The best part of the trail is inside the Falls Grove community. Overall you can enjoy the west side of I-270. Too many traffic stops. Ride once for pleasure is enough for me.

Although I know this part of Montgomery County pretty well (I live about 10 miles away but rarely ride in this direction), this morning I rode the Carl Henn Millenium Trail for the first time. It is much as I expected from having driven around through this area many times. The section west of I-270 is more pleasant and the entire trail is characterized by some gentle long hills that wind along some fairly busy roads as well as some quieter more forested areas & some sections with homes. I started at the Fallsgrove Stream Valley Park and proceeded east, which means that I was riding clockwise. This is the way to go if you wish to avoid going uphill because in this direction its almost all flat or slightly downhill. The path is well marked & generally in very good shape. All told I enjoyed a pleasant hour riding this almost 11 mile trail.

This is my favorite trail for distance cycling. I drive 40-45 mins here from MD for the quality of surface and the lack of stress in dodging cars on roads. Too bad the C&O Trust in MD is unwilling and/or unable to pave and model their trail after the W&OD. Just beware of oblivious pedestrians with headphones. Pedestrian traffic is higher on weekends and east of Sterling based on trail proximity to towns and residential areas. Otherwise, get out and enjoy!

Rode the C&O 6/14/2020 from Lock 23 to Edwards Ferry and back on trusty 2003 Gary Fisher Marlin MTB. My road bike would have been shattered to bits with the gravel, rocks and mud. Did try a small section of the resurfaced trail north of Edwards Ferry. WOW! They can’t resurface Swains Lock to Edwards Ferry fast enough for me. I’ll be making a donation to the project today, even with the COVID Shutdown. Find out more on trail status at https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvisit/towpath-resurfacing-project.htm

At Vienna going west is less busy and less stops. I’ve done Shirlington (DC) to Vienna and it was too busy, with big intersections. When I ride during the weekday mornings there’s hardly anybody out, it’s the best time.

Rode C&O canal towpath from mile19 to mile36 and back in early June 2020. Experienced both surfaces (improved and original). I would say that the original is more visually appealing and friendly to walkers (less dust), and the improved is more friendly to bikers elbow and butt (less vibrations). On weekday there is not many people there and it’s great to enjoy the nature, get some exercises, and meditate, yes meditate!

My kids did the whole trail and back. Granted we had a picnic for lunch and many breaks. It took us 8 hours to do it. The fun things to cross over and through happen at Newville and northward for a few miles. The rail cars are only at the Shippensburg Trail head. Other than those things there is just trees and farmland to see.

All of it is crushed stone except at the places you can get on the trail its asphalt. then its just a very short distance back to the crush stone.

I brought my son-in-law here for the day. With the recent geocache hides, we enjoyed our experience. Our ride and find trek also included posing for a discovered game cam pic, staying off a split rail fence decorated with a emphatic warning, swerving around a orange piling to miss a trail washout, jumping over a green and black snake and turning around at Cypher Station for the return gradual ascending route to Tatesville. Don’t know if we will return to finish the rest to Riddlesburg but appreciate the different parking waypoint accesses. Not our best rail trail but sufficient for “our time”.