The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a rail trail between

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

and

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

. Together with the

C&O Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, wh ...

towpath, the GAP is part of a route between Pittsburgh and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, that is popular with through hikers and cyclists.

History

The GAP follows former right-of-way of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad (P&LE) , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio in the ...

, Union Railroad, and

Western Maryland Railway The Western Maryland Railway was an American Class I railroad (1852–1983) which operated in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM beca ...

. 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 Point State Park (locally known as The Point) is a Pennsylvania state park on in Downtown Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. Built on land acqu ...

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 An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

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 The Allegheny Highlands Trail of Maryland (AHTM) is a long rail trail between the C&O Canal in Cumberland and the Mason–Dixon line, where it meets the Allegheny Highlands Trail of Pennsylvania. It forms part of the Pittsburgh–Washington, DC ...

, Allegheny Highlands Trail of Pennsylvania,

Youghiogheny River Trail The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a rail trail 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 ...

, Steel Valley Trail, and

Three Rivers Heritage Trail The Three Rivers Heritage Trail is an urban rail trail paralleling the riverbanks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County for about , often on both sides of the rivers, and offering views of the city. The trail is promoted and maintained i ...

. The GAP also includes the Mountour Trail, a branch that serves

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport , formerly Greater Pittsburgh International Airport, is a civil–military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Located about 10 miles (15 km) west of downtown Pitts ...

The segment of the GAP between Ohiopyle and Cumberland is part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, one of eight nationally designated scenic trails. The great allegheny passage in fall view of wind turbines

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: *

in downtown Pittsburgh, where the Allegheny River meets the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-cen ...

to form the Ohio River * Carrie Furnace, part of the Steel Valley Heritage Trail, along the

. * The pumphouse where the

Homestead strike The Homestead strike, also known as the Homestead steel strike, Homestead massacre, or Battle of Homestead, was an industrial lockout and strike that began on July 1, 1892, culminating in a battle in which strikers defeated private security age ...

culminated in a battle between strikers and private security in the middle of the night *

Kennywood Kennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1899, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway. It was purchased in 1 ...

amusement park near

Duquesne, Pennsylvania Duquesne ( ) is a city along the Monongahela River in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census. History The city of Duquesne was settled in 1789 and incorp ...

; this section of the trail was restricted during September 2013 due to a landslide. * Riverton Bridge (railroad) over the

between

and McKeesport, Pennsylvania. *

Dead Man's Hollow Dead Man's Hollow is a 450 acre conservation area located along the Youghiogheny River just south of the City of McKeesport, Pennsylvania. The conservation area spans three municipalities which include Liberty Borough, Lincoln Borough, and Elizab ...

, former site of the Union Sewer Pipe Company located outside of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, now a 440-acre nature preserve and spur trail * Dravo Cemetery, 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 trestles, 2 long bridges near Connellsville, PA *

Ohiopyle State Park Ohiopyle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Dunbar, Henry Clay and Stewart Townships, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is the more than of the Youghiogheny River Gorge that passes thro ...

, bisected by the Youghiogheny, the most popular

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

destination on the east coast. *

Fallingwater Fallingwater is a house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, about southeast of Pittsburgh in the United States. It is built partly over a waterfall on Bear Run in the Mill R ...

, a national architectural landmark designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

. Located very close to the trail, but not accessible from it. * Pinkerton Trestles and Tunnel, a trestle, long tunnel (unlighted; reopened in 2015) and trestle between the Markleton and Fort Hill trailheads * Salisbury Viaduct, , up to high across the Casselman River valley *

Meyersdale, Pennsylvania Meyersdale is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on the Casselman River, southeast of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the past, Meyersdale's chief industry was the mining of coal ...

Museum * Keystone Viaduct, east of Meyersdale, Pa. * Bollman Truss Bridge in Meyersdale, one of the two surviving cast-iron truss bridges in North America * the Eastern Continental Divide, 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 The two Big Savage Mountain (Maryland and Pennsylvania) summits are part of Savage Mountain. The peak of Big Savage Mountain in Maryland is High Rock, at 2986 feet.: Savage Mountain (PA)Big Savage Mountain (PA)Big Savage Mountain (MD)/ref>

two miles east of the Eastern Continental Divide 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 The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...

: where the trail crosses the Pennsylvania - Maryland state border * Borden Tunnel: long, unlighted. *

Western Maryland Scenic Railroad The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) is a heritage railroad based in Cumberland, Maryland, that operates passenger excursion trains and occasional freight trains using both steam and diesel locomotives over ex-Western Maryland Railway (W ...

, a working steam railroad operating next to the trail from

to the college town of

Frostburg, Maryland Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and is at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located west of Cumberland, the town is one of the first cities ...

(and return), along the original trackage of the

. * Brush Tunnel: long, lighted; the trail and the

share this tunnel and pass through it side-by-side. *

Cumberland Bone Cave The Cumberland Bone Cave is a fossil-filled cave along the western slope of Wills Mountain on the outskirts of Cumberland, Maryland near Corriganville in Allegany County, Maryland. History and paleontology In 1912 workers excavating a cut for th ...

: (two or three miles west of Cumberland, Maryland: an archeological site containing bones of

saber-toothed cat Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae (true cats). They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe from the Miocene to the Pleistocene, living from about 16 million ...

s and other extinct animals, discovered during construction of the railroad. * Canal Place, the head of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O) in Cumberland, Maryland, where the C&O meets the former

(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