Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Cumberland, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Nestled in a northern valley of West Virginia, the Barnum Rail-Trail follows the North Branch Potomac River through the superb scenery of the Upper Potomac region. If you plan to explore this...
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is an iconic rail-trail that runs 150 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was built in partnership between state agencies and many local...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Plan a full day (or two) for your visit to the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT), a 26-mile paved route that will take you through several eras of American history. You can access this trail from...
The Bedford Heritage Trail provides a safe and picturesque connection between a topnotch resort and a nationally recognized downtown. From the Omni Bedford Springs Resort and Spa, the trail snakes...
Stretching 10.6 miles through south-central Pennsylvania, this rail-trail follows the route of the former Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad, a standard--gauge railroad founded in 1852 to...
Forbes State Forest and the adjacent state parks (Linn Run, Laurel Mountain, and Laurel Ridge) maintain the PWS Trail System, a network of snowmobile trails and forest service roads though the...
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
he Indian Creek Valley Bike and Hike Trail winds through the rugged hills in the former coal-mining region of southwestern Pennsylvania. Although remote, the trail passes through several small towns,...
Plan a full day (or two) for your visit to the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT), a 26-mile paved route that will take you through several eras of American history. You can access this trail from...
Forbes State Forest and the adjacent state parks (Linn Run, Laurel Mountain, and Laurel Ridge) maintain the PWS Trail System, a network of snowmobile trails and forest service roads though the...
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is an iconic rail-trail that runs 150 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was built in partnership between state agencies and many local...
The Path of the Flood Trail might be unique among rail-trails for being named after a tragedy, the Johnstown Flood of 1889, considered the nation’s worst catastrophe of the 19th century. Some 2,200...
Stretching 10.6 miles through south-central Pennsylvania, this rail-trail follows the route of the former Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad, a standard--gauge railroad founded in 1852 to...
he Indian Creek Valley Bike and Hike Trail winds through the rugged hills in the former coal-mining region of southwestern Pennsylvania. Although remote, the trail passes through several small towns,...
Nestled in a northern valley of West Virginia, the Barnum Rail-Trail follows the North Branch Potomac River through the superb scenery of the Upper Potomac region. If you plan to explore this...
The Bedford Heritage Trail provides a safe and picturesque connection between a topnotch resort and a nationally recognized downtown. From the Omni Bedford Springs Resort and Spa, the trail snakes...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
Plan a full day (or two) for your visit to the Western Maryland Rail Trail (WMRT), a 26-mile paved route that will take you through several eras of American history. You can access this trail from...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Nestled in a northern valley of West Virginia, the Barnum Rail-Trail follows the North Branch Potomac River through the superb scenery of the Upper Potomac region. If you plan to explore this...
Stretching 10.6 miles through south-central Pennsylvania, this rail-trail follows the route of the former Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad, a standard--gauge railroad founded in 1852 to...
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is an iconic rail-trail that runs 150 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was built in partnership between state agencies and many local...
Forbes State Forest and the adjacent state parks (Linn Run, Laurel Mountain, and Laurel Ridge) maintain the PWS Trail System, a network of snowmobile trails and forest service roads though the...
he Indian Creek Valley Bike and Hike Trail winds through the rugged hills in the former coal-mining region of southwestern Pennsylvania. Although remote, the trail passes through several small towns,...
The Path of the Flood Trail might be unique among rail-trails for being named after a tragedy, the Johnstown Flood of 1889, considered the nation’s worst catastrophe of the 19th century. Some 2,200...
The Bedford Heritage Trail provides a safe and picturesque connection between a topnotch resort and a nationally recognized downtown. From the Omni Bedford Springs Resort and Spa, the trail snakes...
Rode the entire length a couple of times. Last time in June 2019. The first 10 miles out of Cumberland are terrible. If it has rained recently you will get muddy. When we went through it looked like they hadn't even mowed sections of it in a year. After that the trail had some rough patches but was ride-able. I would definitely not ride a rode bike on this trail, especially not with road tires. You need a bike with some suspension and some grip through this area. The Paw Paw tunnel was open when we went through, very interesting. Very rough and narrow inside the tunnel.
Don't know what you do if you meet a bicyclist coming the opposite direction inside the tunnel. Between Harper's Ferry and Brunswick they have resurfaced the trail and it was great. They need to put a ramp on the bridge to Harper's Ferry. We skip it as we don't want to leave our bikes behind and we aren't carrying fully loaded bikes up the spiral staircase. Fort Fredrick is an interesting side trip. The only reason the trail gets as a high a rating as I gave it is that there are free campsites all along the trail and historical markers. A lot of the campsites are by the Potomac river. They are very rustic just a picnic table, fire ring and Porta John. Sometimes there is a working water pump, sometime there isn't. I would suggest carrying a water filter, the water from the pumps is usually orange with iodine. They are usually quiet except for the occasional train. Along this trail you really can't get away from the occasional train. Also, bring bug spray in the summer if you are camping. You really don't need sunscreen, very seldom are you out from under the trees. There are huge trees all along the path.
We rode the trail with camping gear and stayed at many of the free trail camping locations. I wish there were more of them especially near the southern end of the trail. There you have to pay for camping but it isn't much and the places are very nice. The trail is beautiful and shaded once you get south of McKeesport, North of that you go through a lot of urban and industrial area. It gets a little difficult to follow the trail through Pittsburgh near downtown. The area between Connelsville and Ohiopyle is probably the most scenic but I would suggest doing it early in the morning and on a weekday. It can get pretty busy on a weekend. The ride down the mountain into Cumberland is great if you are southbound. The ride up the mountain is strenuous if you are northbound. We have done it both ways. Cumberland has a great downtown area.
Always looking for a place to take a break and stretch my legs on a long road trip. This trail is the perfect place to do that. Exactly half way between Breezewood and Bedford. Easy hop off the pike and then take Rt 30 which parallels the pike. Trail is only about 2.5 miles north of 30.
The Bedford County folks have built a beautiful trail. The scenery is a tale of two trails. The south end is wooded and passes through many rock cuts. The north end after the bridge follows the river and is open county and even uses a gravel road for about 1.5 miles.
The only loose gravel that I encountered was at about MP 4.5 north of the bridge. Luckily it was only about 30’ long.
Where the trail joins Cooper Sawmill road at the south end I was riding on 1/2” gravel. Said to myself can’t bounce on this for too long. Luckily, it was gone after only a couple hundred feet. Road was hard-packed with only scattered potholes filled with the 1/2” gravel. Might get dusty during a dry spell. Only encountered 3 cars and they were moving slowly.
Trail seemed pretty flat except for about MP 5 to MP 2. Heading south the uphill grade started at about MP 5. Probably only about 3% but very noticeable and the gravel surface makes it tougher. After about a mile I was thinking this won’t be fun until the end. Luckily at about MP 2 the grade reduced and it wasn’t so bad to the end.
Saw lots of kayaks along the river, so might be an easy pedal-n-paddle trip in the future. Looks like a pretty easy takeout in Riddlesburg. Didn’t see an easy put-in real close to the bridge in Cypher, but might be one down the road a little ways.
Great place to enjoy some pretty scenery and stretch the legs before getting back on the Turnpike for my trip from OH to the MD shore. If you just want a short walk, about 1 mile north of Tatesville there was a nice bench overlooking a pond (see photo). Enjoy. Thanks Bedford County and Broad Top Twp for a beautiful trail.....Bikin-Mike 5/2019
p.s. Abandoned Turnpike is another awesome ride in the Breezewood area. It’s only about 1/2 a mile from the Turnpike exit.
This completes most of the Maryland portion with 27 miles. It ends at a long trestle crossing the C&O Canal & Potomac River into West Virginia. It seems WV has withdrawn from moving the project further. There is a 2 mile portion where you are detoured onto the canal towpath to avoid 2 tunnels which have endangered species. The State has done a great job with this new portion & this time of year (late May) the scent of Honeysuckle is phenomenal!!
Lots of broken asphalt due to tree roots mostly from upper half of Hancock.
Mostly shaded which is a good thing. only a few spots where the sun will hit you.
A must stop is at Hancock by the trail is a Restaurant called: Buddy Lou's. Well worth going for a mid stop ride. Good prices, large outdoor deck.
The new western extension to the Western Maryland Rail Trail is now open (May of 2019). It is an excellent ride with scenic views of the C&O Canal and the Potomac River. Also, you get to see how the Western Maryland RR was built into the side of the Potomac River valley with steep cliffs above the trail and down to the C&O Canal. You can see the western end of the Indigo Tunnel and the trail ends at the High Bridge over the Potomac River. The connections to the C&O Canal towpath are very nicely done. Thank you State of Maryland.
Fantastic trip through wester Pennsylvania
Just biked this trail today. It’s 78 degrees F and sunny. This trail has no shade. No place to stop for water or facilities unless you get off trail and take a road to the Sheetz at Kearnehsville or there’s a coffee shop near Ranson end of trail. Otherwise, take plenty of water and sunscreen.
I parked at the Martinsburg trail head and biked to Ranson trail head and back. The trail was closed from Coast Guard to the next entrance (about 1.5 miles) due to the installation of a gas line. I had to detour to old route 9 with fast traffic and no bike lane to the turnoff for Shepherdstown and take a right and take the road until it met up with the trail entrance which was open and continue on to Ranson. Same on return trip. Adds about 3 miles to the ride total.
I’m from dc metro area so I’m used to trails with trees and places to stop for refreshments and facilities. This trail doesn’t offer much. It needs to be continued on the Ranson side to the shopping areas where there’s a Panera and other restaurants and should be extended to Charles Town and on to harpers Ferry. There are plenty of places to get food, coffee and water if extended. Same on the Martinsburg side. Should be extended into the town so there’s places to eat and facilities. Be careful of the many road crossings. Some have light traffic. But I saw heavy traffic on others. And with the detour. You’ll be biking on roads with no bike lane and drivers here don’t seem to be used to seeing bikers on the road.
Flat and 100% paved makes for a nice, smooth bike ride. The WMRT parallels the C&O Canal from Big Pool, west through Hancock (about the half-way point), before ending at Sideling Hill Creek. Construction continues on the western end until the trail will eventually extend to Little Orleans.
There are a few areas where you can cross over onto the C&O canal.
Hancock offers a variety of services. I've ridden from Hancock, west on two separate rides, and will return.
WE DID THE ENTIRE C&O AND GAP RIDE WITH A GROUP OF 50 RIDERS IN 2007. IT WAS FULLY SUPPORTED AND JUST A WONDERFUL WEEK. WE STARTED IN WASHINGTON AND FINISHED IN BOSTON, PA.(THE TRAIL ALL THE WAY TO PITTSBURG WAS NOT YET OPEN). WE HAD PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE USA INCLUDING CALIFORNIA, OREGON AND ALASKA, AND A YOUNG MAN FROM IRELAND. THE PEOPLE NOT FROM EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI KEPT SAYING THEY COULDN'T BELEIVE HOW BEAUTIFUL THE EASTEN U.S. IS. THEY ALWAYS THOUGHT OF THE EAST AS NEW YORK, PHILLY AND WASHINGTON, D.C.. AND THE ENTIRE RIDE IS EASY ENOUGH FOR A BEGINNER.
I RECOMEND THE G.A.P. AND THE C&O TRIP AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, AND TAKE A WEEK TO DO BOTH TRAILS WITH A GROUP.
Rode from Williamsport MD upriver to Ft Frederick in 2018. Same potholes and other trail safety issues (only worse) that we saw on our first ride in 2014. Shame there is no biking group in the area to take over and maintain what could be a fantastic ride.
I won't ride this part of the trail again.
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