My TrailLink

Catman Road Trail
Some of the best ever.

We camp at Gulf State Park as often as possible and these trails are a delight to ride. Leaving the back of the park along Campground road puts you on to the first trail, Catman Trail. After riding along here you can connect to any of the trails in the system. Rosemary Dunes branches off to the right past the rest rooms and travels down to the coast and ends at Hwy 98. There is also ample parking there. Turn around and head back and there is a pretty good chance of spotting a 5-6 ft Alligator that lives just off of the tail about half way back.
Once at the end you can go to the right and finish Catman Trail or go left and ride back to start the best of the bunch. Rattlesnake trail goes off to the right and is a great well maintained trail that ends at the Orange Beach City Hall and Post Office. There are public rest rooms beside the Indian and Sea museum. The museum is open on Tuesday and Thursday only but the rest rooms are always open. Retrace your ride back along Rattlesnake trail and you will come to the absolute best of the bunch. Twin Bridges winds along over multiple wooden bridges and then runs right into Oak Ridge, easily one of the most scenic trails you will ever ride.

After riding all of these trails out and back you will have traveled just over 20 miles, if you ride around the campground like we do you can end up with 26-27 miles.

Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail
Two days on the Creeper

"My wife and I recently rode the Creeper starting from Damascus and going toward Abingdon. It's a very scenic ride with a very slight uphill into Abingdon. The scenery is fantastic and filled with delightful views. There were a few gates that we did have to stop for but that just added to the experience. The only drawback was no water along the trail.

The second day we rode from Damascus UP to Whitetop Station. I must emphasize up. It is a steady uphill climb for the best part of 17 miles with the steepest from Green Cove to Whitetop. The scenery is of lush forest land and creeks. There is an especially pretty waterfall about halfway up that was a refreshing stop. At about 2 miles from Whitetop there is a trail that cuts off to the right and leads out to a fantastic view of the surronding area, a great spot for a snack stop on the way up or for lunch on the way back down. We brought our own food that we purchased at a Subway in Damascus; we were told that there was no place to purchase lunch on the trail.

Be especially careful going up the last three miles or so from Green Cove. The trail becomes narrow in some places and it seems that most people take a shuttle up to the top and ride back down. My wife was run into by a younger rider going quite a bit out of control coming down the trail. Thankfully no one was hurt but, for some reason her parents saw nothing wrong with riding 2-3 abreast. This was a common sight for us. We could always tell when a shuttle had just left. Please make sure to stay to the right of the trail and keep a sharp lookout.

It was about a 4 hour round trip and all in all a delightful ride. "

Montour Trail
"Fun, Fun, Fun"

"While in the area on vacation from Florida my wife and I rode this trail. We started from the trailhead in Coraopolis and rode toward Imperial. We had planned on riding all the way to Mcdonald but due to all the fun we had exploring the various ""off trail"" paths that we found we ran out of time.

We found the trail to be very well maintained and a pleasure to ride. We rode into Imperial where we were able to find a great little pub where we had lunch.

We found one water fountain along the trail that was turned off. I guess it is a seasonal thing, and there were plenty of Porta Johns at the various trailheads.

If you have a mountain bike be sure to take some of the paths that leave the main trail. My wife is a very novice mountain bike rider but she had absolutely no trouble on the trails. We will definitely be back when up in the area."

Butler-Freeport Community Trail
Interesting ride

"My wife and I live in Florida and were vacationing in the Pittsburgh area this past week and based on other reviews of this trail and a local book ""Freewheeling Easy"" we decided to ride this trail.

We parked at the Sarver trailhead and headed south. It is a beautiful, slightly downhill ride along the creek. The spring flowers were a pleasure to see. I was only expecting to be able to ride for about three miles or so, but we were able to ride all the way to Freeport!

I'm sure glad that we had our mountain bikes with us because after about three miles of developed trail we came to a gravel road that led to a water recycling plant, continuing through the parking lot we rode on some larger gravel stones along the trail all the way into Freeport.

Returning to Sarver and after eating a lunch that we had brought with us we headed north. The ride started out with a lot of blooming wildflowers along the side of the trail and also along the creek down below. The farther north that we rode the more the trail opened up to pastures and farmland we even rode through a Golf Course. Delightful!

I was somewhat surprised by the golf course and lack of warning signs for it, though. We crossed right in front of a teeing area.

I had read somewhere that the barriers that had been placed along this trail were supposed to been removed and that was the case for about seven miles or so until we got to Summit Township. There we found the trail blocked by a large amount of brush and an old metal barrier. We easily climbed around this barrier and we were able to ride another mile or so before the trail just sort of disappeared.

All in all we had an enjoyable 33 mile ride. The only problem, other than the barrier in Summit Township, was the lack of any restroom facilities along the trail and no place for water or snacks. We only passed two stores along the way and they were both closed. Porta johns would be a nice addition and maybe they are available during the summer months. "

Tallahassee - St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail
Great Trail and food

"We rode this trail today from Tallahassee to St. Marks. All in all it is a super trail. There are a few road crossings where you need to be cautious, especially the one at Wakulla at SR 365 and again US 98. Also be careful of some small holes in the asphalt. The majority of them were clearly circled with white paint. The last few miles of this trail are designated as a segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail and are beautiful, the trail actually winds around a bit. At the end of the trail less than 1/2 mi. West is the San Marcos de Apalache State Historical Site. If you happen to have brought lunch with you, there are some real nice shady trees to enjoy. We may do that next time. Today we ate at a great little place in St. Marks called The Riverside Cafe. The menu was quite varied and extremely reasonable, I had a killer Grilled Chicken Sandwich with melted Swiss Cheese and Bacon. It is a perfect halfway rest spot. This is a ""Must Do"" if you are in the area."

Longleaf Trace
Relaxing weekend ride

"My wife and I rode this trail this weekend starting in Hattiesburg and spending the night at a motel in Prentiss.

The trail was an absolute pleasure to ride; we saw a lot of wildlife including numerous squirrels, rabbits and deer. We also saw a few small snakes. The outlook over the Beaver pond was a great rest stop along with the unique Cedar sided depot in Chipley.

The only thing we would do different would be to start in Prentiss and end in Hattiesburg where we would more choices for lodging and dinner."