Calleva logo

Biking (GAP-C&O)

CoEd Ages 12-17
5:1 Staff Ratio
Weeks Offered: 8&9*
July 23-Aug 3
*Extended Trip
$1590 /two weeks

If you live in this area, then you owe it to yourself to make a trip on the C&O Canal and the newly finished, Great Allegheny Trail!  We will be leading a 12 day self support adventure from Pittsburgh to Georgetown for a total ride of 320-335 miles!   Although mostly biking, this trip offers tremendous resources for other activities and exploration.  We will be taking advantage of opportunities to cave, tube and raft along the way!  We'll also explore local towns and catch special eats and check out local museums and forts. This is Calleva's only 2 week adventure and we will pace ourselves, and stop to explore whatever features or hidden treasures lie along the banks of the Youghiogheny & Potomac Rivers. We will cross the Eastern Continental Divide, the Mason-Dixon line, pass battlefields, marvel at engineering feats such as Paw Paw tunnel, aqueducts and bridges, learn about trade routes, and the natural history that establishes this area as one of our greatest gems; campers will gain an appreciation to what is essentially in our back yard!

Campers will pack in all their gear and group gear - so we learn to live lightly!  Plan to ride a maximum of 50 miles a day w/ a loaded bike.  Learn basic bicycle repair along the way - it's your survival!  Be in shape and get ready to discover local history first hand, and find great nooks and crannies along the way. It's not a race - it's an exploration! 

About the GAP (Great Allegheny Passage- 135-150 miles): This old railroad bed is now a part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.  It offers less than a 4% grade with only 1 passage climb as we bisect the Eastern Continental Divide.  Expect gorgeous scenery with many crossings of tunnels, bridges and viaducts as we venture through the Allegheny Mountains.  

About the C&O (Chesapeake & Ohio- 184.5 miles):  Dating back to 1828, the C&O Canal is one of the most intact and impressive archeological remains of the American canal-building era.  It remains an unbisected park, without substantial modifications, retaining its original character for its entire length.  We take the time to explore it in depth!  No trip is ever the same - this will be Calleva's 5th year running this program! 

We will have a prep. meeting to answer all questions about gear and conditioning for this trip in late June.

  • Sunday:  Meet at Karen's house to pre-check bikes and pack group gear and food.  Panniers should be mounted on the front (optional) and rear (required) & packed w/ minimal personal gear on the right side with room for group gear on the left side.
  • Monday:  (11-28 miles) We will meet at the Calleva office between 7-8am for a continental breakfast and hit the road for the 4 ½ hour drive to Pittsburgh-- our start point.  Get on the trail by 2pm and get in around 25 miles to our first camp site @ Dravo cemetery.   Expect to see some incredible scenery and great little towns along the way.
  • Tuesday: (12-22 miles) We’ll opt to make it to either Cedar Creek Park or take the longer stretch to Roundbottom Campground today, following the Youghiogheny River.
  • Wednesday:  (25-35 miles) We arrive at Ohiopyle State Park today—prepare for a killer hill to get to our campsite.  But tomorrow is “BREAK DAY!”
  • Thursday:  (no ride day!)  We play at the park today—catch a Class III to Class V raft trip down the Yough River and play on the stone slides and in the rapids.  We’ll give those sore butts a rest and spend 2 nights at this campground up on a mountain.
  • Friday:  (22-27 miles) We ride through Ohiopyle State Park today on old wagon trails.  Upon leaving the park, we pass thru the mining town of Confluence.  After checking out the Pinkerton Tunnel—(will it ever open?), we spend that night at Rockwood.
  • Saturday:  (30 miles) Today we follow Casselman River through Meyersdale and check out the Salisbury Viaduct and some great trestle bridges and tunnels as we enter the Savage Mountains and cross the Eastern Continental Divide, our highest point of 2392 ft.!   We’ll overnight at Frostburg up on a hill.  Tomorrow is all DOWNHILL!
  • Sunday:  (36 miles):  We pull into Cumberland today after following the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  Let’s remember to hunt for Bone Cave!  This is the cross over point from the GAP trail to the C&O.  Let’s take a moment to celebrate in this charming old steel town. We’ll ride another 20 miles to overnight at Potomac Forks (mm165). 
  • Monday: (50 miles)Crunch day!  We are ready for the miles today! We’ll pass thru the Paw Paw tunnel and hop on the Western Maryland Rail Trail (a 21 mile stretch of asphalt trail) on our way thru Hancock or we can opt to stay on the C&O.  Check out the bakery in Hancock for day-old pies!  We’ll pass an old cement industry ruins today and be able to see where the lime was quarried. Our night camp will be at Licking Creek Aqueduct (around mile 116).
  • Tuesday:  (20-47 miles) This morning we tour the French Indian Fort Frederick which pre-dates the Civil War.  At Williamsport, just above the Midpoint of the C&O, we can opt to take a road detour to spend the afternoon at the Antietam National Battlefield of the Civil War after checking out the local C&O museum in Williamsport.  If we take this detour, we travel along country routes, 68 and 65 thru Sharpsburg (great ice cream stop!), where we jump onto Harpers Ferry Road, ending up back at the Antietam Creek Aqueduct campsite (mile 69) along the C&O.  Otherwise, we will take another required road detour at McCann’s Mill around miles 88-84—as this part is impassable by bike.  Good caving at 4 Mile!
  • Wednesday: (10 miles) Near Dargan bend are some great wormhole caves if we miss the Dam 4 caves by McCann’s Mill.  We’ll also be passing some interesting ruins along the trail—let’s be sure to explore this one!  Get back on the trail for setting up camp by noon at Huckleberry Hill above Harper’s Ferry by Locks 35 (mile 63).  Then we have the afternoon to play at Harper’s Ferry—how about tubing down the Potomac or a hike up the Maryland Heights (2.5 and 5 miles routes).  Harpers Ferry will be our dinner stop with an option to take a Ghost tour and hike up to see Jefferson’s Rock and the hilltop cemetery to find our own ghosts.
  • Thursday:  (37 miles)      Get back on the trail and have a late morning break at Beans in the Belfry—a great coffee house in Brunswick before heading south thru Whites Ferry and on to our camp at Horse Pen Branch (mile 26).
  • Friday: (26 miles) We’ll ride thru Calleva at Riley’s lock at mile marker 22.8.  This last day or our journey takes us through Great Falls, Carderock and finally into Georgetown for a celebratory luncheon!  We’ll be picked up here around 3-4pm and head back up to Riley’s for cleaning up our bikes and unpacking our gear.  Parents will arrive at the office at 6pm for our CLS Council and pizza send off.  This is a chance to meet other CLS campers and hear about their adventures as well!

Logistics:  Calleva provides all logistical needs once the trip has started, however parents are responsible for dropping off and picking up students before and after this Trip. For this CLS Trip, parents must drop off students at Calleva Office between 6-7am and pick them up between 6-7pm on Friday evening at the Calleva Office.  Calleva will shuttle bikes & students to the trailheads to Pittsburgh and from Georgetown. 

2012 Instructor: Karen Seibert