Allegheny Crossroads Bikepacking Loop

For millennia, the Allegheny Mountains were a significant barrier to human travel. Indigenous Peoples created trails through the Alleghenies and across the Eastern Continental Divide, the American colonies built a primitive military road over one of these foot trails, the United States later built the National Road along a similar route, and the Western Maryland Railway laid tracks along yet another of these passages over the mountains.

Now, the vast majority of bicyclists that cross the Allegheny Mountains follow the Great Allegheny Passage, a trail created along an abandoned Western Maryland Railway line.

The Allegheny Crossroads Bikepacking Loop weaves together these historic paths, trails, roads, and train lines but takes you well outside the comfort of today’s most common routes to the deeper reaches of the area’s forests and mountains. You’ll visit over a dozen state forests, parks, and game lands, including both popular parks and remote forest roads that are rarely visited by bicyclists.

Designed for 50mm+ tires, the route uses a wide variety of surfaces including gravel, dirt 4×4 road, doubletrack, and several miles of singletrack. Short steep pitches of 15–20% are common, and all but the strongest, most technically skilled riders should be prepared for the occasional hike-a-bike. Some riders may appreciate front suspension, but the route has been primarily scouted on rigid bikes with 2.1” or 2.2” tires. Paved segments generally use low-traffic rural roads.

On either end of the loop (Morgantown, WV to the west, Hancock, MD to the east), the route approaches the mountains by rail trail before you veer onto rougher, hillier terrain. Many of the forest roads are fairly well maintained, but some can be quite rocky. You’ll almost always be climbing or descending except for brief stretches of rail trail that provide flatter riding and take in some of the iconic features of popular trails like the GAP and C&O. On the Morgantown end of the loop, there are moderately technical singletrack sections that are noted as POIs. In this and many other areas of the route, potential shortcuts or alternatives are also noted as POIs.

• Paved: 39%
• Smooth Gravel: 43%
• Rough Gravel: 10%
• 4×4 Road: 6%
• Singletrack: 2%

GETTING TO THE ROUTE

The route is easily accessible by train at the Cumberland, MD and Connellsville, PA stations along the Amtrak Floridian line (previously called Capitol Limited) that provides direct service between Chicago and Miami (via Pittsburgh, DC, Richmond, Raleigh/Durham, and many other cities).

PARKING

There are several designated locations marked on the GPX file, depending on your preferred starting point and level of risk tolerance for parking.

Many of the state parks and state forests noted along the route also have parking and are reachable by phone if riders want to check on overnight parking.

Many parking areas along the C&O Canal & Great Allegheny Passage can be used to access the route.

• C&O Canal
• Great Allegheny Passage
  

Morgantown (West End of Loop):

The most secure option is a parking garage in town. Multiple garages are marked on the GPX map, and with a variety of options available, the choice is up to the individual. Parking fees vary by location.

Wishing to avoid parking fees? There are some public, overnight-friendly options; however, parking outside of a garage is at your own risk. The most recommended location is Caperton Trail Park, conveniently located along the rail trail and is highly visible. This point of interest is marked on the GPX. Additional suggestions include parking at the Aldi on Monongahela Boulevard or Marilla Park, both of which are a short ride from the amphitheater and considered relatively safe for overnight parking, as others have used these spots (again, at your own risk). Please note: do not park overnight at the amphitheater. For day rides, however, it is a suitable option.

Hancock (East End of Loop):

There is a paid municipal parking lot and a free C&O Canal parking area, both of which allow overnight parking.

RIDING SEASON AND HUNTING SEASON

The primary riding season with no permits necessary is late May through late September (specifically, the Sunday after the last Saturday in May through the Friday before the last Saturday in September).

However, the route is generally good from April through November. Familiarize yourself with Pennsylvania State Game Lands (PA SGL) regulations if riding outside the “no permits necessary” season described above: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/huntingandtrapping/where-to-hunt/state-game-lands.html

You’ll need to buy a hunting permit (“engage in lawful hunting or trapping activity”) to legally ride the PA SGL sections of the route during the spring turkey and fall hunting seasons (except on Sundays, when you can ride without a permit as no hunting is allowed). Outside of Saturdays, hunting traffic is generally light and the route remains highly enjoyable.

Beyond the PA SGLs, many other public lands along the route are seasonally open to hunting. These areas are legal to ride, but wear a blaze orange safety vest during hunting seasons.

It is fairly easy to modify the route to skip PA SGLs 51 and 82, but PA SGL 48A is the only legal crossing of a 40-mile ridge so a more major re-route or shortcut would be needed to bypass it if you plan to ride during hunting season and not purchase a permit. In this (or any other) circumstance, feel free to contact the route creator for any advice on your trip plan.

The route is sometimes passable in winter, but only recommended for experienced winter riders on suitable bikes (fat bike unless it’s been unseasonably warm) who possess extensive winter survival skills. The Big Savage Tunnel is seasonally closed (roughly December through March), but can be easily detoured on mostly quiet, hilly roads.

DISPERSED CAMPING IN PENNSYLVANIA STATE FORESTS

Primitive/dispersed camping is allowed in Pennsylvania state forests, no permit is needed for a one-night stay: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/what-to-do/stay-overnight/backpacking-and-primitive-camping.html

WATER

Having a means to treat water is recommended for this route.

SAMPLE ITINERARY

The route contains many POIs for camping and resupply, and an endless variety of itineraries are possible. Feel free to contact the route creator for feedback on your itinerary and/or ideas on how to match an itinerary to your preference. For example, one possible 7-8 day itinerary:

Day 0 — Start in Morgantown (or anywhere on loop and rotate these days accordingly)
Day 1 — Garrett State Forest (Snaggy Mountain Rd campsites, mile 66)
Day 2 — Frostburg (camping, hostel, or hotel options, mile 146)
Day 3 — C&O Canal (camping, hostel, and lodging between mile 195 and 225)
Day 4 — Buchanan State Forest (various reservable sites and primitive backcountry camping between mile 265 and 285)
Day 5 — Meyersdale (camping or hotels in town, mile 332)
Day 6 — Ohiopyle (camping in state park or hotels in town, mile 383) or Quebec Run (primitive campsites, mile 411)
Day 7 — Coopers Rock State Forest (campgrounds at mile 432 and 440) or finish back in Morgantown
Day 8 — Finish in Morgantown (mile 464)

• Visit Geoff’s website https://canalbyways.com/
• The Mid-Atlantic Bikepacking Summit was hosted along this route and the intermediate overnighters at the summit used parts of this route. You can read a bit about that here: https://theradavist.com/2024-mid-atlantic-bikepacking-summit/

This route was created and is stewarded by Geoff Patterson. Here’s a little bit about Geoff in his own words:

“As a child, learning to ride a bicycle meant freedom to explore my surroundings. As an adult, pedaling through a forest is a great way to recapture this feeling. Plus it’s just fun!

I created and maintain C&O Canal Byways (https://canalbyways.com/), a collection of routes ranging from a few miles to 500+ miles that intersect the C&O Canal but primarily feature more adventurous terrain. For the last few years, I have been specializing in routes that are possible without car for riders who can get to Amtrak or other regional transit.

I enjoy all aspects of creating routes, including poring over maps, scouting and refining a route, seeing a place in different seasons of the year, hearing feedback from other riders, and spending hours thinking about each little choice that defines the route. Route creation is both a rewarding personal experience and a way to share that experience with riders who might otherwise stick to the comfort of the most well-traveled roads and trails.”

Geoff would also like to offer the following acknowledgments:

“Thank you to AJ DeLauder (Snallygaster route creator) and Jacob Rex (Hellbender’s Wrath route creator). About 25% of this route overlaps their routes (with permission), and getting to their routes from my house without a car was part of the inspiration for the Allegheny Crossroads Bikepacking Loop.”

Geoff has offered to be available to answer questions if you are planning a trip on this route. We encourage you to be respectful of Route Stewards time though and to review publicly available materials first before reaching out with questions.

Please also get in touch with any updates on route conditions that may be relevant to other riders.

Please submit your questions and comments on the route via the contract form below.

This route traverses the traditional lands of the Massawomeck, Shawnee, and Osage.