Great Allegheny Passage Trail

If you ever get the opportunity grab your bike and a couple friends and do some miles on the Allegheny Passage Trail.  You will be amazed as you round each corner.  What lies around the next bend could be a tunnel, a line of windmills, a viaduct or any of a number of things that tease your senses.  The sights and smells are out of this world.  You could find yourself trying to out pedal and old steam powered train approaching you from behind.  In Frostburg Md. you may get lucky and see that old engine reversing directions on a very functional turntable. You'll see several natural geographic wonders such as pedaling up to the Continental Divide and as you approach Cumberland you'll witness the beauty of the Narrows.  You just need to experience all of this trail, you won't be sorry.

The Big Savage Tunnel is over 3/4 mile long but is one of the only tunnels between Pittsburgh and Washington DC that are illuminated.  It had large doors that are closed during the winter to protect it from winter damage.  With the exception of this tunnel you will need a good headlight to navigate the other tunnels.

This is the Salisbury Viaduct by Meyersdale.  It's nearly 2000 feet long and stands high above Rte 219 and the Casselman River.  The wind gusts along with the traffic zooming below can make this a rather unnerving pedal for the faint of heart.  As you pedal away from Meyersdale you can't help but admire the many wind turbines lining the far ridge.

This is one of many railroad bridges with boardwalk approaches and benches.

Did I mention the old passenger steam engine?  This train runs daily between Cumberland and Frostburg Md.  If you don't think  you can make the 32 mile round trip that's not a problem because you can catch the train at either end and you and your bike can sit back and enjoy the return trip on the train.

This is the turntable at Frostburg.  It's just awesome to watch this work and it sure draws a crowd.

We enjoyed a beautiful 50 mile ride that day.