The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cumberland, Maryland. Together with the C&O Canal towpath, the GAP is part of a route between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., that is popular with through hikers and cyclists.

History

The GAP follows former right-of-way of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Union Railroad, and Western Maryland Railway. The first section of the GAP— near Ohiopyle—opened in 1986. The section between Woodcock Hollow and Cumberland opened on December 13, 2006. The GAP was completed in 2013 when the section between West Homestead and Point State Park in Pittsburgh opened. The completion project was named ''The Point Made'', reflecting the fact that it was now possible to reach Point State Park from Washington, D.C. Celebrations took place on June 15, 2013. With its opening, Pennsylvania became the state with the most rail trails—, with more under development. The overall construction cost for the GAP was $80 million. The Allegheny Trail Alliance (ATA) was founded in 1995 as an umbrella organization for the GAP's seven trail organizations, which include Friends of the Riverfront, Steel Valley Trail, Regional Trail Corporation, Ohiopyle State Park, and Mountains Maryland. Each organization maintains a particular section of the GAP. The ATA was later renamed The Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy. The original name for the GAP was ''Cumberland and Pittsburgh Trail''. ''Great Allegheny Passage'' was selected in 2001 by the ATA after six years and more than 100 proposals as a name evocative of the geography and historical heritage of the trail. It was suggested by Bill Metzger, editor of the ATA newsletter. The runner-up was ''Allegheny Frontier Trail''.

Route

The GAP's route is composed of several shorter trails including the Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland, Allegheny Highlands Trail of Pennsylvania, Youghiogheny River Trail,

Steel Valley Trail Jefferson Hills is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes the community of Large. In the 2010 census the population was 10,619. Jefferson Hills was created as Jefferson Township, incorporating on January 22, 182 ...

, and Three Rivers Heritage Trail. The GAP also includes the Mountour Trail, a branch that serves Pittsburgh International Airport. Ohiopyle State Park Folds

The segment of the GAP between Ohiopyle and Cumberland is part of the

Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail The Potomac Heritage Trail, also known as the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail or the PHT, is a designated National Scenic Trail corridor spanning parts of the mid-Atlantic region of the United States that will connect various trails and hi ...

, one of eight nationally designated scenic trails. The great allegheny passage in fall view of wind turbines

Youghiogheny River gorge from great allegheny passage

Points of interest

Notable landmarks along the GAP include: * Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh, where the

Allegheny River The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...

meets the Monongahela River to form the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

Carrie Furnace Carrie Furnace is a former blast furnace located along the Monongahela River in the Pittsburgh area industrial town of Swissvale, Pennsylvania, and it had formed a part of the Homestead Steel Works. The Carrie Furnaces were built in 1884 and they ...

, part of the Steel Valley Heritage Trail, along the Monongahela River. * The pumphouse where the Homestead strike culminated in a battle between strikers and private security in the middle of the night * Kennywood amusement park near Duquesne, Pennsylvania; this section of the trail was restricted during September 2013 due to a landslide. * Riverton Bridge (railroad) over the Monongahela River between Duquesne, Pennsylvania and

McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. It ...

. * Dead Man's Hollow, former site of the Union Sewer Pipe Company located outside of

, now a 440-acre nature preserve and spur trail *

Dravo Cemetery The Dravo Cemetery, sometimes called the Historic Dravo Cemetery, is a cemetery located in Elizabeth Township along the Youghiogheny River Trail, south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Originally built as a family cemetery by Nathan Newlin in 1812, ...

, originally the Seneca tribe's village known as Cyrie, later the home of the Dravo Methodist Church and Cemetery. Now a popular camping area and rest spot near Buena Vista, Pennsylvania. *

Connellsville Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Pittsburgh and away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 7,637 at th ...

trestles, 2 long bridges near Connellsville, PA * Ohiopyle State Park, bisected by the

Youghiogheny The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough (pronounced Yok ) for short, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. s ...

, the most popular whitewater destination on the east coast. * Fallingwater, a national architectural landmark designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Located very close to the trail, but not accessible from it. *

Pinkerton Trestles and Tunnel Pinkerton may refer to: Places *Pinkerton, Ontario, named after surveyor and early settler Matthew Pinkerton * Pinkerton's Landing Bridge, railroad bridge in Pennsylvania People * Allan Pinkerton (18191884), Scottish detective and spy * Bill Pi ...

, a trestle, long tunnel (unlighted; reopened in 2015) and trestle between the Markleton and Fort Hill trailheads *

Salisbury Viaduct The Salisbury Viaduct is a bridge in Somerset County, Pennsylvania near Meyersdale that spans the Casselman River valley. Built in 1912 by the Western Maryland Railway for its Connellsville Extension, it was built to accommodate two tracks, but ...

, , up to high across the

Casselman River The Casselman River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 15, 2011 tributary of the Youghiogheny River in western Maryland and Pennsylvania in the United States.Ge ...

valley * Meyersdale, Pennsylvania Museum * Keystone Viaduct, east of Meyersdale, Pa. *

Bollman Truss Bridge The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge across the Little Patuxent River at Savage, Maryland, is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States and the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American ...

in Meyersdale, one of the two surviving cast-iron truss bridges in North America * the

Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a hydrographic divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico watershed. The divide nearly span ...

, the highest point of the trail, passes through a short tunnel with murals of the area's history and a map of the trail's elevation contours. *

Big Savage Tunnel The Big Savage Tunnel is a rail trail tunnel located about southeast of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. It, as well as the Pinkerton Tunnel, Borden Tunnel, and Brush Tunnel are part of the Great Allegheny Passage trail. It was originally built for t ...

, , the lit tunnel, carries the trail through Big Savage Mountain two miles east of the

with a scenic vista just east of the tunnel—closed December 1 to April 1 for protection from seasonal snow and ice. Approximate dates, based on seasonal conditions. No easy road bypass. * Mason–Dixon line: where the trail crosses the Pennsylvania - Maryland state border *

Borden Tunnel The Borden Tunnel is a 957-foot long, formerly abandoned, railway tunnel located about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Frostburg, Maryland. The tunnel is lit with a series of motion activated LED lights powered by a solar panel located just north ...

: long, unlighted. * Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, a working steam railroad operating next to the trail from Cumberland, Maryland to the college town of Frostburg, Maryland (and return), along the original trackage of the Western Maryland Railway. *

Brush Tunnel Brush Tunnel is a railroad tunnel located about west of Corriganville, Maryland. It was built in 1911 by the Western Maryland Railway, and is currently used by the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, a tourist railroad running between Frostburg ...

: long, lighted; the trail and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad share this tunnel and pass through it side-by-side. * Cumberland Bone Cave: (two or three miles west of Cumberland, Maryland: an archeological site containing bones of saber-toothed cats and other extinct animals, discovered during construction of the railroad. *

Canal Place : ''For the building in New Orleans often called "Canal Place", see One Canal Place'' Cumberland basin (looking at Guard lock #8) at the end of the C & O Canal. Canal Place is a heritage area located in Cumberland, Maryland at the western termi ...

, the head of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) in Cumberland, Maryland, where the C&O meets the former Western Maryland Railway (WM) and rail-trail.

References

External links

Official site

Great Allegheny Passage at PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources
{{Authority control Rail trails in Maryland Rail trails in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Allegany County, Maryland Cumberland, Maryland Transportation in Cumberland, MD-WV-PA Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the United States National Recreation Trails in Maryland National Recreation Trails in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Fayette County, Pennsylvania Transportation in Allegany County, Maryland Transportation in Fayette County, Pennsylvania Long-distance trails in the United States

History

Route

Points of interest

See also

References

External links