Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

© Ken L Howard | Alamy
Florida’s lush Big Cypress National Preserve
POTOMAC HERITAGE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL, VIRGINIA, MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA AND
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Linking the Potomac and upper Youghiogheny river basins, this scenic trail isn’t one
continuous walking route but a network of heritage, cultural and get-out-in-nature
pathways across the region. Thus, thru-hiking isn’t the point here. Better to pick a
part that sounds intriguing. For instance, those short on time could try Virginia’s
history-laced Mt Vernon Trail, which runs for 17 miles (27km) along the Potomac
from Theodore Roosevelt Island to George Washington’s home at Mt Vernon, via
memorials, a 19th-century lighthouse, the old trading town of Alexandria and
marshes prolific with birds. Multi-dayers might like the 150-mile (241km) Great
Allegheny Passage or GAP, a hiker-biker route throughout parts of the
Appalachian Mountains, linking Cumberland (Maryland) and downtown Pittsburgh
using defunct corridors of the USA’s old railroads; this includes traversing cast-iron
truss bridges, lofty viaducts and the 1968ft (600m) tunnel under Big Savage
Mountain.
Start/End // Various, between Pittsburgh and the mouth of the Potomac River
Distance // 708 miles (1140km)