68 Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail-Trail
69 West Creek Recreational Trail
70 Westmoreland Heritage Trail
72 Wissahickon Valley Park Trail System
Support Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Foreword
Welcome to Rail-Trails: Pennsylvania, a comprehensive companion for discovering the state’s top rail-trails and multiuse pathways. This guidebook will help you uncover fantastic opportunities to get outdoors on the state’s trails—whether for exercise, transportation, or just pure fun.
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s mission is to create a nationwide network of trails, just like these, to build healthier places for healthier people. We hope this book will inspire you to experience firsthand how trails can connect people to one another and to the places they love, while also creating connections to nature, history, and culture.
Since its founding in 1986, RTC has witnessed a massive growth in the rail-trail and active transportation movement. Today, more than 24,000 miles of completed rail-trails provide invaluable benefits for people and communities across the country. We hope you find this book to be a delightful and informative resource for discovering the many unique trail destinations throughout Pennsylvania.
I’ll be out on the trails, too, experiencing the thrill of the adventure right alongside you. Be sure to say hello and share your experience with us on social media! We want to hear how you #GoByTrail. You can find us @railstotrails on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
See you on the trail!
Ryan Chao, President
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Acknowledgments
S pecial acknowledgment to Amy Kapp, editor of this guidebook, and to Derek Strout for his work on the creation of the trail maps included in the book. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy also thanks Gene Bisbee and Amy Ahn for their assistance in editing content.
We are also appreciative of the following contributors, editors, and trail managers we called on for assistance to ensure the maps, photographs, and trail descriptions are as accurate as possible.
Milo Bateman
Ken Bryan
Cindy Dickerson
Alan Ibarra
Nancy Kapp
Joe LaCroix
Anthony Le
Laura Stark
Jorge Brito
Ryan Cree
Eli Griffen
Karl Kapp
Willie Karidis
Jake Laughlin
Jimmy O’Connor
The Hanover Junction train station along Heritage Rail Trail County Park
Introduction
R ail-Trails: Pennsylvania highlights 72 of the top rail-trails and other multiuse pathways across the state. These trails offer a broad range of experiences, from sweeping Appalachian views to narrow wooded ravines, from challenging hiking and biking adventures to relaxing riverside strolls, and from vibrant cities to small towns that thrived in Pennsylvania’s heyday in the 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial powerhouse.
Along the 15-mile Mahoning Shadow Trail, you can visit the hometown of Pennsylvania’s most famous furry critter—Punxsutawney Phil—who puts the shadow in the trail’s name. Or take a majestic trip through Presque Isle State Park on the 13.4-mile Karl Boyes Multi-Purpose National Recreation Trail, featuring majestic views of the Lake Erie shoreline and the Presque Isle Lighthouse.
History buffs may want to explore Greater Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River Trail, which currently covers nearly 72 miles and will one day stretch 120-plus miles throughout the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area. A 30-mile section passes by some of the region’s most popular destinations, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Valley Forge National Historical Park, and the 2,000-acre Fairmount Park. The trail also helps compose three larger, developing systems, including the 800-mile Circuit Trails network in Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey; the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway from Maine to Florida; and the 1,300-mile September 11th National Memorial Trail.
In Cambria and Indiana Counties, the Ghost Town Trail—part of the Trans Allegheny Trails System—allows users to glimpse relics from the region’s coal and railroad days, with iron furnaces, disused tipples (equipment that loaded coal onto railroad cars), and other artifacts still visible along its 44.5 miles.
To the west, the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, currently 21.2 miles, features the best of Pittsburgh along the path’s namesakes—the Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela—with highlights such as Point State Park, Station Square, the Cultural District, the North Side, the 456-acre Schenley Park, and some of the city’s most famous bridges. The trail also serves as a hub for a 1,500-mile trail network in development by the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition, and as a host for the 3,700-plus-mile Great American Rail-Trail.
And don’t forget one of the most iconic rail-trails in the United States: the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage, which is also part of the Great American Rail-Trail and seamlessly connects to the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and the 180-plus-mile Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (also known as the C&O Canal Towpath) to form a 334-mile off-road link to Washington, D.C.
No matter which routes in Rail-Trails: Pennsylvania you choose, you’ll experience the unique history, culture, and geography of each, as well as the communities that have built and embraced them.
What Is a Rail-Trail?
R ail-trails are multiuse public paths built along former railroad corridors. Most often flat or following a gentle grade, they are suited to walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, in-line skating, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and wheelchair use. Since the 1960s, Americans have created more than 24,000 miles of rail-trails throughout the country.
These extremely popular recreation and transportation corridors traverse urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. Many preserve historical landmarks, while others serve as wildlife conservation corridors, linking isolated parks and establishing greenways in developed areas. Rail-trails also stimulate local economies by boosting tourism and promoting trailside businesses.
What Is a Rail-with-Trail?
A rail-with-trail is a public path that parallels a still-active rail line. Some run adjacent to high-speed, scheduled