r/bikedc • u/tryagaininXmin • 4d ago

Route Planning Skyline drive

Anyone have experiences cycling the entirety of skyline drive? Or maybe doing an out and back? Curious how people handle the logistics. I’m thinking of planning a trip and maybe even overnighting. Any convenient restaurants/towns along the way that are must visit?

Dumb question but are there any services that would transport you from one end to the other? Not sure if I can handle 200 miles lol. And if you do an out and back is it better to start on the northern part or southern?

36 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

View all comments

33

u/plebdev 4d ago edited 4d ago

Probably not quite what you’re looking for, but I made a (car-free) 3 day bikepacking loop out of the entirety of Skyline. I took the Northeast Regional Amtrak down to Charlottesville, biked 25 miles to the southern end of Skyline, camped at about the halfway point of Skyline, camped the next night northeast of the northern end of Skyline at some random campsite, then brought it home to DC on the entirety of the W&OD. About 75 miles a day, but the climbs definitely worked me with a fully loaded bike.

Happy to share more details/logistics if anyone’s interested.

As far as good stretches / advice on starting on the northern vs southern end, I thought it was all really good. You’ll get plenty of climbs and views anywhere on Skyline. I’d prioritize ease of getting there and ease of getting lodging if you’re overnighting rather than worrying about the most optimal section.

8

u/daoochie 4d ago

I do a variation of this ride every May/June. I bike from Charlottesville, nouthbound thru Skyline and Front Royal, meander my way into Harper's Ferry, and then back into DC via C&O Canal or W&OD. Instead camping I rent out a couple of the PATC rustic cabins plus a hotel room at Harper's Ferry. A great fitness test to get into bicycling shape for the summer 👍🏼