Hondo Gravel

Seems like the GAP midway point. I will have a small SUV as my sag wagon. Anyways is Ohiopyle a good place to camp? It would be car camping style so like a home base camp.

spinnaker

OK for car camping. Not OK if you have just a bicycle.

When heading toward Cumberland, it is a long steep climb up a rocky path. You really can't ride. you have to walk. Ny road it is over 3 miles of backtracking. That could be a bit much at the end of a long day. Ohiopyle is really not a good choice for bike or hike.

I really wish the park service would open a hiker / biker site down by the river. That would be an awesome place to camp over night.

thumpism 

There's a state park near (and seriously uphill from) town and a private campground north of town by a few miles.

spinnaker

The private campground might be nicer. The facilities at PA state campgrounds are barely tolerable IMHO.

But if you have not made reservations yet you aren't going to get in anywhere with a car on weekend. Weekday might even be a stretch during the summer. You might have to go without the sag and take advantage of the free campsites and hiker biker sites.

If you go alone, the KOA in Connellsville is excellent and has hiker biker. There are also free shelters in Connellsville but I would not recommend them. Too close to town and the kids often use them as love shacks. If you don't stop in Connellsville then the next place to camp would be Confluence.

Hondo Gravel

If that is the case I will ride some out and backs. Family wants to do other things since they don’t bike just enjoy the area. They can walk/hike. Going to hit the Katy on the way home to do the Boonville to Clinton section about 70 miles. I want to keep the rides no more than 70 miles.

indyfabz

Some have been modernized over the years. Was just at French Creek the other weekend. Nice. They re-did the bath houses, etc., a few years ago. They also added some sites with electricity. Caledonia was also nice when I was there in 2013. Had a nice site by a creek with lots of shade.

1-track-mind

Ohiopyle is a great spot for the family...biking and white-water rafting and the island hike is spectacular !
Try to get one of the hike-in tent camping spots at the state park...right above the GAP.

Hondo Gravel

[QUOTE=1-track-mind;20949945]Ohiopyle is a great spot for the family...biking and white-water rafting and the island hike is spectacular !
Try to get one of the hike-in tent camping spots at the state park...right above the GAP.[/QUOTE
I was thinking about a rafting trip in between rides if available.

Altair 4

[QUOTE=Hondo Gravel;20950365]Haven't seen it first-hand, but I'd imagine the white water rafting is pretty fantastic now, given the amount of rain we've been having.

Rob_E

I actually liked Ohiopyle except for the climb. The shower house/restrooms were as good as I hope for when camping, with sink areas for dishwashing. Sites with a picnic table and fire circle. The only thing that was missing for me was any kind of camp store or even a vending machine. I wanted something cold and sweet after that climb. The guy at the office said my best bet was down in town. No way.

Did not stay at the KOA, but checked out the hiker/biker sites and did not care for them. Everything was clean and well marked, and there was a camp store, but the camping area was just a field marked off in squares. Maybe a little tree cover if you got an edge spot, otherwise none. I sleep in a hammock, so it looked like a losing spot for me either way, but on the whole, the KOA was an RV park, which is the kind of campground I try to avoid. It did seem clean and well-run, just not my kind of camping. I will say that there was good separation between tent and RV camping, so that was nice.

I'm preparing to take another stab at the whole, Pittsburgh to DC trip, and this time I'm tentatively planning on stopping the first night at Roundbottom and the second at Husky Haven, with Confluence as a back-up. If it looks like I'm not going to make it past Ohiopyle, I'll sleep in Connellsville.

spinnaker

Strange, Last I was there, the KOA had an excellent site for hiker biker. Probably the best on the trail. Last time I rode the gap I did all rooms. I stayed in the new hotel in . I will be repeating the trip in September.

Rob_E

If that’s a photo of the KOA site, then we are talking about different places or I was looking in the wrong spot.

spinnaker

They could have moved hiker biker areas. But the area you described sounds like the car and RV area. It was a pretty crappy area IMHO. The worst being the RV area. Just polluted with rednecks.

Rob_E

I went through twice in 2017 and there were tent campers in the same area both times. I did not explore the campground beyond getting a drink at the camp store, so it's possible that there are also tent campsites along the river, but the place I saw was actually on the opposite side of the path from the river. In the Google satellite view I grabbed, it's in the lower left. It does look like there's a patch of riverfront that does not include RV parking, so maybe that's where the hiker/biker site used to be, or maybe it's still in use, and I only saw some overflow campers, or campers who wanted to camp away from the river.

GeorgeBaby

I'll second that -- the KOA is excellent.