Uncommon Accommodations: The Cutest, Quaintest and Quirkiest Stays Along the Great Allegheny Passage
Easy peddling, riverside picnics and sweeping panoramas are the hallmarks of long days spent on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP, gaptrail.org), which stretches 150 miles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, Maryland. But evenings along the trail can be just as memorable. From a beautifully restored convent to a combination diner and motel—and charming inns galore—these unique stays prove that the adventure doesn’t have to end at the trailhead.
This article was originally published in the Fall 2025 issue of Rails to Trails magazine and has been reposted here in an edited format. Subscribe to read more articles about remarkable trails while also supporting our work.
PENNSYLVANIA
Bright Morning Bed & Breakfast, West Newton
If it were any closer to the trail, Bright Morning Bed & Breakfast at 127 Jefferson Court in West Newton would be in the middle of it. Cheer on other thru-riders from your room in one of the inn’s four adjacent restored homes, where a homemade breakfast and secure bike barn come standard with every stay. Just across the trail, visitors can find a restaurant and beer garden; the West Newton Bicycle Shop is less than a block away.
The B&B’s new owners have recently remodeled a six-bedroom guesthouse right on the Youghiogheny River a short stroll down the GAP, meaning even more visitors can fall in love with this quaint trail town, 35 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Chateau Connellsville, Connellsville
A century ago, the three-story, neo-Gothic brick building at 114 N. Prospect St. in Connellsville was teeming with nuns. Completed in 1924, the Immaculate Conception convent housed an order of Benedictine sisters who staffed the adjacent school and served the Southwest Pennsylvania community for 60 years.
Fast forward to 2025, and the former convent is now stuffed with a different kind of devotee—cyclists. Recently reopened as Chateau Connellsville, the fully remodeled boutique hotel offers 10 themed suites. Choose an art deco, midcentury modern, Victorian or even a groovy ’70s suite (complete with multicolored afghan) for your post-trail time-out.
At night, guests fall asleep more easily knowing their bikes are secure in a locked storage room, and in the morning, a free breakfast awaits at the nearby Comfort Inn, adjacent to the GAP.
Smith House Inn, Confluence
The teeny town of Confluence, Pennsylvania, is the meeting place of the Laurel Hill Creek and Youghiogheny and Casselman rivers. It is also—at more than halfway along the trail for thru-riders heading south—the ideal spot to indulge in some well-earned luxury.
At the Smith House Inn at 420 Sterner St., a beautifully restored 1920 bungalow with a charming wraparound porch perfect for a late-afternoon nap, guests enjoy free snacks, French-press coffee and turndown chocolates. The next day’s ride will be fueled by a two-course homemade breakfast (yogurt parfaits with homemade granola, anyone?), and bikes are safe and sound in the locked garage.
The Gingerbread House Bed and Breakfast, Rockwood
People who stay at The Gingerbread House Bed and Breakfast, a meticulously maintained Victorian home at 156 Rockdale Road in the trail town of Rockwood, Pennsylvania, rave about the host’s homemade syrups—maple, mulberry and pumpkin—that adorn the breakfast table each morning. In addition to the inn’s beloved breakfasts, guests can also look forward to clean and comfortable rooms and a secure place to stash their bikes.
The Rockwood trailhead and visitors center is within sight of The Gingerbread House’s inviting front porch, and a local brewery is a block away.
Morguen Toole Company Hotel, Meyersdale
During the early 20th century, the 30,000-square-foot warehouse at 130 Center St. in the heart of downtown Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, housed two separate businesses: Baer & Company Hardware and R. Reich & Son Furniture and Undertaking. The latter is the reason ghosts and spirits now reportedly roam the halls of the Morguen Toole Company Hotel, a quirky hostel-like retreat popular with GAP-goers. There’s even a room named after one of the ghosts: Helen’s Chamber is among the hotel’s most booked rooms.
Ideal for large groups and families, the hotel offers a range of accommodations, from sprawling suites to bunk beds with shared bathrooms.
Donges Drive-In and Motel, Meyersdale
If ghosts aren’t your thing, how about hamburgers, french fries and ice cream? Located just around the block from Morguen Toole Company Hotel, Donges Drive-In and Motel at 100 Center St. might be the only spot on the GAP where you can get a hot shower and a hot fudge sundae without leaving the premises. Open since 1967, Donges has been in the same family for three generations and offers classic diner fare and a handful of tidy and cozy motel rooms. In the morning, guests can wander down from their digs to fuel up on bacon, eggs and pancakes—topped with some locally sourced syrup right here in Pennsylvania’s “Maple City.”
A Pathway to Economic Recovery
For centuries, the railroads that connected the cities and towns along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP, gaptrail.org), provided economic prosperity by carrying coal and timber away. Today, following the decline of these regional industries, the trail is delivering economic recovery in the form of recreation and tourism. According to a 2021 report, every mile of the 150-mile trail creates more than $800,000 in economic value a year, or $121 million total. That means the GAP now generates more money each year than it originally cost to create.
These dollars are spent in trailside restaurants, hotels, gift stores and bike shops, where 1,393 employees across five Appalachian counties earn a living wage in roles supported by GAP tourism. According to Bryan Perry, the executive director of the Great Allegheny Passage, about 60% of trail-facing businesses were formed between 2010 and 2019, a period of time that spans the GAP’s completion in 2013. “There was this energy building as we were nearing completion,” Perry said. “Entrepreneurs were saying ‘there’s a market here’ and launching distilleries, coffee shops, bike shops.”
One of those entrepreneurs was Angela Bonnell, a Confluence, Pennsylvania, resident who opened Sunshine Luggage Shuttle in 2012, transporting bags from inn to inn while GAP goers enjoy the trail—and a lightened load. “I needed a job where my kids could come with me,” said the mother of four. “Since I appreciated the trail already, creating a business centered around it made perfect sense.”
In the last 13 years, Bonnell’s business has grown; today she provides a luggage shuttle along the C&O Canal Towpath and the Ohio to Erie Trail. The business, she said, “has helped my family, and I have what we need to thrive in this area, and I’ve enjoyed more time with my children because of it.”
It’s not just business owners who have benefited from the trail. State, county and local governments receive about $9 million in tax revenue from GAP tourism each year, and home prices along the trail have risen nearly twice as much compared to state averages, even as the population in these areas has fallen. The median home value in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, a trail town with a crop of new trail-related business es, has risen by approximately 42% in just six years.
For residents along the trail, the GAP provides safe and accessible recreation opportunities in a rural region with challenging topography. It’s also brought a more diverse selection of businesses and restaurants to these communities, as well as an increased sense of hometown pride. That might be why, in the 2021 survey, 93% of residents agreed with the statement, “The GAP makes my community more vibrant.”
MARYLAND
Hotel Gunter, Frostburg
Opened on New Year’s Day 1897, for decades the Hotel Gunter at 11 W. Main St. in Frostburg provided an easy and opulent getaway for politicians and their families from nearby Washington, D.C. Nestled in the mountains of Western Maryland, the hotel had a café, a barber shop and even a petting zoo, complete with tame deer. During Prohibition, it also had a jail in the basement so that federal marshals transporting criminals down Route 40 could enjoy a hot meal and a good night’s rest.
Today, the hotel, which was renovated and reopened in 2019, still offers weary travelers a soft place to rest their heads. The hotel is located about half a mile from the GAP’s Frostburg trailhead (take note that it is a steep half mile) right in the middle of bustling downtown, where people have no problem filling the hours between rides, exploring the city’s many shops and restaurants.
The Inn on Decatur, Cumberland
Whether you’re starting your ride or celebrating its completion, the historic Inn on Decatur at 108 Decatur St. in downtown Cumberland, Maryland, provides a stylish home base. A Federal-style townhouse located just four (flat!) blocks from Mile 0, the inn is owned by a local tour guide who offers complimentary tours of the city and help with discovering Cumberland’s best restaurants and most notable landmarks. A hearty breakfast—with challah French toast or apple crisp—will power your first miles along the GAP or keep you full all the way home.
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