my cousin and I rode this trail today sept 16, 2009, it's a short trail but impressive. But what blew us away was the Staple Tunnel. The face of the tunnel is done in sandstone and looks like something you would see in Greece 2000 years ago. we have been on a lot of trails but this tunnel was the best. we spent so much time just looking at it and wondering how something so beautiful could be sitting out in the middle of no where. The funny thing is this railroad went out of business in 1850 something, so this tunnel sat for over 200 years. Can you imagine the hunters or hikers that just came upon this thing! It would be like seeing an Inca ruin only it's still like new. The people who built this were special people. I hope everyone sees this, we felt of all the trails we have ridden this was the most exciting thing we have seen.

"This review is for the Staple Bend Tunnel Trail. How to get there.....take Route 22 to Mundys Corner exit, and turn South onto Route 271. Turn left onto Mineral Point Road, and follow the road into Mineral Point, there's a Brown sign pointing to the right for the Staple Bend Tunnel Trail at the intersection in town. The road goes goes through an underpass under the railroad tracks then up the hill, the parking lot is a short distance up the hill on the right, and marked by a large Park Service sign.

The parking lot has a permanent restroom facility; and there are several interpretive signs for the trail here, and along the trail's length. The trail itself is around 2 miles long to the tunnel, and runs parallel along the hillside above the Norfolk Southern mainline tracks. You get a good view of the trains near the parking lot, and in the late Fall/Winter/early Spring when the leaves are off the trees, you can look down on the trains while walking on parts of the trail.

The trail surface is the typical crushed stone of most PA rail trails, and is smooth and level for it's length. Along the trail you can still see the stone ""sleepers"" that the Portage Railroad used to hold the rails down.

The tunnel has been renovated by the Park Service, and you'll want to bring a flashlight with you to view the inside. Both ends of the tunnel are finished inside with stonework, but the center of the tunnel is the original bare rock. You can see a coal seam inside to your left near ground level where the rock below the seam fell away, and they shored up that wall with metal support struts. The entrance to the tunnel is a horseshoe-shaped natural type stonework, but the opposite end has a classical facade around the entrance. If you look closely at the graffiti carved into the lower stones of the face of the far end of the tunnel you can see dates from the late 1800's-early 1900's.

All in all it's a short but very nice trail, and especially pretty in the Fall since the trail runs through mountain woodlands. If you're visiting the nearby Ghost Town Trail in Nanty Glo, make sure you stop by and see this trail too."