By acgates on April 27, 2010
With the original intent to canoe the canyon we changed our plans when the water level was too low. So we brought our bikes and decided to try out the rail-trail. I've supported the RTT Conservancy since 1990 and have never seen such a well-kept trail with such beautiful, peaceful surroundings. We had a wonderful dinner and breakfast at the Cedar Run Inn, joining friends who stay there annually for a canoe weekend. I encourage all trail supporters to spend some time in the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania for a truly memorable trip.
By jeepster93 on September 05, 2009
Having been on many trails in the mid-atlantic area, I can say that the Pine Creek Trail is by far the best I have ever been on. The trail itself is small, packed gravel and is very well kept. The 2% grade is not really noticeable. There are several gates on the trail to ride around, but the trail itself is so impressive that the gates did not deter from a great scenic ride. The trail goes along Pine Creek through Pennsylvania mountains and cornfields - a very pleasant, scenic experience. I started from the Jershey Shore entrance and went to Black Walnut Bottom and back, which is roughly 56 miles round trip according to the map; however, it did not seem that long. The only con about starting from the southernmost entrance is there are some roads to crossover, so be very careful when doing so. Most of these roads are driveways and backroads.
About 7 miles North on the right there is a Citgo store if you need to get a snack or drink, and they also have Pine Creek Trail shirts and other miscellaneous stuff there. Roughly 15 miles up and on the right there is a pipe that is connected to a mountain stream and has fresh Pennsylvania mountain water coming out of it. There are plenty of rest rooms and benches along the way to stop when you need to.
The trail is for all levels of bikers. Any type of bike can be used on the trail with no problem; however, if I had to recommend a specific bike it would be a hybrid/trail bike.
One thing I would like to point out: the southernmost trail entrance at Jersey Shore is NOT on route 220. It is on Railroad Street. To get there you need to do the following:
Going North on Route 220, take a right onto Route 44 Main Street into town. Take a right on Alleghany Street and then a right on Bridge Street. Then take a left at the next light onto Railroad Street. The trail entrance is on the left. When you get to the parking lot there is a surprise waiting for you: a New York Central caboose!
No one can over-emphasize how great this trail is, so check it out if you can.
By youker on June 16, 2009
All 63 miles of this wonderful trail are open and were biked in 2 days and an afternoon with wife driving shuttle allowing one way biking downhill. Driving up from Washington, DC took 5 hours and I was able to do the 8 miles from the start at Wellsboro Junction (corner of Rt 287 and Rt 6) to the Darling Run parking lot the first afternoon. There is a store and farmers market at the start. There are motels on Rt 6 just west of there. The next day was 26 miles from Darling Run to Slate Run thru the canyon. It is then another 28 miles to the end parking lot in Jersey Shore. The Trail Link Web site has great maps available for downloading. Saw a Blue Bird, two Baltimore Orioles and 3 great big rattlesnakes. Bob