Bike trip along the C&O Canal

[donheff]

I'm not sure whether this belongs in the travel section or on other topics but what the hey. DW and I took a nice 35 mile bike ride out to Leesburg Virginia along the WO&D rail trail. We stayed at a B&B in Leesburg and returned to DC on the C&O Canal Towpath on the Maryland shore of the Potomac. The towpath was a trail for mules to pull barges down the canal from Harpers Ferry to Georgetown. You can now take the trail all the way to Pittsburg. Here are the photos with obligatory bike shots.

Along the WO&D - the entire trail is paved like this. Makes for nice riding. It is a long, very gentle climb toward the mountains. Unfortunately we faced a 15-20 mph headwind the entire 35 miles.


Reston Town Center where we stopped for lunch. I have lived in DC since 1980 but have never been here. Reston is one of the first planned communities in the US.


A cute general store and BBQ pit along the way


Cows along the WO&D. You see a lot of this country when you get way out of town


The Norris House Inn where we stayed the night in Leesburg. Nice place, that caters to bikers. We ate a a nice French Restaurant across the street.


White's Ferry where we crossed over the Potomac to the Maryland shore. THe B&B proprietor gave us a ride to the Ferry


DW and bike along a nice section of the C&O tow path. The first 12 miles of the path were muddy and bumpy. It is like that all the way to Pittsburg - so be careful NOT to go when it is rainy. Luckily we were two days past the rains or the ride would have been a drag


Great Falls on the Potomac - a premier kayaking area


The obligatory shot of me and bike along the C&O

[donheff]

Here are a couple of more shots

DW looking out at the river below Great Falls


The section of the river she was looking at

[Rivrider]

Thanks for the pictures. I'm hoping to do that trail next year to celebrate ER.

[TromboneAl]

Great pictures. Thanks.

No canal in site in picture 1. I assume it's right behind the trees and the trees weren't there when the towpath was in use?

[donheff]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

Great pictures. Thanks.

No canal in site in picture 1. I assume it's right behind the trees and the trees weren't there when the towpath was in use?

I probably wasn't clear for people who don't know the area. The early pictures were on the W&OD rail trail in Virginia (I don't know what the W is, but OD is Old Dominion). It runs from Arlington (across the bridge from DC) out to Purcillville about 45 miles west in the Shenandoah foothills. We stayed for the night in Leesburg, VA - about mile 35. We took the W&OD on the way out of town on Thursday.

The Potomac is a few miles from Leesburg. We took White's Ferry across the river to Maryland Friday morning and then took the C&O Canal path back to DC along the Potomac. For history buffs - White's Ferry is named after some Confederate officer who took his troops across the river there on a fast retreat -- he was familiar with the terrain and knew the Potomac was shallow enough that they could safely ford.

[mb]

Look's great donheff.

I biked a lot in western Howard and Montgomery counties when I lived back there. Some great places to ride.

MB

[HFWR]

Great photos, and great ride!

The wind here in Dallas has been blowing like crazy (another reason to not move here), thus interfering with my lazy bike riding...

[Ronstar]

Thanks for the pics. Looks like a great ride!

[lazygood4nothinbum]

nice ride & pics. best time on a dirt trail is a day or two after a rain so it isn't wet but still packed down. florida also has been converting old railways into bike trails. another trail, the Cross Florida Greenway, cuts across the state, following the old & never completed barge canal.

i've considered biking the florida path but not sure how i'd feel about the return trip along the same trail. so cool that you had a varied round trip. i see a third bike in one pic. did you have the trails pretty much to yourself or was it in good use at the time? that's such a great resource and use of public space.

[donheff]

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum

i've considered biking the florida path but not sure how i'd feel about the return trip along the same trail. so cool that you had a varied round trip. i see a third bike in one pic. did you have the trails pretty much to yourself or was it in good use at the time? that's such a great resource and use of public space.

There were othe riders but very few when we were more than 20 miles out from DC. We did meet a guy out at Whites Ferry who had just pedaled in from Pittsburg. He was loaded with about 80 pounds of gear in waterproff Orlieb panniers. His plan was to ride in to see the Vietnam Memorial and then return to Pittsburg the same way. If he had waited a day he could have joined Rolling Thunder.

The third bike was anoher picture taker who liked the same shot I was taking.

[Purron]

Great pictures! I have lived in Northern Virginia for years and love the WO&D trail but have never done a longer trek on it - just short walks and bike rides. You may have just inspired me! The Norris House Inn sure looked nice.

[pedorrero]

Thanks for the photos. I too am a (former) resident of the DC area. I've ridden the C&O many times. Once (1994), with a friend, rode & camped the entire 186 (?) miles in about 3 days ... October leaves, perfect weather. That remains as one of the finest trips on a bike I've ever done, and I've done a few. The only bad parts of the C&O are, well, the bad parts, such as the section close to DC where you have to precariously carry your bike over the washed out section. Perhaps they've repaired it in the past few years.

[Delawaredave5]

I'm hoping to do all/parts of C&O this summer - The C&O is crushed limestone gravel - correct ? The pics above all looked paved - guess that's W&OD ?

Below are some links. Anybody know of any clubs doing C&O or Allegheny Passage this summer ? If I can find a group to ride with, would help logistics.

Allegheny Trail Alliance - Maps and text describing a trail system that will connect Pittsburgh PA with Washington DC
The C&O Canal Bicycling Guide - Welcome!

[donheff]

The last four pictures are along the C&O but they were by Great Fals where the trail is vey nice. Further out the trail is more dicey. I guess it is largely crushed limestone but sections were more dirt than stone. That can be a problem in the rain.