Rails to Trails Coast To Coast Across the USA

I'm a member of RTC and have been watching this trail concept for several years. I've ridden many section of it including the 360 mile C&O and Great Allegheny Passage trails from Washington DC to Pittsburgh, PA. I'm looking forward to riding much more of this trail as the individual pieces are tied together.

Rails to Trails (RTC) is a worthwhile organization which I've supported for many years. They are responsible for spearheading the development of thousands of miles of recreational trails. My only criticism of the organization is they tend to concentrate on new trail development rather than maintenance of those already in existence. Sadly, I've seen many great trails fall into disrepair to the point where they are barely ride able. I hope that the Great - American Rail Trail does not become one of them.
 
6zfshdb said:
My only criticism of the organization is they tend to concentrate on new trail development rather than maintenance of those already in existence. Sadly, I've seen many great trails fall into disrepair to the point where they are barely ride able. I hope that the Great - American Rail Trail does not become one of them.
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Yes, like the Hennepin Canal listed here. I had to jump off last summer bc it was so overgrown. The main office was shut down (no employees). Nobody was on it.

Can’t wait to see the “rail-trail that seamlessly” gets you out of Weirton or Wheeling WVA.

I’ve been on just about every trail listed and am skeptical of the viability of this project although I would love to be proven wrong.
 
A small segment has been under proposal here in Oregon for a number of years.

https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles...-coast-salmonberry-trail-gets-the-green-light


Although abandoned rail ways make for great routes due to their original grade requirements being favorable to cyclists there are many issues, #1 being funding, to restoring them for public use.

As mentioned even ability to maintain existing sections, there is one here called the CZ trail that falls into this category, that in fact are that way due to seeing little use quite frankly and as we all know the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

As much as I would like to see more RTT conversions that could possibly make a coast to coast ride possible it is certainly not going to happen unless it gets a large amount of financial backing.

Unfortunately here in the US unless there is a fear factor involved for large projects a fitness factor will never get the job done.

Maybe the great grand kids will be able to ride it on their hover bikes.
 
JRA said:
A small segment has been under proposal here in Oregon for a number of years.

https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles...-coast-salmonberry-trail-gets-the-green-light


Although abandoned rail ways make for great routes due to their original grade requirements being favorable to cyclists there are many issues, #1 being funding, to restoring them for public use.

As mentioned even ability to maintain existing sections, there is one here called the CZ trail that falls into this category, that in fact are that way due to seeing little use quite frankly and as we all know the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

As much as I would like to see more RTT conversions that could possibly make a coast to coast ride possible it is certainly not going to happen unless it gets a large amount of financial backing.

Unfortunately here in the US unless there is a fear factor involved for large projects a fitness factor will never get the job done.

Maybe the great grand kids will be able to ride it on their hover bikes.
Click to expand...

We have a charity over here called Sustrans that have been successful in buidling nationwide similar paths and developing quiet cycle routes. They do empathsise route maintenance, however they also qualify for funding through the National Lottery - good causes awarding.
 
JRA said:
A small segment has been under proposal here in Oregon for a number of years.

https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles...-coast-salmonberry-trail-gets-the-green-light




... the squeaky wheel gets the grease...

As much as I would like to see more RTT conversions that could possibly make a coast to coast ride possible it is certainly not going to happen unless it gets a large amount of financial backing.
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That’s it in a nutshell.

I grew up on the C&O (more or less the back yard) in the DC area, which is approximately the first 20 miles of the 184.5 mile dirt towpath. Most of the $$ go here according to rangers I’ve talked to. Now go west towards mile 50. A bridge has been out for 8 months with no safe detour.

The Hennepin is so overgrown in sections that I couldn’t find it after crossing a road. It is state-owned and again, I was told no funds for upkeep except for the westernmost stretch.

The GAP is maintained by volunteers and they do a great job. Due to the weather-related issues last summer, the volunteer system was overtaxed, however. A friend who was originally involved in planning for both the GAP and Montour commented that he had never seen so much debris and so many trees down.
 
dblhelix said:
Yes, like the Hennepin Canal listed here. I had to jump off last summer bc it was so overgrown. The main office was shut down (no employees). Nobody was on it.

Can’t wait to see the “rail-trail that seamlessly” gets you out of Weirton or Wheeling WVA.

I’ve been on just about every trail listed and am skeptical of the viability of this project although I would love to be proven wrong.
Click to expand...

It's a future thing, and will happen some day, probably when I am gone.Takes money.

I haven't ridden the Hennepin canal path, and I'm not that far away, but we're planning on going to Missouri this year for the Katy trail since I won't need a machete.
 
Jaxx said:
Incredible, "we're gonna need bigger battery"
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You aren't kidding.

If you are adventurous, physically and mentally tough, have good route finding and route planning skills, are a reasonably competent bike mechanic, and have a bit of tolerance for pain and suffering you could ride from the Pacific (either at La Push or Raymond, WA) to the Idaho/Montana border mostly on rail trails.

It is that "mostly" that is going to make things exciting. Some of the trails (well, really most of them) are works in progress so you might have substantial stretches of trail where there is no trail. You might have to deal with collapsed tunnels, or walking your bike across high spooky trestles with no decking and no guardrails.

I know that east of Ellensburg you can theoretically ride the John Wayne Trail all of the way to the Columbia Plateau trail, which with a few connectors will get you to the Idaho border. I say "theoretically" because I understand you need a permit and a key (for the many gates you will have to open and close), because to cross the Columbia River you need to divert to the I-90 bridge at Vantage, and because E of the Columbia River you have a very, very long stretch where there are no facilities. You'll need extra batteries, water, and probably camping gear.

Sounds like my kind of tour.

 
harryS said:
It's a future thing, and will happen some day, probably when I am gone.Takes money.

I haven't ridden the Hennepin canal path, and I'm not that far away, but we're planning on going to Missouri this year for the Katy trail since I won't need a machete.
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The I&M is in much better shape (except for a short stretch before Illini State Park). Illinois is distinguished by four ways to cross the state by trail and awesome bike maps put out by the state.
 
Welcome to Canada, we did the trans Canada trail 20 years ago, coast to coast, the only difference is the US is going to maintain the trail, Canada not so much.
 
The Palouse to Cascades trail is supposed to be goathead city on the eastern parts. I also read where funding may be had for fixing the bridge across the Columbia and opening it up for bikes. But you still have the locked gates and access issues to overcome.

It sounds like an organization of a bigger size, like the Pacific Crest Trail Association would be a good thing. They are a very dedicated group of folks who do maintenance of that trail, which goes from Mexico to Canada through some very rugged country.
 
Also for those in the PNW are these two. They are only 23 miles or so but that makes an out and back on each a couple of nice days with a vehicle transfer possible. However they connect in Vernonia and so an almost hundred mile day can be had doing them both back and forth. Or ride the BV trail to CZ trail and spend the night in Scappoose after roaming around down to the Columbia River and head back the next day. Or bring a fast charger and return the same day, there is no charging ability at the Manning trailhead for the BV trail. Or two groups starting from PDX can start at opposite trailheads and exchange keys in Vernonia over a burger. Nice wild country to travel through by bike. The CZ trail is not as well maintained but doable on a multi surface capable bike.

https://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=104

https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Crown_Zellerbach_Traverse_Hike
 
Cowlitz said:
The Palouse to Cascades trail is supposed to be goathead city on the eastern parts. .
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Sections of the Cowboy Trail proposed for this route are also goat head city. Luckily there is a road that runs parallel. I was surprised bc I thought I’d left them behind in the very dry southwest, but you live and learn.

Regarding this project, I do know someone in the RTC organization, so I’ll report back if I can find out anything substantial.
 
Cowlitz said:
The Palouse to Cascades trail is supposed to be goathead city on the eastern parts. I also read where funding may be had for fixing the bridge across the Columbia and opening it up for bikes. But you still have the locked gates and access issues to overcome.

It sounds like an organization of a bigger size, like the Pacific Crest Trail Association would be a good thing. They are a very dedicated group of folks who do maintenance of that trail, which goes from Mexico to Canada through some very rugged country.
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Speaking from some experience, having paid professionals who know how to do the work generally ends up being more cost-effective than volunteers. Volunteers are better than nothing, though. And you get weird complications from having volunteer groups maintain trails -- look at how the Appalachian trail is maintained sometimes, and how shockingly inconsistent trail standards can be along it and also how every local club conspires, often in contrived ways, to make their section of the trail the most interesting. For rail-trails it is feasible in many cases to run a big power mower over them and in a lot of areas after you log them out that would be all you'll need to do. Volunteers won't have power mowers.

Rumor has it that funds for restoring the bridge over the Columbia are in the FY 2019 budget so that will fix a big problem.

I did a bit of research last night and concluded that it would be a challenging trip for e-bikes. East of Vantage you run into trouble quickly, the first being the I-90 bridge which is shoulderless and has 70mph traffic. From there to the Idaho border there are few places to camp, even fewer hotels, and bluntly not a lot of places to fill up a water bottle or buy a snack. I don't know how you'd manage to charge batteries. But it does look like a cool and challenging trip.
 
Here's an account of a bike trip all the way across the state. They were on acoustic bikes.

This is a good write up.

I have no idea how the appalachian trail is. I've worked on the PCT a bit. It depends on who you get to turn out. We had some pretty experienced folks and got more logged out than I expected. It was all hand tools because we were in wilderness. The PCTA will allow qualified volunteers to use chainsaws in non wilderness. Other groups will not. It all depends. The PCTA has folks adopt sections of the trail.

My problem is that I am a believer in starting work at the butt crack of dawn in August, but I have to realize that most people will not do that.
 
It took me a few days to find this, but https://www.friendsofjohnwaynepioneertrail.org has the best and most up-to-date information on the trail, in particular on the eastern sections of the trail. There are excellent maps showing trail closures and detours, and excellent information (though probably out-of-date) on what services are available at what town along the trail.

For my money, unless you are one hundred percent sure you can arrange a ride across the I-90 bridge at Vantage, I'd give this route a miss until they reopen the rail bridge on the trail.
 
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