Nearly 1 million people step foot or pedal on the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage rail trail each year.
Listed in the Rails to Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame, the Great Allegheny Passage extends from Point State Park to Cumberland, Maryland. It connects to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Trail and continues 184.5 from Cumberland to Georgetown.
This weekend, GAP supporters and enthusiasts are gathering to celebrate and raise funds for the trail.
The GAP Conservancy is the umbrella organization that coordinates projects of common interests to the owners of the GAP. The trail is owned by a mix of public and nonprofit associations, including Allegany County (Maryland), Somerset County, Ohiopyle State Park, the City of Pittsburgh and Point State Park.
“We try to get people out on the trail and see that people are enjoying and stewarding the space really well,” says Bryan Perry, executive director of the GAP Conservancy.
Perry says about 7% to 12% of visitors to the GAP are through-travelers.
“They’re overnighters — some of them camp, most of them do Airbnbs — they are collectively coming from outside the region to spend a long weekend, or maybe they are going all the way to D.C. on our sister trail,” Perry adds.
GAP trekkers generate a whopping $121 million annually between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, according to Fourth Economy.
New developments on the GAP Trail
Another of the reasons to celebrate on Saturday include several new developments on the GAP.
A brand new connector trail in Point State Park connects the trail to the Mon Wharf Downtown.
The project rerouted the GAP along the Monongahela River and removed a narrow pinch point obstruction, as well as eliminated a section of trail in a parking lot behind the state park offices. The GAP Conservancy says it was designed to improve the trail’s surface, width, grade, lighting and line of sight for safe travel.
Eight miles of trail will be resurfaced in Fayette County, and last year 43 miles of trail in Somerset County were resurfaced.
“There are big sections of the trail riding like new,” Perry adds. “Those dollars are not easy to come by. There are a lot of folks working to make sure the GAP is well-taken care of.”
In fact, 99% of those who maintain the GAP are volunteers. That includes groups like Friends of the Riverfront and Steel Valley Trail Council.
A new hiker-biker campground recently opened in Ohiopyle State Park.
“Up until now, cyclists have been asked to use the existing campgrounds, which is really meant for cars, and it’s on top of a hill. But finally, after decades, there’s a new hiker-biker campground right on the GAP, west of the Ohiopyle High Bridge,” Perry says.
The campground includes five primitive sites, available by registration through the Ohiopyle State Park.
Great Day on the GAP
On Saturday, June 8, the second annual Great Day on the GAP will offer rides from Point State Park, the Little Boston Inn and Sutersville to Cedar Creek Park in Belle Vernon.
The celebration at Cedar Creek Park will include food trucks, beer trucks and Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream.
“Last year was a lot of fun,” Perry says. “We just had the party in Cedar Creek Park. This year we have added the bike rides because we heard from folks that it would be great to include a long-distance ride for folks who want to ride with their friends.”
Wilderness Voyagers, an Ohiopyle-based outfitter, is partnering with the Comfort Inn in Connellsville to offer a raffle prize of a rafting/biking package and overnight lodging.
The celebration runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be held at Cedar Creek Park Pavilion 18 (approximately mile marker 110).
Registration is $50 and includes a T-shirt and 10 raffle tickets.
For more information and to register, visit the GAP website.
