Question Rail to Trails

[travelbytrainsagain]

Does anyone have any experience with the rails to trails in the USA?
Also, if possible can you elaborate on which ones you found interesting and for what reasons etc? Lengths and difficulty etc?
Ty!

 

[Timothy Englert]

Ohio has an extensive system of rail trails. Most are paved. I went from Astabula to Dayton, mostly on trails. I never thought Ohio as progressive, but they rate top for me when it comes to bike trails. Plenty of restrooms for water. Also free primitive campgrounds......

Also the NYS Erie Canal Trail is good, crossing the whole state and you can camp at most locks.

 

[Joey Garbanzo]

My ex and I were supposed to do the Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh down to Washington DC to go wander around museums and stuff. It never happened but if I get the chance I'd love to make the trip some day.

 

[pcflvly]

My ex and I were supposed to do the Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh down to Washington DC to go wander around museums and stuff. It never happened but if I get the chance I'd love to make the trip some day.

A friend and I did that ride. We started in Pittsburgh, rode to DC, NYC, Albany, Buffalo, Erie, then back to Pittsburgh. It was about 1600 miles and took us six weeks. At least 2/3 of that was on bike trail and we stealth camped almost every night. In this map, all the green stars are stealth camps.

 

[pcflvly]

For a long distance cyclist, every bike trail is the best. I've been on dozens and on most of the longest ones. The two most scenic are the Trail of the Couer d' Alenes and the trail from Key Largo to Key West but that's just an opinion. The Natchez Trace Parkway is a road not a trail but at the right time of year there's almost no motor vehicle traffic and that's 473 miles of commercial free serene bike riding. Here's a map showing some of my travels by bicycle.