Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC), the people behind Rail-trails where former railroad lines are used to create a multi-use path, typically for walking, hiking or cycling, has an annual trek attracting hundreds of riders each year. This year, their signature Sojourn event returns to two of the most famous long-distance trails in the country, earlier than usual.

Held a month earlier than usual, from June 17 to 24, this year's Greenway Sojourn taps the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park (C&O) beginning in historic Georgetown in Washington, D.C., following the pastoral scenery, lock houses and aqueducts along the C&O Canal towpath to Cumberland, Maryland.

The ride will then join the longest rail-trail east of the Mississippi, the GAP, passing through historical towns, countryside, rivers and streams and across mountain trestles and bridges.

One of the most popular multi-day rides in the nation, recent additions and improvements to the GAP will make this a remarkable experience for both experienced riders and first-timers.