel.
**The Pinkerton Low Bridge (near Milepost 52) will be closed for trail use from 3/30/15 until 4/2/2015 for modifications for the Pinkerton Tunnel Rehab project. There will be no posted detour.
If your other hobby besides biking is railroads, check out the Western Maryland Railroad Historical Society, they are the repository of all things to do with the WMRR.
To check out the Big Savage Tunnel and all of the other cool railroad structures along the Great Allegheny Passage, join us on a rails to trails biking vacation. We offer 3 bike tour options on the Passage:
a Pittsburgh to Washington DC bike tour that is 6 days in length, and travels from Pittsburgh to Mile 0 of the C & O Canal in Georgetown, D.C.
the EZ Rider Bike Tour which is a 3 day bike tour of portions of the Great Allegheny Passage and a stretch of the C & O Canal
Great Allegheny Passage end to end tour, is a 4 day tour that originates in Homestead, PA and travels every mile of the GAP to it’s terminus in Cumberland, Maryland.
See you on the trail!
Wilderness Voyageurs, 103 Garrett Street, Ohiopyle, PA 15470 800-272-4141