Re: Cruising the Monongahela
I completed the trip. It turned out to be a 3-day, 2-night trip. I overnighted at Two Rivers Marina at Mile 88 (Dilliner, PA) both nights. They have an EXCELLENT restaurant and pretty nice showers.
To make the trip, I put in at the South Side ramp in Pittsburgh, cruised 88 miles and transited five locks to the marina on the first day. The next day, I went up to and returned from the source of the Monongehela where the Tygart and West Fork meet above Fairmont, WV. That was 80 miles round trip and four locks each way. The third day was a return to Pittsburgh.
If you're a river cruiser, you might consider this trip before the locks are abandoned. When that happens, there will be a nice 7 1/2 mile stretch of river between the Hidebrand and Opekiska locks with no public access. It's also my understanding that the pool behind the Opekiska lock (the last one on the Monongahela) is the highest elevation navigable waterway in the U.S. where a boat can then leave and reach the ocean. That will be no longer possible when the lock is abandoned.
