Great Allegheny Passage
| Great Allegheny Passage | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Length | 150 mi (241 km) |
| Location | Western Pennsylvania and Maryland |
| Designation |
|
| Trailheads |
Cumberland, Maryland 39°38′55″N 78°45′44″W / 39.64863°N 78.76210°W Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 40°26′06″N 79°59′46″W / 40.43504°N 79.99611°W |
| Use | Hiking, cycling |
| Elevation | |
| Elevation change | western: 1,066 feet (325 m); eastern 1,786 feet (544 m) |
| Highest point | Eastern Continental Divide just east of Deal, Pennsylvania, 2,392 ft (729 m) |
| Lowest point | east end: 606 feet (185 m) at Cumberland, Maryland; west end: 720 feet (220 m) at Point State Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Grade | 2% maximum |
| Hiking details | |
| Trail difficulty | Easy |
| Hazards | Severe weather, Traffic (Pittsburgh) |
| Surface | Crushed limestone |
| Right of way |
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad Union Railroad Western Maryland Railway |
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a rail trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania—the central trail of a network of long-distance hiker-biker trails throughout the Allegheny region of the Appalachian Mountains, connecting Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The GAP's first 9-mile (14 km) section near Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, opened in 1986. The 9-mile (14 km) section between Woodcock Hollow and Cumberland opened on December 13, 2006. In June 2013, thirty-five years after construction first began, the final GAP section was completed (from West Homestead to Pittsburgh) at an overall cost of $80 million and gave Pennsylvania the "most open trail miles in the nation" (900 miles, with 1,110 miles under development). The completion project was titled The Point Made, because it was now possible to reach Point State Park in Pittsburgh from Washington, D.C. Celebrations took place on June 15, 2013.
The multi-use trail, suitable for biking and walking, uses defunct corridors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Union Railroad and the Western Maryland Railway—extending 150 miles (240 km) from Cumberland, Maryland to Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh (currently using Second Avenue in Pittsburgh, with plans underway to create an independent trail), and includes the 52-mile (84 km) branch (Montour Trail) to the Pittsburgh International Airport.
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Wikipedia