Great Allegheny Passage

The 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage connects the C&O Canal Towpath with the city of Pittsburg. It soars over valleys, snakes around mountains, and skirts alongside three rivers (the Casselman, Youghiogheny, and Monongahela) on its nearly level path.

In its journey from Cumberland, Maryland to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Passage crosses the Mason-Dixon Line, the Eastern Continental Divide and runs through spectacular water gaps and gorges, often through miles of near-wilderness. The traveler passes by the sites of long-cold iron furnaces and coke ovens and a modern steel mill; dozens of worked-out coal mines and even through a couple of dairy farms.

These now-peaceful valleys were once the scene of tragic mining accidents where hundreds died and where, in the late 19th and 20th centuries labor and capital clashed over working conditions and wages. You'll pass the owners' mansions and the laborers' company houses.

You'll experience all this history on a trail that's quiet, clean and safe, where you can pause and absorb the events that shaped the region and the nation, often on the very spot where they occurred. And, best of all, you're doing it under your own power and at your own pace.

Remember: safe use of rivers and any designated trails, at any time, is your responsibility! Trail maps are for informational and interpretive purposes only and are not meant for navigational purposes, nor do they take into account level of skills or ability required to navigate such trails. The Chesapeake Conservancy, National Park Service, and/or the individual trail associations assume no responsibility or liability for any injury or loss resulting directly or indirectly from the use of trails, maps or other printed or web-based materials.