Great Allegheny Passage - Eastern Continental Divide — Attraction in Larimer Township

The portion of the trail from Cumberland to the Salisbury Viaduct is the highlight of the Passage and the best trail I have ever biked. There are more tunnels, bridges, and overlooks here than anywhere else. It's about 35 miles one-way. Park in Cumberland and ride uphill first so that you have the downhill when you're tired. An electric bike is recommended to do it in one day, as a 2% grade actually requires about twice as much effort as flat terrain.

A better way to do the 35-mile trek to see the best of what the passage has to offer, if you can (which few do) is to get two or more people to go on the trip, have two cars park in Cumberland and Meyersdale, and then you can see everything without having to backtrack. Note that the Salisbury viaduct is west of Meyersdale, so you'll have to go west a mile or so past the town before heading east.

The best time to ride is in November. There's almost always at least one 70-degree day in November, so watch the forecast for that day and visit then. The sun is low, so you won't get burnt, all the tunnels are still open, and you can see for miles. In the summer, foliage blocks the view, and you'll wonder why a path through featureless forest was rated so highly.

The rest of the trail is beautiful as well and is worth a visit, but as a general rule, it gets worse as you go west. Confluence is an interesting town and the Ohiopyle state park is peaceful and low traffic. But approaching Whitsett, the trail is narrow with poor maintenence. Then, towards McKeespoort, there are 25 at-grade intersections. The intersections are annoying not only for the stops, but also because of the poles in the middle of the trail that I hit more than once with my side mirror. Eventually the trail goes into city streets. Near Pittsburgh, the trail has heavy traffic, the noise is about 80dB, there are too many stoplights, and is poorly signed (I got lost and rode 3 extra miles). I would not ride west of West Newton again.

If you have only two days, bike from Cumberland to the second viadict, then bike the Pine Creek Gorge on a different day rather than spending two days...

If you like things like geo-political boundaries, geography, history, etc, this is a must-see. As previously mentioned, there is a pull out on the side of the road but it’s very weathered, bumpy, and rough. Smaller cars could easily get stuck in some of the holes! It’s not a parking lot or area. And be careful walking down to the trail and tunnel - it’s not flat but has lots of rocks and exposed tree roots!

Otherwise, yes, it is quite awesome! The trail is very well maintained and the tunnel is painted with history and geology information. Worth a stop or quick detour if you’re into the above mentioned things. My favorite...

What an amazing wonder. Had a great time walking to Maryland from here. 12,000+ steps and about 5.5miles round trip. The Big Salvage Tunnel was awesome, the scenery was spectacular and the imagination of all the history that occurred in these parts is beyond words. Very nice well kept trail, some people don't know how to park, and will try to block you in, even with open spots still left to park. So bring a chain to pull them out of the way since they left their brain at home. Looking forward to biking it...