BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Confluence has big outflow campground I hear about a lot. Never been there.

I'm surprised @vannevar hasn't chimed in already. I did the ride last year I think with my brother, but we stayed at a B&B in Confluence. Lots of places to stay there, and there's the campground. Fewer restaurants than I remembered. Closer to Pittsburgh camping gets spotty. There's good resources on where to stay and eat: @vannevar's book "Trail Guide for Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and C&O Canal Towpath Trail // Pittsburgh to Washington DC bike guide," which you can get at Golden Triangle. @MaryShaw & Roy Weil's book "Linking Up: Planning Your Traffic-Free Bike Trip between Pittsburgh PA and Washington DC," and their website http://linkup.shaw-weil.com/. The TrailGuide, which is an advertising vehicle: https://gaptrail.org/plan-a-visit/trailguide.

Definitely check out the Outflow Campground at Confluence. There’s no need to reserve a tent site since there’s biker/hiker camping area which is never full, and is only $8 per night. While you are there, you should also get a hearty breakfast at the Sister Café. I recommend their “Sunrise Scramble”, which consisted of eggs, ham, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and potatoes, as well as gravy on top of them.

here's the website re: outflow campground.  I didn't realize it was run by the federal gov't. https://www.recreation.gov/camping/outflow-camping/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=73487   Also +1 on Sister's.  Also an extra +1 for them because they have wifi that you can use for free.  And if the restaurant is closed, you can sit on the bench outside and poach the wifi (at least it was non-password protected a few years ago). On a semi-related note, didn't know that That Dam Ride was cancelled a few years ago.  That would be the only weekend that it would be impossible to get a spot in the campground without pre-planning.

Turns out there's more camping that I expected. The first pay site is at the Trailhead in Frostburg. I will admit to camping overnight at the Big Savage Vista; no water supply but a beautiful sunrise. Pay camping in Meyersdale at the Maple Syrup Festival grounds, one of the local motels runs it. Pay camping in Rockwood, Husky Haven, $10 each, showers and hot water in the office complex which is on the town side of the river. There's always dry firewood there, I've got nothing but good reports on them. Confluence, Outflow Camping is great, last year it was $8/cyclist. They have a building with showers which is awesome.  If you're interested, ride over the dam and there's a small beach. Also, this year Sister's is operating under a new name. Sweeties will be open after being closed last year, I'm told. Ohiopyle has a campground and the received wisdom is it's not recommended for cyclists. It's very difficuly to get your bike up there, and daunting to get your bike down and the road is not friendly. Connellsville has the A-shelters and a campground near the caboose by the grocery store. There's a pay-campground about 4 miles north of Connellsville, and every report I've heard is that the camping is sketchy. Nice grounds, sketchy camping. Roundbottom Campground: no cell coverage, the water's not usable, got a nice A-shelter. There's usually at least one guy living rough there, on-and-off. Cedar Creek Park: got several camping spots. West Newton has Yough Outfitters, and (just my opinion) it's a bit too basic. Decent people but a bit too basic. Dravos Campground is wonderful. Water supply is uncertain, but there's a waterfountain a mile south of the campground. Wish it had wifi. There's a few guys that are there frequently, they may be living there part-time. McKeesport has a hostel. You call them, they give you the e-lock code, you use the wifi from the adjacent building. This is a nice building, but the park in McK at 0200 is the wrong place to go stargazing. I wish there was an urban campground in Braddock. I wish there was a Parks Dept Campground between SouthSideWorks and Riverfront Park. I look forward to SouthSide Travelers Rest opening for business. I'm sure I've missed one or two, somebody make this right please.  

Thanks everyone!