Rail-Trails Pennsylvania: The definitive guide to the state's top multiuse trails

By Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

• Popular, proven format: Rail-Trails Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York (9780899976495) sold 10,000 copies, strong numbers for a region-specific title


• Official guide from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy


• 60 of the best rail-trails and multiuse pathways across Pennsylvania


• Fully updated book now split into two editions


• New edition in full color, with plenty of photographs


• Detailed maps for each trail, plus driving directions to trailheads


• Icons indicating the activities each trail can accommodate


• Succinct descriptions written by rail-trail experts

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilderness Press
• Release date: May 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9780899979687

Book preview

1Allegheny River Trail

Counties

Clarion, Venango

Endpoints

Samuel Justus Recreation Trail at US 322/Lakes to the Sea Hwy. and Bredinsburg Road (Franklin) to Main St. at River Ave. (Emlenton); Main St. at River Road (Foxburg) to Perryville Road at PA 368 (Parker)

Mileage

30.0

Type

Rail-Trail

Roughness Index

1

Surface

Asphalt

Keep your eyes open for wildlife when you visit the Allegheny River Trail. This segment of the Allegheny River—once a canoe route for local tribes and French trappers—was designated a national wild and scenic river, and the forests teem with animals. Everything from chipmunks to wild turkeys to deer are frequently spotted along the trail, while eagles rule the sky overhead.

The trail follows the route used by the Allegheny Valley Railroad, later the Allegheny Division of Pennsylvania Railroad, to haul oil. The Scrubgrass Generating Company subsequently acquired it in 1984 and donated it to the nonprofit Allegheny Valley Trails Association.

A white split rail fence adds to the trail’s bucolic setting.

The trail runs on asphalt between Franklin and Emlenton for 27.5 miles and on an isolated section between Foxburg and Parker for 2.5 miles. It meets the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail in Franklin, crosses beneath the Sandy Creek Trail in East Sandy, and passes through two old railroad tunnels. It is part of the 270-mile Erie to Pittsburgh Trail that one day will link Presque Isle on Lake Erie with Pittsburgh, where it will join the Great Allegheny Passage; it’s also part of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition’s developing 1,500-mile trail network through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York.

Starting just south of the US 322 bridge into downtown Franklin—also the western endpoint for the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail—you’ll pass a couple of riverfront camping sites in the first 4 miles. At 5.2 miles, you’ll cross East Sandy Creek and then catch sight of the picturesque Belmar Bridge that carries the Sandy Creek Trail across the Allegheny River. You’ll pass beneath the bridge that soars 80 feet overhead, or you can ascend using a stairway.

Beautiful foliage abounds along the Allegheny River Trail.

About 3.2 miles past the bridge, you’ll find Indian God Rock, a large boulder at the water’s edge with numerous inscriptions, including American Indian petroglyphs, carved in the soft sandstone. A viewing platform offers a nice panorama, though vandals have destroyed most of the figures on the rock.

Four miles past the viewing platform, the trail veers onto gravelly North Kent Road for 0.75 mile through the Sunny Slopes community. Back on the asphalt trail, you’ll pass through the 3,300-foot-long Kennerdell Tunnel and, in another 6 miles, the Rockland Tunnel (2,868 feet long). Both of these tunnels have doglegs and are dark, so you’ll need a flashlight.

Emerging from the second tunnel, you’ll arrive in Emlenton in 6 miles, the end of this section of trail. You can catch a bite here and soak in the local history at the Pumping Jack Museum with its collection of oil-drilling relics.

A 4.5-mile trail gap exists between Emlenton and Foxburg. Part of the route, a dirt-surfaced pathway that accommodates mountain bikes, travels through private property and is not passable as of 2019.

The trail resumes 4.5 miles downstream in Foxburg, a tourist destination known for its riverfront dining, wine cellars, and historical RiverStone Estate located just uphill from the trail 1 mile south of town. You’ll cross the Clarion River in another 0.5 mile and reach the path’s end at the PA 368 bridge to Parker.

CONTACT: avta-trails.org/allegheny-samuel-trails.html

DIRECTIONS

To reach the northern trailhead in Franklin from I-80, take Exit 29 to PA 8/Pittsburgh Road. Head north on PA 8, and go 16.4 miles. Turn right onto Liberty St. Go 0.4 mile, and curve right to stay on Liberty St., and then go 0.7 mile, and turn left onto US 322/Eighth St. Go 0.5 mile, and turn right at the sign for Samuel Justus Recreation Trail. Turn right into the parking lot. Access the Allegheny River Trail at the south end of the parking lot.

To reach the trailhead in Emlenton from I-80, take Exit 42 to PA 38/Oneida Valley Road. Head north on PA 38, go 0.3 mile, and turn right onto PA 208/Emlenton Clintonville Road. Go 1.6 miles, and turn left to stay on PA 208/Fifth St., crossing the bridge. Go 0.2 mile, and turn left onto Main St., and then go 0.2 mile to enter the bike-share lane for parking about 0.1 mile ahead. Access the trail at the northern end of the parking lot to head toward Franklin.

To reach the trailhead in Foxburg, follow the directions above to PA 208/Emlenton Clintonville Road. Go 2.2 miles, and continue onto PA 268 S. Go 2.8 miles, and turn left onto PA 58/Foxburg Bridge. Go 0.2 mile, and turn right onto Main St., and then go 300 feet, and look for parking on the right. Access the trailhead at the southern end of the parking lot, on the left side of River Road.

To reach the trailhead in Parker, follow the directions above to PA 268 S. Go 5.5 miles, and turn left onto PA 368. Go 0.3 mile, crossing the bridge, and turn left onto Perryville Road. Go 0.1 mile (heading in a circular direction toward the water), and look for parking on the right.

2Armstrong Trail

Counties

Armstrong, Clarion

Endpoints

Just south of Hillville Road at T351 to the end of Riverview Dr., 1.7 miles west of Prospect St. (Rimersburg); Rex-Hide Dr. and Purdum St. (East Brady) to Rosston Boat Ramp at Rosston Cir., 1,000 feet southwest of Ross Ave. (Rosston)

Mileage

35.5

Type

Rail-Trail

Roughness Index

1, 3

Surface

Asphalt, Crushed Stone

The Armstrong Trail connects riverfront towns along the east bank of the Allegheny River as it winds through the lush Allegheny Plateau. The flat trail, currently 35.5 miles, follows the river downstream from Upper Hillville to Rosston, passing relics from the area’s railroading and industrial past.

The Allegheny Valley Railroad began laying tracks in 1853, and by 1870 the railroad ran between Pittsburgh and Oil City. Absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1900, the corridor went through several ownership changes until the Allegheny Valley Land Trust acquired it in 1992 for a trail. Court challenges delayed construction of some trail sections, resulting in today’s mix of surfaces, which include asphalt and crushed stone.

The Redbank coaling tower served as a refueling station by dropping coal into the storage bins of locomotives from 1930 to 1957.

The Armstrong Trail is part of the 270-mile Erie to Pittsburgh Trail that will run from Presque Isle on Lake Erie to Pittsburgh’s connection with the Great Allegheny Passage; it’s also part of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition’s developing 1,500-mile trail network through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York. In addition, it connects with the Redbank Valley Trail, which runs east from the Armstrong Trail for more than 40 miles and includes a 9-mile spur leading to Sligo.

East Brady is the best place to start for an uninterrupted trip down the trail. A closed tunnel the railroad built as a shortcut across a river bend isolates an orphaned 4.5-mile crushed-stone segment upriver. You’ll travel on short stretches of gravel road as you leave town.

Just past Phillipston in 2 miles, look for an old railroad turntable left over from the days when the railroad serviced locomotives here. In another 1.2 miles, you’ll see the southern entrance to the 0.5-mile 1915 Brady Tunnel; future plans call for renovating and reopening it to connect the northern segment to the rest of the trail. In a little less than 1.5 miles later, you’ll pass the coaling tower used to replenish locomotives from 1930 until 1957, when diesel power replaced steam.

The junction for the Redbank Valley Trail and Sligo Spur is just past here, joining the Armstrong Trail at the confluence with Redbank Creek. The Armstrong Trail rolls nearly 2 miles to Allegheny River Lock and Dam 9, built in 1938 as the farthest upstream navigation impoundment (a dam located farther north is for flood control).

Over the next 7.5 miles, the route passes through small communities to Templeton, where you can find a diner and a campground. You’ll pass another dam and lock structure a little over 2 miles past Templeton, and 4 miles later you’ll come to a junction with the 1.2-mile Cowanshannock Trail, which climbs uphill along a spur line that served a coal mine and brick plant and today passes Buttermilk Falls in Cowanshannock Creek.

In less than 2 miles, you’ll enter Kittanning, named for a Shawnee and Lenape village that was destroyed during the French and Indian War. Today it’s the largest borough on the trail and home to a wide variety of restaurants, as well as the old train station at Grant and Reynolds Avenues. Continuing south takes you to Ford City, founded in 1887 as the company town for Pittsburgh Plate Glass, at one time the largest glassmaker in the nation. The company left town in the 1990s, but the worker’s entrance is preserved at trailside Memorial Park.

The path ends just a couple more miles past Ford City at Rosston Boat Ramp. Beyond the dilapidated bridge over Crooked Creek, the Kiski Junction Railroad continues 9 miles via the old Allegheny Valley Railroad corridor.

CONTACT: armstrongrailstotrails.org or alleghenyvalleylandtrust.org

DIRECTIONS

To reach the Sarah Furnace Road trailhead, which provides the only parking available for the northern section of trail, from I-79, take Exit 99, and turn right to head east on US 422/Benjamin Franklin Hwy. Go 15.9 miles and exit onto PA 68/Chicora Road. Turn left, and go 10.8 miles. Make a slight right to continue on PA 68, and go another 8.4 miles. Just after crossing the Allegheny River, turn right onto PA 68/Kelly’s Way. Go 0.4 mile, and turn left onto PA 68/Third St./T581. Go 4.1 miles, and turn left onto SR 3006/Sarah Furnace Road. Go 1.9 miles, and look for on-road parking on the left at the trailhead. The trail dead-ends north and south from this point.

To reach parking in East Brady from I-79, follow the directions above to PA 68/Third St. Go 0.2 mile, and turn right onto Robinson St. Go 0.2 mile, and take a slight left onto Shady Shores Dr. Go 0.1 mile, turn right onto a short access road, and then immediately turn left into the parking lot (adjacent to the East Brady Maintenance Department). Facing the trail from the parking lot, turn right and go 0.3 mile to reach the endpoint.

Additional parking is available at East Brady Playground & Skatepark, which is located at the corner of Robinson St. and Shady Shores Dr. From Third St., go 0.2 mile, and then turn right onto Robinson St., and go 0.2 mile. Take an immediate right turn into the access drive for the park, and look for parking on the left. To reach the endpoint, turn left onto Sixth St. and go 0.1 mile.

To reach the trailhead in Rosston from I-79, take Exit 99, and turn right to head east on US 422 E/Benjamin Franklin Hwy./New Castle Road. Go 36 miles, and take Exit A onto PA 66 toward Ford City. Go 1.2 miles, and bear right onto PA 128/Fifth Ave., and then go 1.8 miles, and turn left onto Ross Ave. Go 0.8 mile, and stay straight onto Ross Cir. Go 0.2 mile, and turn left to stay on Ross Cir.; then go 300 feet, and look for parking to your left at the Rosston Boat Ramp.

3Back Mountain Trail

County

Luzerne

Endpoints

Buckingham St. and Tener St. (Luzerne) to Lower Demunds Road and Terrace St. (Dallas)

Mileage

5.6

Type

Rail-Trail

Roughness Index

3

Surface

Crushed Stone

The Wilkes-Barre and Harveys Lake Railroad—the rail corridor that is now the Back Mountain Trail—was acquired from lumber magnate Albert Lewis by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1887. Lumber, ice, leather goods, and anthracite coal produced in the Endless Mountains and Susquehanna River Basin were transported to urban markets and steel mills well into the 1940s. The corridor fell into disuse in 1963.

Despite sections of the Back Mountain Trail running close to the highway, it evokes a feeling of an escape into nature.

In 1996 the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association, together with Luzerne County, began work to open the corridor to public use; a planned 14-mile route will eventually extend from Riverfront Park on the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre to the town of Harveys Lake. Today this 5.6-mile rail-trail winds through scenic woodlands punctuated by a meandering creek, a lovely waterfall, and expanses of wildflowers. Although sections of the trail run close to the highway, they don’t compromise the feeling of escaping into nature.

The trail currently begins at the Luzerne Creek Walk, at Buckingham and Tener Streets behind the Luzerne Fire Department. Plans are in the works for a trail connector linking this section to a segment of the Luzerne County Levee Trail at Rutter Avenue south of PA 309; the connector remains closed for development at the time of this writing, however.

After traveling northwest on the Luzerne Creek Walk for 0.3 mile, you’ll meet and cross over Main Street just before it intersects Kelly Street. The trail continues along Parry Street and past a large parking lot to the Parry Street trailhead, where you’ll find parking and a trail kiosk. This is the best place to start your journey.

Note: The Luzerne Creek Walk is the only section of the larger Back Mountain Trail that is wheelchair accessible.

The trail winds northwest briefly through dense woods; it then curves south over a small bridge and past a picturesque waterfall before heading north again through Trucksville. Here you’ll find additional parking at Carverton Road and South Memorial Highway, as well as trail-access points at Post, Carverton, and Harris Hill Roads. At Carverton Road, you access the trail on a set of stairs south of the road near where it intersects South Memorial Highway.

Continuing north, the route takes a short detour in Shavertown on local roads. Turn right onto Division Street for 250 feet, left onto North Lehigh Street for 0.2 mile, left onto Vine Street for 0.1 mile, and then right onto Shaver Avenue, which becomes North Main Street once you pass East Center Street. After going 0.5 mile, turn right onto East Franklin Street for 225 feet, and then turn left back onto the main trail. The trail continues briefly through woods for another 0.4 mile to its northern terminus at Lower Demunds Road and Terrace Street in Dallas.

In 2016 a local landowner granted an easement—later expanded to a 13-acre donation—to the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association to create a 0.6-mile loop trail near the northern end of the Back Mountain Trail at Dorchester Drive and Lt. Michael Cleary Drive. The new trail boasts a crushed-stone surface as well as several boardwalk sections; its natural highlights include wetlands, woods, abundant wildlife, and a central pond. Future plans include connecting the two trail segments as part of the larger effort to extend the Back Mountain Trail to Harveys Lake.

CONTACT: course.wilkes.edu/bmt

DIRECTIONS

To reach parking at the southern endpoint from I-81, take Exit 170B for PA 309 N toward Wilkes-­Barre, and go 0.3 mile. Continue onto PA 309 N, and go 4.4 miles. Take Exit 6 toward Luzerne, go 0.3 mile, and then turn right at a signal at the end of the ramp onto Union St. Go 0.3 mile, and turn right at a signal onto Main St. Take an immediate left onto Parry St., and look for parking immediately to your right.

Additional on-street parking is available just farther north at the Parry St. trailhead. To reach the trailhead from Main St., turn left onto Parry St., and go 0.1 mile. As you approach the trailhead, look for parking along the street immediately to your right; you can access the trail straight ahead where Parry St. makes a hard right turn.

To reach parking at the northern loop section from I-81, take Exit 170B for PA 309 N toward Wilkes-Barre. Continue onto PA 309 N for 9.6 miles, and turn right onto Dorchester Dr. Take an immediate right onto Dorchester Dr. and another immediate right onto Lt. Michael Cleary Dr. Parking is in a cul-de-sac at the end of Lt. Michael Cleary Dr. Additional parking is available just less than 0.1 mile to your left along Lt. Michael Cleary Dr.

Note that the disconnected main Back Mountain Trail segment has no dedicated parking at its northern end.

4Butler Freeport Community Trail

Counties

Armstrong, Butler

Endpoints

Kaufman Dr. just north of Zeigler Ave. near Father Marinaro Park (Butler) to just south of Main St. near Old Pike Road (Freeport)

Mileage

21.0

Type

Rail-Trail

Roughness Index

1

Surface

Asphalt, Crushed Stone

Built in 1871 to transport the region’s high-quality limestone to support Pittsburgh’s growing steel industry, the Butler Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad was the first railroad in Butler County. After a two-day celebration of the opening, the railroad conducted a mock funeral for the stagecoach that ran between the two towns. A branch of the Western Pennsylvania Railroad, the line became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1903 and discontinued service in 1987. After a volunteer effort organized by the local community, the Butler Freeport Community Trail officially opened in 1992 and was formally completed in 2015. The all-volunteer Butler ­Freeport Community Trail Council manages and maintains the trail, which is owned by Buffalo Township.

The Butler Freeport Community Trail serves as a pleasant transportation corridor about 30 minutes northeast of Pittsburgh.

Located about 30 minutes northeast of Pittsburgh, the trail is nestled in the scenic wooded valley that follows Little Buffalo Creek to Buffalo Creek and on to the Allegheny River at Freeport. The surface of the trail comprises mostly crushed stone, with about a mile of asphalt south of the Monroe trailhead and the Buffalo Township Municipal Authority. Mile and 0.5-mile markers line the trail, and restroom facilities along the trail are open seasonally, May–October. Cross-country skiing is permitted—as is horseback riding in designated areas during dry weather (see the Facebook page for updates: facebook.com/groups/butlerfreeporttrail).

Keen observers will spot old stone foundations and the remainders of brick kilns, and small dams and waterfalls also appear along the route.

The path begins on the east side of the town of Butler on Kaufman Drive, where a large sign greets trail users. Just a mile northeast on Main Street, you’ll find restaurants, shops, hotels, and gas stations. Heading south from Butler, you’ll immediately cross over a small bridge as you make your way out of town, with the route on a slight incline for 7 miles to Cabot.

Trees shade the trail in summer and carpet the path with their leaves in autumn.

The trail travels southeast along Herman Road for the first couple miles, and then veers left through wooded farmland on the outskirts of Herman. You’ll pass multiple road crossings and then cross over Herman Road on a small overpass. About 5.4 miles along the trail at Dittmer Road, just past Herman Road, you’ll find a trailhead, restrooms, and parking to your right, and a small bike shop and café to your left. From here the route begins to head directly south, passing a golf course with a café and clubhouse in about 0.7 more mile, and then several more road crossings, before reaching Marwood, where you’ll pass Freehling Lumber Company at the site where a post office and railroad station from earlier days once stood.

From Cabot, the trail heads 13 miles on a downhill trajectory, passing through rural landscapes in Sarver. At miles 14 and 14.5 along the trail, you may notice the remains of two dams along Buffalo Creek that served sand plants in the area. At the Bear Creek Road trailhead, at around 14.9 miles, fishing is permitted.

At around mile 16.8, you’ll come to the Monroe trailhead; just a few hundred feet south along Monroe Road is Buffalo Township Audubon Park, managed by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, where a community park and recreation area—anticipated for completion by 2021—are being developed. You can cast a line for fish on the adjacent property