Maryland | TrailLink

The " Great American" Route Through Maryland

A majority of the Great American Rail-Trail host route in Maryland pays homage to the state’s days as a central player in the Canal Era, which peaked in the mid-19th century. Carried by the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (C&O Canal Towpath) for some 180 miles, the Great American Rail-Trail route through Maryland features hundreds of locks, lock houses and other canal structures that once transported coal, lumber and agricultural products to market and provided opportunities for employment and commerce in the Potomac River Valley.

The Maryland Goto for a Scenic Bike Ride

April 2022 ml14

They allow ebikes as long as one observes the speed limits and rides courteously. Being able to ride to the Mall in DC and back is great exercise too. Path users are courteous and the Pedego Ebike Rental Shop is great when you have guests who want to join you. Bethesda food is a nice reward after the ride too. A favorite trail!

Rough ride for a first timer trail rider

September 2025 lob4fun

This is probably the most I could handle on a bike ride. We rode the GAP and C&O back to back like many do in 8 days. It was great fun but the C&O is noticeably rougher, fewer port-a-Johns and very scarce potable water sources. On our 7th day from Williamsport to Brunswick we ran out of water midway and rode the remaining 25 miles without water. Fortunately the shade offered by the beautiful canopy of trees made it bearable. We made sure to load up on extra water on our final day. The mix of loose sand that caught us by surprise & the larger stones on the trail made for a more challenging ride than expected. On the one rainy day we had from Cumberland to Little Orleans, some of the puddles we encountered offered a new sense of “oh dear” as we didn’t know how deep the hole we were riding thru when there was no room to go around the puddle.

well maintained trail, beautiful scenery

October 2025 cjb1937est

Just got done this trail 10/9. Gap trail is a wonderful easy ride. Places we stayed were awesome! Bright Morning B&B, Ohiopyle suites. We stayed in the Karly. It was great! Right off the trail!! Coffee shop is great too. They also have a laundromat. We then traveled to Meyersdale where we stayed in the hotel airstream! Gotta stay here! It was great! Know that if you need to take the train back to Pittsburgh like we had too, it can run late. 5hrs for us. We met so many nice people along the way. That’s what I think of when I think of this trail!