This is my fourth and final blog post about our bike trip on the Great Allegheny Passsage, a 150 mile Rail Trail that runs between Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh, PA. The first two posts, here and here, are from the first 75 miles, ridden in the Fall of 2025. The third post is about the Art and History of the GAP. If you are just learning about the trail, check out the GAP Trail website and learn about how you, too, can enjoy a great adventure – whether by foot or by bicycle.
On our third day, we rode 45 miles from Ohiopyle, PA to Smithton, a small rural town in Pennsylvania, population 400. On this, our final day on the GAP, we only had a 30 mile ride to get to Pittsburgh, population 2.2 million (in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area).
The first 15 miles found us following a tree lined rail trail (we called it a “cathedral of trees” – see first photo), riding through small rural communities. We met our support crew for coffee and hot chocolate at a tiny little visitors center in Boston, PA.
Soon enough though, we began to see signs of larger, urban communities, and we enjoyed the changing scenery. The cloudy day made for a great contrast against the railroad tracks and steel trestles.
The Linden Tunnel is a 63-foot-long, 8-foot-high concrete structure located in Duquesne, Pennsylvania. The tunnel walls were adorned with gorgeous, colorful murals (mural photo by Ruth).
After a quick stop for lunch in Homestead, located along the Monongahela River, we got back on the bikes and rode onward to Pittsburgh.
The GAP Trail ends at Point State Park, a Pennsylvania state park located on 36 acres in Downtown Pittsburgh at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, forming the Ohio River. To be honest, the last couple miles were a bit of a confusion as the GAP signs that we’d been following the previous 147 miles were no longer visible (photo taken by Ruth).
Despite that, we soon rode up to the beautiful fountain at Point State Park (photo taken by Linda).
To give you a better view of the fountain, I have included a photo from a sunny day visit in 2022.
We were so excited to be there and to celebrate completing the entire GAP Trail.
After locking up our bikes and changing out of our gear, we ended the day at PNC Park, where we met our crew and enjoyed watching the Pittsburgh Pirates play baseball.
What a great way to end our ride! And yes! We are already planning the next adventure!
Life on the Bike and other Fab Things 