By kip n crew in July, 2011
I live very close to the New Castle end of the Stavich Trail and bike to it as well as on it. The PA side is in excellent condition, the rough bridges are very nicely refinished. The Ohio section is rather bumpy, a little concerned about bending rims on it. I very much enjoy riding the trail in any season! My uncle enjoys walking his dog on the trail year round, I saw him there this past winter with a foot of snow on the trail LOL. The wooded trail with the occasional home along the way is just beautiful! A variety of animals and even a swamp full of turtles are a joy to see. Watch for those train engineers, though, they'll scare the pants off of you with their whistle !
By rowgirl in April, 2010
This was a very pleasant trail--the wide open areas might make it very hot in the Summer.
Lots of red-winged backbirds and the beaver pond was interesting to look at.-didn't see any beaver or dams though.
We stopped at a small restaurant in Lowellville, Ohio--"Carchedi's"--for lunch --good homemade food--a place that's been open for 46 years can't be bad! We rode around some of the town and then back to New Castle. Wish the starting point was better marked and there were signs to the trail from the main road.
thanks,
2 Pittsburghers
By vertov in November, 2009
I just rode the entire length of the trail today from New Castle to Struthers and I can verify it's open after reconstruction and the PA side (which was really bad) is nearly completely repaved. Just one sinkhole and one jarring crack still remain on the Ohio side near Lowellville, but this trail is much improved from previous reviews and definitely worth a visit or re-visit! (Both of those flaws are in the flatland area too, so they are much easier to avoid than some of the old biggies that are now redone.) The bridges are even re-done, so no more hanging on for dear life when you hit the joints between the trail and the bridge. Smooth as a... well you get the idea.
I wonder if they're completely done though, as there's about a four inch drop off along most of the pavement that would definitely catch your attention if you tried to ride off in the grass for a breather. Also, because of the topology, there are still some dropoffs very close to the trail that I'd feel better about if there was a guard rail. But, the trail is so smooth now, I'm not worried about losing control of my bike like I used to be.
Stavich is back in my regular rotation now. Thank you!