View Full Version : Boiling Springs PA: lodging.
ChinMusic
06-03-2013, 14:01
Which hotel is better, Gelinas, Allenberry, or somewhere else?
HikerMom58
06-03-2013, 14:38
I heard good things about Allenberry.
If you stay at the campgrounds in Boiling Springs, the train will keep you up all night.
We did an 18 mile day going right thru Boiling Springs to the Darlington Shelter. That is a nice shelter and has a ton of really nice camping area around the shelter. There might be a porcupine that likes to hang out near there but it didn't bother anyone. :)
Allenberry is a great deal for hikers!!
Starchild
06-03-2013, 15:12
Allenberry all the way. Wished I zeroed there
illabelle
06-03-2013, 15:24
I heard good things about Allenberry.
If you stay at the campgrounds in Boiling Springs, the train will keep you up all night.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Don't stay there!
I've been to both places.
Allenberry is OK, average hiker hotel room, the room I was in had two double beds so you could share. I think the cost was $40 last year for the hiker special. They have a great buffet dinner for I think $12. It's also about 1/2 mile up the road past the trail.
Gelina's is a B&B and cost about $80 for the night. It is very fancy, almost too good for hiker trash;) The owners are super nice and their son Mike does shuttles so if you need a ride to Walmart about 7 miles away he'll do that. They will not allow you to carry your pack into the house. They have lots of breakable antique (read expensive) stuff that packs tend to break. They do have a secure place on the porch for your gear.
Both are nice places, just different.
Rain Man
06-03-2013, 23:24
Which hotel is better, Gelinas, Allenberry, or somewhere else?
Don't know Gelinas, but stayed at Allenberry last October. Not a bad hike out of town to the place. Good breakfast to order. Room was from the '60s or so; but not bad for AT hikers. Cost (I shared with my hiking partner) was not bad. Old TV with few channels.
I think the hikers rooms are in the building with the actors and staff, so it's not what the regular, high-priced patrons get.
I'd go back (subject to learning about Gelinas).
Rain:sunMan
.
What's nice about Galina's is it's in the middle of Boiling Springs, just across the pond from the AT.
joshuasdad
06-04-2013, 06:40
Gelina's is a B&B and cost about $80 for the night. It is very fancy, almost too good for hiker trash;) The owners are super nice and their son Mike does shuttles so if you need a ride to Walmart about 7 miles away he'll do that. They will not allow you to carry your pack into the house. They have lots of breakable antique (read expensive) stuff that packs tend to break. They do have a secure place on the porch for your gear.
+1 -- used Mike for a section shuttle, inexpensive and reliable. On a different weekend, we rented the family suite in the attic, and a Galinas relative babysat the kids when we had dinner at the tavern. Location is great.
Another +1 on Gelinas....clean,comfortable, excellent shuttles(with notice). As mentioned above, they have a few rules you must follow and the owner has no problem letting you know if you are breaking any of them....as it should be !!!
I stayed at Allenberry a few months ago. Great deal on a nice basic room. 40$, and a 6 dollar breakfast buffet to fuel up in the morning.
Trail Bug
06-05-2013, 07:22
Stayed on a Friday night and had their seafood & prime rib buffet. Great place.
couscous
06-05-2013, 08:23
Allenberry has the best warm, melt-in-your-mouth sticky buns.
Looking forward to some Friday night at the HOF Banquet.
I stayed at Allenberry a few years ago. I don't remember much about the room, but the breakfast was wonderful and so was the swimming pool, with weather in the 90s.
Cookerhiker
06-05-2013, 10:21
...If you stay at the campgrounds in Boiling Springs, the train will keep you up all night....:)
I can sleep through most anything and I did when camped there on a section hike in '11. Never heard them. I wonder if the engineers on the trains heard my snoring?:D
Blissful
06-05-2013, 11:06
Hey ChinMusic!! Hope the hike is going well.
HikerMom58
06-05-2013, 11:13
I can sleep through most anything and I did when camped there on a section hike in '11. Never heard them. I wonder if the engineers on the trains heard my snoring?:D
Funny Cookerhiker.... you musta been really tired! :p
kidchill
06-06-2013, 17:00
I highly recommend the Allenberry...I hung out with the guy that runs the place, Charles, and he got me wicked drunk for free! Not to mention, it's $40 for a full-sized room with 2 beds. Only down side is that there's no cable in the rooms...but, if you hang out at the bar, he'll throw you the remote so you can watch whatever you want. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there! If you're going NOBO just keep walking straight passed the left turn (where the trail goes down the road)...if you're going SOBO, hit the road and make a left instead of a right following the trail into town. There's a decent gas station in town to resupply and the ATC is there in the park.
just dad
06-06-2013, 19:56
I stayed at Gelinas B & B last summer since it was right in town. The husband had passed away and the wife was running the B & B. I had spoke with the son on the phone, but never saw him. The minute we arrived the witch began bad mouthing hikers. She said: thru hikers think they are special; they are arrogant; they brought ticks into my home, they broke my washing machine; they killed my bird; they **** in their clothes. This witch is truly a piece of work who hates hikers. She seemed completely put out by my two simple requests, which were (1) may I wash my clothes and (2) may I collect them from the dryer. The house was not in great shape either. The carpet had holes in it. The TV in the room had to be at least 30 years old and only received 4 channels based on the handwritten instructions. We could not wait to get out of her home. We got up at 5:30 the next morning and were gone by 6:00 am.
Is this the Allenberry website? I'm not sure since I see no reference to $40 rooms and it seems a lot pricier than described.
https://www.allenberry.com/pages/lodging/lodging.html
On a related question, is Boiling Springs a good place to come off the trail due to proximity to Harrisburg or are there other nearby options that might offer cheaper transport into Harrisburg (public transport)? I'm in the process of planning a section hike which is going to start at Rockfish Gap where I'm being dropped off. My original plan was to leave the trail at Harpers Ferry and take the train back to DC but I'd like to hike a bit more than 160 miles. So I was thinking of either hiking the C&O canal to DC to make the hike around 220 miles. Or possibly to continue north on the AT and complete the MD section and go into PA, but I'm unsure where it is easiest and cheapest to come off the trail in PA with the idea of riding back to DC via Amtrak.
Starchild
03-28-2014, 09:23
Is this the Allenberry website? I'm not sure since I see no reference to $40 rooms and it seems a lot pricier than described.
https://www.allenberry.com/pages/lodging/lodging.html
On a related question, is Boiling Springs a good place to come off the trail due to proximity to Harrisburg or are there other nearby options that might offer cheaper transport into Harrisburg (public transport)? I'm in the process of planning a section hike which is going to start at Rockfish Gap where I'm being dropped off. My original plan was to leave the trail at Harpers Ferry and take the train back to DC but I'd like to hike a bit more than 160 miles. So I was thinking of either hiking the C&O canal to DC to make the hike around 220 miles. Or possibly to continue north on the AT and complete the MD section and go into PA, but I'm unsure where it is easiest and cheapest to come off the trail in PA with the idea of riding back to DC via Amtrak.
That looks like it. The thing about the Allenbury, and many other places (Dutch Haus comes to mind) is that they have non-published hiker rates which are substantially lower then their guest rates. The other thing, at these 2 places, as a hiker meals are not included in the rates, and as a guest they are. The Allenberry is a all inclusive resort, and meals are top notch, as a hiker you need to buy into them. Other services as well.
That said the complementary bar 'snacks' at Allenbury were more then enough for a hiker's dinner and buying into dinner was not needed.
Slo-go'en
03-28-2014, 09:57
Just a reminder, pay what ever price you have to pay not to camp at the backpackers campsite next to the RR tracks. A mile long freight train goes by every couple of hours.
Although staying there does give you incentive to pack up and start hiking at 3AM to beat the heat doing the 18 mile crossing of the valley. Your not going to get any sleep anyway, so you might as well be hiking.
illabelle
03-28-2014, 11:29
Make that a loud screaming whistling horn-tooting "mile long freight train."
And to think we went on for several pages about an alarm clock! :rolleyes:
That spot next to the tracks seems like a very horrible place to spend a last night on the trail before returning home!
Berserker
03-28-2014, 12:05
If you stay at the campgrounds in Boiling Springs, the train will keep you up all night.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE! Don't stay there!
That spot next to the tracks seems like a very horrible place to spend a last night on the trail before returning home!
Oh come on...the "Appalachian Trail Campground" as it is offically called is awesome. It gives you that real-life hobo experience :D. I stayed there this past weekend, and it was one of the better nights out because it was the only night we could have a fire (according to the Companion anyway). Yeah, the trains were annoying, but it's all part of the AT experience...I mean let's face it, parts of the AT are not excatly in remote wilderness areas. Plus with all the grafitti the trains are like rolling pieces of art making for additional entertainment.
ChinMusic have a little peace of mind and go to Carlisle PA it's only about 5 miles from Boiling Springs, Carlisle has plenty of choices at good rates, I stayed at the super 8 in Carlisle on my 2012 thru and it was 45 dollars a night, clean rooms, cable tv, long distance phone, on-site Laundry, Continental Breakfast, so if you are looking for a little peace and quite just go to Carlisle. And also Carlisle PA is a superb resupply point for thru-hikers.:dance
bamboo bob
03-28-2014, 12:52
There's regular motels a bit further north when you cross the highway. Is that Carlyle ?. Diner, etc
ChinMusic
03-28-2014, 12:56
ChinMusic have a little peace of mind and go to Carlisle PA it's only about 5 miles from Boiling Springs....
I started this thread last year when I was on my thru.
Some of my friends camped near those RR tracks. One gal was actually in tears out of fear of the noise. She said it was the worst night of her life. I guess it sounds like you are going to be run over.
Sorry for reviving the old thread. I usually try to find an older thread before posting questions. Maybe I should have started a new one.
Regarding Carlisle, might that be a better spot to get off the trail and get to Harrisburg Amtrak? Any public transit options in the area? Thanks.
lonehiker
03-28-2014, 13:07
I started this thread last year when I was on my thru.
Some of my friends camped near those RR tracks. One gal was actually in tears out of fear of the noise. She said it was the worst night of her life. I guess it sounds like you are going to be run over.
Worst night of sleep I have ever had on any trail. Was totally exhausted when I got up the next morning. Once it got dark, there must have been a train every 30 minutes.
Allenbury, I arrived on a Sunday in pouring rain. The restaurant was closed but they put together a turkey dinner plate for me. Looks like they are planning to turn everything into a 55+ community down the road. I had breakfast at the Caffe 101, the hiker special of course.
Berserker
03-28-2014, 14:29
Some of my friends camped near those RR tracks. One gal was actually in tears out of fear of the noise. She said it was the worst night of her life. I guess it sounds like you are going to be run over.
Worst night of sleep I have ever had on any trail. Was totally exhausted when I got up the next morning. Once it got dark, there must have been a train every 30 minutes.
Yeah, the sound of the trains when they are actually passing by is almost deafening. I remember one going by about every 2 hours. Don't know how I managed to get good sleep, but somehow I did. I guess I must have slept well between trains or something.
Unless one is feeling adventurous (or has some type of "sleeping aid" like whiskey) I wouldn't recommend spending a night at this location.
Old Grouse
03-28-2014, 15:19
Carlisle is a nice town. Home of Dickinson College, the Penn State Law School and the Army War College, plus great car shows at the fairgrounds. For breakfast, go to Fay's Country Kitchen.
Regarding Carlisle, might that be a better spot to get off the trail and get to Harrisburg Amtrak? Any public transit options in the area? Thanks.
To follow up on this and maybe assist others, I've found that there are several cheap motels just west of the AT crossing US 11 on the outskirts of Carlisle. Also, there is a bus going to Harrisburg from this location. It is Route C of Capital Area Transit:
http://www.cattransit.com/routes-schedules/
Several morning departures into Harrisburg going near to the train station. Cheap at $2.35.
looks like this is a great option if I want to hike another 100 miles north from Harpers Ferry on my section hike.