I have now biked from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. not once, but twice! As I mentioned in my previous post, my two trips included different company, gear, and places to stay. This post is all about the most recent trip I completed with Sam, including the pre-planning we did and what we did along the way. Here I'll take you through a day-by-day account of our 330+ mile biking journey.
Getting to Pittsburgh
Getting to Pittsburgh was something I thought through a lot. Should we rent a car? Hire a service? Take the train? We ended up taking the train. Luckily my parents were able to drop us with our bikes at the Lancaster station, which had a direct train to Pittsburgh. It was a long 6 hour journey compared to what could have been a 4 hour drive, but it was easy. Although we were a bit worried when an Amtrak worker approached us as we got ready to board the train and said they might not let our bikes on since we hadn't checked them in. Luckily we had no issues and were able to hang them quickly in the cargo at the front of the train. This took us all the way to the Pittsburgh station where our friends Laura and Anthony picked us up to spend the weekend at their place. We enjoyed some new restaurants and got to catch up over the weekend as we prepared for our send-off on Sunday.
Day 1: Pittsburgh to Perryopolis, PA
Distance: 46 miles
Stay: The Inn at Lenora's (~$140)
We started at the fountain at Point State Park after getting a much-appreciated drop-off by Laura and Anthony. It was overcast and a bit drizzly, but luckily our day included a mostly paved GAP trail as we exited the city. We passed by many of my old favorite places including Southside, the Waterfront, and the campground Grant and the Tepper crew stayed at during my first go-around. We appreciated the short mileage day since we started later than we should have. The Inn at Lenora's was our destination and we were told to get there by 5pm.
We made it with some time to spare and were greeted by none other than Lenora herself. She gave us snacks and cold water upon our arrival and checked us into our comfortable room for the night where we showered and called for pizza delivery. Normally we would have eaten at the restaurant onsite, but it was Sunday and Lenora needs at least one day off from cooking 5 star meals. Next time! A few hours later the last of the guests rolled up and we quickly realized that we were on the same itinerary for the week - the beauty of the trail!
Day 2: Perryopolis, PA to Confluence, PA
Distance: 42 miles
Stay: River's Edge B&B (~$80)
In the morning Lenora fed us delicious eggs, French toast and veggies. Our new friends led the way as we got back on the trail for more seat time. This day was probably my favorite because our butts weren't too sore and we got to spend time in one of my favorite places outside of Pittsburgh, Ohiopyle. After a few hours we found ourselves in the lovely river town and we went straight for food and drinks.
Lunch in Ohiopyle: Falls City Pub and ice cream at the Falls Market Restaurant
We of course got to lunch just as our new friends were pulling up and decided to join them for our meal. After, Sam and I went down to sit at the river and read our books for an hour. It was a lovely day and we much preferred lounging to more biking.
But alas, we needed to get back on eventually to make it to the River's Edge B&B in Confluence. We really wanted to stay at the Smith House Inn after my aunt and uncle had highly recommended it, but unfortunately it was all booked up when I called several weeks prior.
The River's Edge got the job done but it was the worst night sleep of the trip due to the small and jello-like beds. It had 3 rooms with a shared kitchen and bath, and our new friends happen to have booked the other two rooms!
Dinner in Confluence: Lucky Dog Café
Day 3: Confluence, PA to Cumberland, MD
Distance: 61 miles
Stay: Fairfield Inn by Marriott (likely ~$170 but we used points)
This would be a long day of riding and not the best food options until we got to Cumberland. But there were some fun parts along the way including the top-most point on the entire trip and also the Mason-Dixon line.
The entire trail up until this day was a slight incline up, but then we got to the top and it was a welcome downhill toward Cumberland. Well at least it would have been if we hadn't decided to stop in Frostburg for food.
Lunch/Dinner in Frostburg, MD: Toasted Goat
Don't get me wrong, this was one of the better meals of the trip. However we were entirely exhausted after going up a very steep incline to get to it. A lot of the better stops along the trail tend to have pretty substantial inclines to get to. Luckily we made it, had some beers and food, and were back on our short way to our final destination of the night.
A stay at a Marriott may not be what you think of when you think remote trail towns, but it was so welcome. We did laundry and enjoyed the hot tub and pool before heading out for a beer at a brewery across the street. And the beds were SO comfortable after having slept on jello the night before.
Day 4: Cumberland, MD to Hancock, MD
Distance: 61 miles
Stay: Riverrun B&B (~$180)
We encountered the first lockhouse on day 4 as we began our first ride of the C&O Canal.
Lunch in Paw Paw: Amanda's Place
No frills and solid food was the name of the game at Amanda's. And it was an extremely welcome stop. We also grabbed some snacks across the street at the gas station before tackling the detour.
Tip: If you aren't absolutely diehard on completing the entire journey on the exact C&O path, then look for signs pointing you to the Western Maryland Rail Trail. It is paved and a much-welcome reprieve from the sometimes bumpy C&O trail. It brought us straight into the Riverrun B&B in Hancock.
Our room was quaint, comfortable and perfect for the night.
Dinner in Hancock: Limited on certain days, so we did a Subway and Sheetz.
Day 5: Hancock, MD to Harpers Ferry, WV
Distance: 64 miles
Stay: The Bluebird Suite on AirBnB (~$190)
This one seemed to be another long day of big stretches of biking. We did, however, stop at a lovely fort shortly after leaving Hancock. It was called Fort Frederick and was in a state park. We wandered around and saw the fort, though there wasn't much going on.
Lunch in Shepherdstown: Blue Moon Cafe
Again, another uphill climb took us into the heart of Shepherdstown, a quaint village with a university. It had many more food options to choose from and we decided to opt for Blue Moon Cafe because I had enjoyed it 5 years prior on my first trip. It was just what I remembered. Then we were off to finish the final stretch, which included a road detour (I took a spill), a bike fireman's carry up some stairs and a very very very steep climb to our AirBnB.
Dinner in Harpers Ferry: Kelley Farm Kitchen and drinks at The Barn at Harpers Ferry
For food, we decided on a vegan spot that had a lot of Google and local hype. And it definitely lived up to it! Then we met up with our friends at The Barn and enjoyed delicious drinks and live music before heading back to our adorable and comfortable room.
Day 6: Harpers Ferry, WV to Washington D.C.
Distance: 61 miles
Stay: Sofitel Lafayette Square (~$250)
Our last day on the trail was in store for us as we headed down (yay) into Harpers Ferry, over the bridge, and back on the ol' dusty trail.
We wrapped around the river while enjoying the lovely views as the miles stretched on and on. The hunger was beginning to set in after the long miles and we were more than happy to find Whites Ferry Store and Grille, a place I fondly remembered going to with Grant. Again, it didn't disappoint. I was really losing steam until I ate my Spicy Chicken Sandwich with a side of fries.
Then I was ready to finish the final stretch of the journey. As we got closer to D.C. it certainly got more crowded and we were dodging people. The final challenge was then finding mile marker 0, which Grant and I gave up on finding the first trip. Sam and I followed the maps and ended up next to the boat house where the sad 0 marker was graffitied.
We had made it and were excited to have booked a more luxurious stay at the Sofitel. Dinner and celebratory drinks were in order to cheers our sore butts and completion of this epic 330+ mile journey to D.C. Oh and of course we needed to take some pictures...sorry Sam!
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