Trail town · Allegany County, MD
Cumberland
The GAP/C&O junction, the Allegheny Front, and Maryland’s western mountains. Cumberland sits at mile zero of the Great Allegheny Passage and mile 184 of the C&O Canal towpath — the only town in the country where two of the East’s great long trails meet.
Live · updated
If you’re bikepacking from Pittsburgh to DC, Cumberland is the midpoint and the resupply town. If you live in DC and want a real mountain weekend without driving to West Virginia, Cumberland is closer than Shenandoah. If you’re a runner looking for a destination half-marathon on a flat shaded towpath, the C&O western reach is the answer.
The city is rebuilding its identity around trail tourism. This page exists because that’s a project worth small support — accurate live conditions, no ads, no fluff, just the trails.
Cumberland-area trails ranked today
Dye School Trail
White-blazed trail linking the fishing pond to the stone foundation of the Dye School, a one-room schoolhouse from the late 1800s, past a historic stone wall and stream crossings.
Canyon Overlook Trail
Short, scenic climb to an overlook of the mile-long gorge cut by Rocky Gap Run below Lake Habeeb. The signature quick hike at Rocky Gap for a view down the canyon.
Paw Paw Tunnel Hill Trail
Climbs about 2 miles over Sorrell Ridge above the 3,118-ft Paw Paw Tunnel, the longest structure on the C&O Canal; pairs with the towpath through the brick-lined tunnel as a loop.
Evitt's Mountain Homesite Trail
Challenging climb up Evitts Mountain, gaining about 1,000 ft to the stone-wall and caved-in well ruins of 1730s settler Evitt's homesite. Rock-hops a cascading stream through hemlock, mountain laurel and rhododendron.
Lonaconing Loop
Purpose-built singletrack loop (red blazes) through mixed hardwood and conifer forest over rocky terrain, opened in 2023 for hikers and mountain bikers in western Maryland.
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath
The flat, level towpath running 184.5 miles along the Potomac from Georgetown, D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland, following the historic 19th-century canal past locks, lockhouses and aqueducts.
What’s here
The GAP terminus
Mile zero of the Great Allegheny Passage at Canal Place. 150 miles of crushed-limestone rail-trail to Pittsburgh, with the first 16 miles climbing gradually to the Eastern Continental Divide at Frostburg.
The C&O western terminus
Mile 184 of the C&O Canal towpath. Flat, shaded, riverside — 184 miles back to Georgetown. The western 50 miles see a fraction of the DC-end traffic.
Rocky Gap
State park on Lake Habeeb 7 miles east of town. The Evitts Mountain backcountry climb is the area’s only real elevation gain you can finish before lunch.
Dans Mountain
2,898-ft summit 12 miles south. Best long-view of the Cumberland gap and the Allegheny Front, especially in late afternoon.
Paw Paw Tunnel
3,118-ft canal tunnel 26 miles east on the C&O. Ridge-bypass trail loops over the top. Bring a headlamp; the tunnel is genuinely dark.
Day-trip range
Savage River, Youghiogheny at Friendsville, Big Run, and the western fingers of Garrett County are all under an hour’s drive. A long weekend in Cumberland reaches every western-MD trail worth doing.
Plan a trip
For bikepackers
Most thru-bikepackers stay one or two nights in Cumberland between the GAP and C&O legs. Several downtown lodges cater specifically to riders, with bike-secure storage and laundry.
For day trips from DC/Baltimore
~2.5 hours by car from DC, ~2 hours from Baltimore. The Capitol Limited Amtrak runs daily between DC and Cumberland — it accepts bikes in baggage, which is unusual and useful.
For local businesses
If you run an outfitter, bike shop, shuttle service, guide service, or trail-town lodging in the Cumberland area, see For businesses. Listings are clearly labeled and never reorder editorial trail rankings.