The Allegheny Mountains Loop offers a wide variety of riding types from pavement to gravel, from gentle grades along river valleys to steep, muscle burning climbs and fast descents over ridges, and from busy U.S. highways to lightly trafficked county roads and rail trails where no cars are allowed. Besides the main route there are 4 options which give the cyclist choices in the mileage they choose to ride. The route begins and ends in Blacksburg, VA, and crosses back and forth between Virginia and West Virginia several times. Highlights along the route include the Humpback Covered Bridge, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, and excursion train rides from the town of Durbin.
This is for the digital download of this map. For the physical version on weatherproof paper see here.
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A customer from Asheville, NC on 10/13/11
Good route, informative map. The Allegheny Mountains Loop has four different optional routes or cut-offs, so you can customize your tour easily, and decrease the mileage quite a bit if you so desire. Be sure you have some low gears. Since this is a downloadable map, I recommend printing it on a laser jet printer, not an ink-jet printer. The cheaper ink-jet printer uses water-soluble ink, and the ink will nearly wash off the paper with the slightest drip of water onto it. A laser-jet printer produces a non-water-soluble ink. The paper can still get saturated, but the ink will not run. ACA, it would be great if you could move the elevation profiles to the individual map panes like you did on the Sierra Cascades map. I realize that is a big change, but it is sure helpful.
Adirondack Park Loop Map
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A customer from on 9/7/11
The Adirondack Park Loop Map was not detailed enough to be used as a cycling map. The map needed more detail showing more of the surrounding roads to ensure the cyclist that they are still on route. While riding the ADK loop and referencing the maps we strayed from the route many times. Very frustrating.
A great way to explore the northeast
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A customer from State College, PA USA on 9/6/11
I did this loop clockwise and linked it with the green mountains loop for a wonderful two-week vacation. As usual, the maps provided excellent guidance and good advice for stops. The route isn't "epic" like the mountains out West are, but the hills and marshes and lakes are definitely worth your time. Save time for swimming if the weather's right!
Searching for America? it's right here
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Jon L on 6/6/11
This is a delightful route that takes you thru the rural backroads of VA & WV. The route takes you on little traveled paved and gravel roads that twist and climb over and around the mountains and valleys (touring bikes with 32's were fine on the gravel sections, although we didn't do the W. Fork Trl). Cars are minimal (except on two short sections of busier roads), sometimes only one or two cars (or tractors) would pass us each hour. Some days you'll be climbing for miles, then rewarded with descents that appear to go on forever. Other days, you'll meander along rolling gravel roads with minimal signs of development. The farm land is beautiful, with cows, horses, buffalo, llama and sheep eager to say hello. Most roads were pretty well shaded and never strayed too far from streams and rivers, so doing the route in hot weather is okay. Some towns only had a few shops, others had a few blocks of shops - towns were spaced just about right to refuel/rehydrate. A few interesting sites to see on the trip are the National Radio Telescopes Observatory, The Greenbrier Hotel and the old steam engines in Cass.
If your looking for a week long get away, this ride won't disappoint.
Adirondack Park Loop-You Print
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Anne Anderson on 4/12/10
Being able to get a map immediately while I am dreaming about a trip is wonderful.
Great ride through rural areas in the mid-Appalachians
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A customer from Silver Spring, MD on 10/3/09
If you're looking for a challenging ride through rural, unpopulated, open Appalachian country this is great. Most of the towns on the map are really just cross roads with a few houses. Lots of wonderful down hills (and the corresponding climbs)! This route travels through a region of the country that is still open, quiet and dark. Quiet enough to hear the echo of a distant dog barking down a creek valley, cicadas screaming at dusk, dark enough to see the clouds of the Milky Way, and stumble upon areas filled with colorful and giant mushrooms. The maps take a while to decode. First: decide clockwise or counterclockwise (counterclockwise seems the better choice). Then: there are three cut-offs to shorten the ride and one alternative. And plan on camping! My son and I rode the full route, nine days, clockwise; no alternatives, in mid-August. OK, I need a couple of lower gears but walking three short stretches I made it with no problems. Be ready for "limited" and missing grocery stores. This is rural America; economic hard times close stores and your choice may be 3-year old boxed macaroni and cheese or week old vegetables. The people are lovely; stop to visit and talk; you'll find what help you need. Listen, you'll hear a side of America that is disappearing. Be aware of the profiles, read the maps and the road descriptions. There are gravel roads. These are ridaeable on a touring (or a fatter tire) bike without a problem, but don't expect skinny tires to survive. We had the two rails-to-trails conversions on the second half of the ride; it was a wonderful, three-day loooong downhill along the Greenbrier River. The West Fork Trail feels unkempt, the Greenbrier River Trail is a luxury and worth a trip in itself. This 73-mile section of the trail has its own support organization and map (see http://www.greenbrierrivertrail.com/). Read the directions carefully. I missed two turns that each took a fair number of miles to realize. There are road signs where the map indicates they're missing, and signs missing that the map doesn't note. Such is the problem with prepared directions in a dynamic world. Carefully watch your way in the Durbin area. I had a tough time figuring out the close configuration of roads; a detailed inset would help. We rode this 'cause we were looking at the last minute for a near by week long ride. It was great.
o what fun.
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A customer from San Francisco, CA USA on 10/2/09
wonderful map! even had the pleasure of handing it off to a mapless cyclist traveling the opposite way.
all i'd say is this route didn't provide a lot of options for camping. I'd be interested to know if there are any better opportunities for folks on bicycles that didn't include the screaming families and drab of rv/camper stops. not to mention I do not have $20 every time I wish to sleep on the ground.
other than that, I did notice one *mistake* that threw me off, and that is on map 11 you take us to "Speculator" lake, when really that lake labeled 'speculator' is actually a lake called 'lake pleasant' speculator is more east. i just felt a little confused for a moment why this huge lake that wasn't speculator was following me.
thanks for the maps!
Allegany Mountain Loop
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A customer from Illinois on 12/25/06
Rode the Allegany Mountain Loop in the Oct. 5, 2012 race. The maps were the way bike riders could determine where they must ride during the 400 mild bicycle race. The set of maps were extremely useful and were the basis for the race. The cw and cw on the same pages was not helpful. I had trouble distinguishing if the roads were county, state or National roads. I plan on buying maps for the next tour died .
based on 8 reviews.
