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Section 4 - Interstate 70 to Turners Gap Displayed from North to South

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  Potomac Appalachian Trail Club http://www.patc.net/ Info @ patc.net PA 233 to Rockfish Gap, VA

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Mile
Marker
 
Hiker Rated
Parking Safety
Directions Comments Number of Vehicles  Map   &  
 Weather  
Source
0.0
Interstate 70
   Poor           Great




From the east on I-70, take Myersville exit (exit 42). Turn right onto Wolfsville Rd (MD 17) then turn left onto US 40. The parking area is 3 miles further.From the west, on I-70, take the US 40 exit south. Cross I-70 overpass and park at pullover on right immediately after the crossover. From the parking area, cross the embankment and follow the closed section of old highway. At the end of the old highway, take path around the left side of the guardrail. Then bear sharply left and descend steeply to footbridge of I-70, on right. Distance is .1 mile from parking. Turn right onto dirt road between fence and hillside for north bound AT to Section 3, or go straight over footbridge for southbound AT to Section4. 1/29/2006 12/15/19 There is room for about 20 cars to park at 2 pull-overs just before US 40 crosses over I-70
 

 

ATEditors @ rohland.org
Another route to the trailhead from I-70 is to take Exit 35. Go south on MD 66 for 1 mile to the intersection with US 40. Go left (east) here on US 40. The road passes Greenbrier State Park and then crosses over I-70. Just beyond this on the right are the parking areas. This is about 3 miles from MD 66. See first picture for a view of part of the parking area.GPS N39.53516, W77.60314 While there is room for many cars here, it is a very popular trailhead. On a nice November Saturday, the lots were full and people were parking along the road. 11/08/07The previous map is centered on the east end of the parking area. This one is centered on the west end. Rotate the street view from west through south to east to see the parking. The segment of old highway that acts as the access trail can be seen to the left of the current highway in the view to the southwest. 01/14/10 12/15/19 20-25
  1

 

ATEditors @ rohland.org
The previous map is centered on the east end of the parking area. This one is centered on the west end. Rotate the street view from west through south to east to see the parking. The segment of old highway that acts as the access trail can be seen to the left of the current highway in the view to the southwest. 01/14/5/2015 Arrived at 930 AM on a Saturday and we got last spot and had to ask someone to move their car so we could squeeze in. Constant stream or people arriving were parking along side of road. When we arrived back on Sunday afternoon it was only about half full. Can fit 25 or so cars, but really depends on how people park. As you can see from picture, big gaps between cars really impact capacity. You can overnight park there but there is no sign in or monitoring. Note: I was unable to embed map, but you can search for AT Trailhead & Parking, Myersville, MD 05/19/15 12/15/19
  1

  1

ATEditors @ rohland.org
0.1
Boonsboro Mtn Rd / Old Wolfsville Rd
   Poor           Great



 
From US 40 west of I-70, take Old Wolfsville Road south. This is the first road to the west of the US 40 bridge over the freeway. Go 0.2 miles to the trail crossing. There is possible parking on the grass on the western side of Old Wolfsville Rd. The Maryland AT Guide book Sixteenth Edition refers to this as Boonsboro Mountain Road. Since this is close to the large parking lot on US40, I would suggest using that parking. The markers on the attached map show the trail crossing. Rotate the street view to the east to see the northbound trail. Rotate to the southwest to see the southbound trail. 11/05/08 2
  1

  1

at @ rohland.org
0.5
Bartman Hill Trail
   Poor           Great



 
Entrance to Greenbrier State park is on the south side of US 40 about 0.5 miles west of the parking areas for the AT (See Mile 0.0). The entrance is just west of the US 40 bridge over I-40. Follow the entrance road down hill to a T intersection. Go left a short distance to the Visitor Center. There is parking for about ten cars across from the visitor center. Parking for perhaps 40 cars is dowhill on a side road across from the Visitor Center. This is the parking area for the lake/ picnic area. You may have to pay the entrance fee ( in 11/07 this was $3 for MD residents, $4 for non-residents), but payment appears to be on the honor system at least in the off-season I have not hiked the blue-blazed Bartman Hill Trail but have checked out the trail head. To reach the trail, bear left on the grass at the Visitor Center. There is a trail map and a sign at the point where the trail enters the woods. According to the information on the sign, it is 0.6 miles to the AT at the top of Bartman Hill. It appears to involve 400-500 feet of climbing. AT the intersection, the northbound AT goes left, the southbound right. Coordinates at the At are 39.5305 -77.6100. 11/08/07 Perhaps 40-50 total.
  1

  1

David Cullen
0.8
Boonsboro Mountain Rd
   Poor           Great



 
From route 40, at the west end of the I-70 overpass, take Boonesboro Mtn Rd south about a mile. It crosses the AT at about 0.3 miles, and again at about a mile. There is a gravel(?) loop on the left, for a school bus stop. Parking on the left (south) shoulder for several cars. Also potentially in the school bus loop. This bypasses the walk through the populated area that you get if you start at Rt 40 (MM 0.0) 06/16/07 4
 

 

pmansbach @ aol.com
The intersection of US 40 and Boonsboro Mountain Road is on the west side of the US 40 overpass about 0.4 miles west the parking areas (Se Mile 0.0). The AT crosses Boonsboro Mt. Rd. twice, first at Trail Mile 0.2 which is in a residential area on the south side of I-70. See Mile 0.1. It crosses the road again here at Trail Mile 0.8. There is roadside parking here as noted above. However there is a No Parking sign by the bus turnaround. I don't know how strictly this is enforced when school is not in session. See posted picture of the upper Boonsboro Mt. Road crossing. I would not park here overnight. The green arrow on the attached map indicates the trail crossing. When driving from US 40 on Boonsboro Mountain Road. the northbound AT goes right towards I-70 at the upper crossing. Rotate the street view to the north to see this. The southbound trail goes left towards Washington Monument. Rotate the street view to the southeast to see the southbound trail leaving Boonsboro Mt. Road. 11/08/07 2-3 roadside
  1

  1

David Cullen
3.1
Washington Monument State Park - Upper parking lot
   Poor           Great




Four miles east of Boonsboro and 1 1/2 miles north of Alternate Route 40 on Monument Road http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/washington.html 1/29/2006
 

 

See directions to Turners Gap (mile 4.9). The well-signed road to Washington Monument goes north from US 40A across from South Mountain Inn. Upon entering the park go straight ahead to the large parking area for the monument itself. There are other parking areas nearby. The green arrow on the map attached in the next listing indicates the lot. The Washington Monument itself can be seen at the top center of the map. There are signs at the lower lot (Mile 3.3) saying it is "Hiker Parking" and "Overnight Parking". This would indicate that overnight parking in the upper lot is at best discouraged if not illegal. Day hiking would seem to be OK. Thre is a fee for entering the park. There is an honor box just past the road from the lower lot. I believe it was $2 per car for MD residents, $3 for others. I assume this is for people coming in by car, not on foot. The AT is on the east side of the upper lot. 04/01/07 Ample parking
 

 

David Cullen
01/06/08 30-40
  1

  1

chico20854 @ yahoo.com
3.3
Washington Monument State Park - Lower parking lot
   Poor           Great



 
From US Alt 40, at Turners Gap, turn north onto Washington Monument Rd. Cross Zittlestown Rd. and enter park. Entrance and parking are free but the gate is locked at night. Open 8 AM - sunset 1/29/2006
 

 

See Mile 3.3 and 4.9 for more details about reaching the park. Just inside the entrance, there is an intersection. The lower lot is only short distance to the left, but the road is one way beyond this intersection and going left here would be the wrong way. Officially you have to circle past the upper lot and back down to this lot. There are signs indicating this lot is "Hiker Parking" and "Overnight Parking." I don't know if you have to pay the fee (See Mile 3.1) if you park in this lot. I also suspect that people coming in by foot don't have to pay. The AT is just to the east of the parking lot. 04/01/07 15-20
 

 

David Cullen
01/06/08 15-25
  1

  1

chico20854 @ yahoo.com
The green arrow on the attached map in the last listing indicates the lower parking area. The white line overlay showing Washington Monument Road is way off so it has been turned off. If you get directions from Google, they will be incorrect within the park. The actual entrance road is the one a short distance to the east of the parking area. See above for correct directions within the park. 09/24/09
 

 

David Cullen
3.5
Monument Road
   Poor           Great



 
See Miles 3.1 and 4.9 for direction to reach Washington Monument State Park. Just before the park entrance, go right on Monument Road for 0.1 mile to the trail crossing. There is roadside parking for 1-2 cars. The markers indicate the approximate trail crossing. The northbound AT goes north (left if coming from Turners Gap) towards Washington Monument. The southbound trail goes south (right) towards Turner Gap and US 40A. 01/14/10 1-2 roadside
  1

  1

David Cullen
4.9
Turners Gap
   Poor           Great



 
From the east on I-70, take Exit 49 onto US Alt 40 west. It is 9 miles to the trail crossing which is just east of the South Mountain Inn and the turnoff for Washington Monument State Park There is not dependable parking in the vicinity but the owners of Old South Mountain Inn (.1 mile west of the AT) often permit day hikers to park for free, behind the Inn, if permission is asked. 1/29/2006
 

 

From the west, US Alt 40 diverges from US 40 just outside of Hagerstown, but has no junction with I-70. US Alt 40 may also be reached, from I-81, via MD 68; or from Shepherdstown via MD 34. 1/29/2006
 

 

One way to reach this trail crossing from I-70 from the west is to take Exit 35 and go south on MD 66 south 5 miles to US 40A in Boonsboro. Go east on US 40A about 4 miles to the trail crossing. See above for landmarks. UPDATE: In October 2007 there was a sign on the east side of the South Mountain Inn Parking Lot indicating the area where AT hikers could park. This section is indicated by the green arrow on the map attached in the next listing. 12/06/2007
 

 

David Cullen
GPS N39.483963, W77.620071 Please ask for permission from staff at South Mountain Inn! 01/06/08 50-150
  1

  1

chico20854 @ yahoo.com
The green arrow on the map marks the actual trail crossing. Click on it and select street view. The view to the northeast shows the northbound AT to Section 4 Starting up a short set of steps. The northbound trail can also be seen crossing the field to the north of the road on the satellite view. Rotate the street view to the southeast to see the southbound trail to Section 5. It is less obvious than the north, but white blazes can be seen.

Click on the A marker, choose the street view and rotate from southeast to south to see the Inn and its parking. AT parking is in the left rear of the lot. 01/14/10
Ample
  1

 

David Cullen

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