Explore the best rated trails in Butler, PA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Lincoln Avenue Rails to Trails Greenway and Five Star Trail. With more than 48 trails covering 4433 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Situated in downtown Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the asphalt trail runs through a park setting on the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad close to the Beaver River and ending near the rugby...
The Clarion Highlands Trail is one of the highest rail-trails in the Commonwealth. It traverses the Allegheny Plateau, passing over the divide between the Clarion and Allegheny Rivers, and follows the...
Apollo's Kiski Riverfront Trail, built on the former M-Line Railroad bed, begins in downtown Apollo and follows the scenic Kiskiminetas River (called "Kiski" locally) to North Apollo. The nearly level...
The West Penn Trail is named for a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad that paralleled the Western Division Canal of the cross-state Main Line of Public Works from Lockport to Freeport and then to...
Rail 66 Country Trail is a rustic trail paralleling Route 66, that begins in the Village of Marianne near the Clarion Junction (SR 322/SR 66) and extends north to the Clarion/Forest County line. The...
As it winds along Oil Creek, McClintock Trail connects Oil Creek State Park with Oil City. Note that much of the route is on-road. Just south of the park, a 1.8-mile section on Waitz Road, a dirt...
Tracing a section of the abandoned Rural Valley Railroad corridor the Great Shamokin Path parallels the Cowanshannock Creek for 3.5 miles. The eastern part of the trail, which is surfaced primarily...
The Great American Rail-Trail highlights some of the country’s most iconic landmarks, well-known geography and storied history across a 3,700-miles-plus route between Washington and Washington....
Less than an hour from Pittsburgh, the Little Crabtree Creek travels for just over a mile in Unity Township, east of Greensburg. This first phase of the trail opened in July 2014; a future phase will...
The nearly 11-mile MetroParks Bikeway provides a scenic and well-designed link to communities and natural sites in this northeast region of Ohio. The rail-trail follows a corridor between Canfield and...
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is an iconic rail-trail that runs 150 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was built in partnership between state agencies and many local...
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running northsouth between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
Clymer Trail offers a short, but pleasant route along a wooded hillside on Clymer Borough's west end. The rail-trail follows the former Sample Run Mine Branch of the Cherry Tree & Dixonville Railroad....
If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, Mahoning Shadow Trail users expect six more weeks of winter before spring arrives. The 15-mile Central Pennsylvania trail passes through the...
The Tredway Trail's full name is the Wynn and Clara Tredway River Trail, a 4.3-mile run on the eastern side of the Allegheny River just north of New Kensington. The trail is included in an initiative...
Part of a larger system in Western Pennsylvania known as the Trans Allegheny Trails, the Ghost Town Trail was named for the long-abandoned towns strung along the tracks of the Ebensburg & Black Lick...
Evidence of the Roaring Run Trail’s past lives are readily visible all along the 4.8-mile corridor in western Pennsylvania. Stone remains in the Kiskiminetas River (Kiski for short) mark the site of a...
The 21-mile Westmoreland Heritage Trail, a family-friendly multiuse rail-trail, offers opportunities for recreation and connections to nature along its two separated segments between Saltsburg and...
The 61.5-mile Montour Trail follows most of the former Montour Railroad’s main line west and south of Pittsburgh. This little short line was incorporated during the late 19th century and, despite its...
The Armstrong Trail connects riverfront towns along the east bank of the Allegheny River as it winds through the lush Allegheny Plateau. The flat trail, currently 35.5 miles, follows the river...
The Niles Greenway is a paved, multi-use path running northsouth between the county line on the south and the town of Niles. The pleasant trail passes through a mix of wooded areas, scattered light...
The Harmony Trail in the North Hills is a work in progress, managed by volunteers with the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy. So far, about 1 mile of a proposed 4.3 miles of abandoned rail corridor...
The 21-mile Westmoreland Heritage Trail, a family-friendly multiuse rail-trail, offers opportunities for recreation and connections to nature along its two separated segments between Saltsburg and...
Mile marker 0 for the Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail can be found at its southern in Lisbon. Located in a former railroad depot, the Lisbon trailhead is about a quarter mile from the actual start...
The Blairsville Riverfront Trail is a scenic woodland trail located along the Conemaugh River. The property the trail was built on is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who maintain a...
One of Pennsylvania's rail-with-trails, where trains and trail users share a corridor, the Arboretum Trail is a lovely landscaped trail through downtown Oakmont. The rail corridor has a dramatic...
The Redbank Valley Trail follows a rail corridor developed by the Allegheny Valley Railroad in 1872 to carry passengers, coal, and lumber to Pittsburgh and beyond. Passenger service along the line...
Clymer Trail offers a short, but pleasant route along a wooded hillside on Clymer Borough's west end. The rail-trail follows the former Sample Run Mine Branch of the Cherry Tree & Dixonville Railroad....
Fifty years after the last trolley cars ran on the Penn-Ohio Electric System between Youngstown, Ohio, and New Castle, Pennsylvania, in 1932, travelers on foot, bikes, and skates began using the...
Oil flows through the veins of the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail. Its northern departure point is Oil City, which was founded during the 1860s oil boom and became the headquarters for several...
It’s hard to believe that the world’s first oil boom occurred along the path of what’s now the Oil Creek State Park Trail. The park’s forests, beaver ponds, and trout streams were once the site of oil...
The West Penn Trail is named for a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad that paralleled the Western Division Canal of the cross-state Main Line of Public Works from Lockport to Freeport and then to...
The nearly 11-mile MetroParks Bikeway provides a scenic and well-designed link to communities and natural sites in this northeast region of Ohio. The rail-trail follows a corridor between Canfield and...
The stars in the Big Dipper and Little Dipper help navigators locate the North Star. Following the five stars in the Five Star Trail—the municipalities of Hempfield Township, Youngwood, South...
Washington's Landing, a 42-acre island in the Allegheny River, is now home to a thriving mixed-use community after a successful brownfield reclamation. The Washington's Landing Trail forms almost a...
The Oil City Trail connects the Samuel Justus Recreation Trail and the McClintock Trail through the center of Oil City, Pennsylvania. The 2-mile walking and biking pathway runs along the Allegheny...
You’ll want to pack water, food, and flashlights to travel the Sandy Creek Trail, as it crosses 12 miles of remote, but scenic, countryside in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Named for separate Sandy...
The Panhandle Trail offers the most direct and scenic route for self-propelled travel between the Pittsburgh suburbs and West Virginia. Although the trail follows an old railroad grade through the...
Apollo's Kiski Riverfront Trail, built on the former M-Line Railroad bed, begins in downtown Apollo and follows the scenic Kiskiminetas River (called "Kiski" locally) to North Apollo. The nearly level...
The Armstrong Trail connects riverfront towns along the east bank of the Allegheny River as it winds through the lush Allegheny Plateau. The flat trail, currently 35.5 miles, follows the river...
The 11.7-mile John C. Oliver Multi-Purpose Loop Trail is a centerpiece of Maurice K. Goddard State Park, which spans 2,856 acres in northwestern Pennsylvania. The mostly shaded, paved, off-road trail...
The Shenango River Trail once served as a towpath along the Erie Canal Extension. During the mid-1800s, mules pulled boats along the canal, linking goods from the Great Lakes to Pittsburgh and beyond....
Three Rivers Heritage Trail features the best that the city of Pittsburgh has to offer, connecting major cultural venues, the downtown area, historical sites, and some of the city’s most well-known...
Built in 1871 to transport the region’s high-quality limestone to support Pittsburgh’s growing steel industry, the Butler Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad was the first railroad in Butler County....
One of Pennsylvania's rail-with-trails, where trains and trail users share a corridor, the Arboretum Trail is a lovely landscaped trail through downtown Oakmont. The rail corridor has a dramatic...
Washington's Landing, a 42-acre island in the Allegheny River, is now home to a thriving mixed-use community after a successful brownfield reclamation. The Washington's Landing Trail forms almost a...
Moraine State Park features a nearly seven mile bike trail, which follows the north shore of Lake Arthur. Along the way, you'll enjoy beautiful scenery, especially during the fall as trees line the...
If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, Mahoning Shadow Trail users expect six more weeks of winter before spring arrives. The 15-mile Central Pennsylvania trail passes through the...
The Redbank Valley Trail follows a rail corridor developed by the Allegheny Valley Railroad in 1872 to carry passengers, coal, and lumber to Pittsburgh and beyond. Passenger service along the line...
The West Penn Trail is named for a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad that paralleled the Western Division Canal of the cross-state Main Line of Public Works from Lockport to Freeport and then to...
Less than an hour from Pittsburgh, the Little Crabtree Creek travels for just over a mile in Unity Township, east of Greensburg. This first phase of the trail opened in July 2014; a future phase will...
It’s hard to believe that the world’s first oil boom occurred along the path of what’s now the Oil Creek State Park Trail. The park’s forests, beaver ponds, and trout streams were once the site of oil...
Rail 66 Country Trail is a rustic trail paralleling Route 66, that begins in the Village of Marianne near the Clarion Junction (SR 322/SR 66) and extends north to the Clarion/Forest County line. The...
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is an iconic rail-trail that runs 150 miles from Cumberland, Maryland, to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was built in partnership between state agencies and many local...
The Clarion Highlands Trail is one of the highest rail-trails in the Commonwealth. It traverses the Allegheny Plateau, passing over the divide between the Clarion and Allegheny Rivers, and follows the...
Clymer Trail offers a short, but pleasant route along a wooded hillside on Clymer Borough's west end. The rail-trail follows the former Sample Run Mine Branch of the Cherry Tree & Dixonville Railroad....
To the residents of Latrobe, the Lincoln Avenue Rails to Trails Greenway is more than a simple off-road path: it also a social asset, a place where community members of all ages and walks of life can...
The Armstrong Trail connects riverfront towns along the east bank of the Allegheny River as it winds through the lush Allegheny Plateau. The flat trail, currently 35.5 miles, follows the river...
The 21-mile Westmoreland Heritage Trail, a family-friendly multiuse rail-trail, offers opportunities for recreation and connections to nature along its two separated segments between Saltsburg and...
Situated in downtown Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, the asphalt trail runs through a park setting on the former Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad close to the Beaver River and ending near the rugby...
We only rode a portion of the trail from Slickville to Saltsburg. Returning to Slickville was uphill but the fall views were amazing!
Thursday, October 15, 2020: Fall foliage is peak in Mercer County. It came early this year and is absolutely beautiful.
Enjoyable ride around the lake on the trail. Some areas were very coveredd with leaves other areas the wind had blown the leaves off into the woods.
Trail is mostly through wooded area.
Biked from Emlenton to just North of the Kennerdell tunnel at mile marker 110 and back for a 28 mile round trip. Beautiful Fall day and enjoyed the foliage.
Quite a few people out on the trail and all friendly.
We went though both tunnels so make sure you have a light. Take what you may need along your ride because there isn't anywhere along the trail to get anything. Trail services in Emlenton. Parking in Emlenton next to the Post Office on Main Street.
Have ridden the trail a couple of times. I was surprised when I got to Leeper at the 12.7 mile mark it was paved. It turned out it was paved the next 14.1 miles to the edge of the town of Marienville. I rode another .5 miles into Marienville on a cinder path and there is an old train station that it appears that is being fixed up. The trail appears to keep going up along Rt. 66 as a cinder trail. Also the tar and chip part of the trail was also paved. We rode on October 9 and the trees were in full color. The trail is now paved from the 0.7 mile marker(Rt. 322) to 26.8. The bad part of this trail is that it crosses Rt. 66 four times and the first two are on the dangerous side. Site distance is not great for cars going 55-60 mph. If you like paved trails, this is a must.
The 26 miles from SR 322 (Marianne) to Marienville are asphalt (no more tar and chip), and about half of that is new asphalt put down in 2020. About .7 mile in Marienville between SR 322 and SR 66 is coarse gravel, unmaintained, and little-traveled as of October 2020.
The trail follows a ridge between the watersheds of the Clarion River and Allegheny River. There is a very gradual elevation rise over the 26 miles, from an altitude of 1500 feet in Marianne to 1730 feet in Marienville.
The trail parallels busy Route 66 for its entire length, with the distance between trail and road varying between 30 feet and almost 1 mile. There are four dangerous crossings of Route 66 at which cars travel at speeds approaching 60 mph, and do not slow for cyclists. There are also gravel driveways and roads crossing the trail, some of them soft and a bit treacherous for bikes with narrow tires.
Along the trail you pass O’Neil’s Quality Foods (smoked meat, deer processing, etc) at the Marianne trailhead, Zacherl’s Farm Market south of Lucinda (hay rides and a field of pumpkins when I was there in mid-October), DB’s Smokin’ BBQ north of Lucinda, apple trees by the side of the trail, a huge field of corn, a friendly and very attractive horse, and the Shamrock Dining Room at Kelly Hotel in Marienville, among other attractions.
Hiked the southern part of the trail today. Saw deer and an Eagle who was flying just ahead of us today. This is definitely a trail we want to hike again
My husband & I bicycle all over the US (Rails to Trails only) and this little section of trail was a huge surprise. We live in Latrobe PA & use the GAP & Ghost town trails mostly. Plus we have used the Saltsburg side of the WHT a lot. But we never used the Export-Trafford side. WOW what a surprise. The infrastructure of this trail section is special. Whoever was involved in building this one; hats off to you and thanks! The bridges: quality. The road crossings: very safe. The bathrooms: abundant. Just cant say enough about the infrastructure. The trail itself was not paved, but no issues there, most are not. Well maintained trail - both the surface & the green growth on the banks of the trail. Most of this section of the trail is very beautiful, woodsy. Other parts going through Murrysville has traffic noise but that is just an indicator that there are lots of options for food & shopping off the trail. Lots of parking options at varied access points along the trail. The only negative thing i could say is that there were no trail maps (printed) in the map pocket cases at any of the trail heads. I suppose that means the trail is "just that popular". Again - try this section of the WHT - Don't put it off because its a nice stretch of the legs for either a morning ride or after work stress reliever.
We had a great ride, beautiful, cool day for it. We started at the Leeper trailhead and did an in and out 16 mile ride toward Marianne. They just completed the asphalt and it made for a very smooth ride. Wooded areas had beautiful fall color, farmland with fields of corn made it look all golden, horses, cattle and saw big bear prints across the path. We will be doing this trail again, hopefully the whole length of it next time. We love this type of trail and highly recommend it ¿
2nd visit to this trail in 2020. Trying to complete the whole thing. Parked in Summerville and biked to Brookville. Had lunch in Brookville. There are several places in town just off the trail. Biked back to Summerville and past it towards New Bethlehem. 35 miles on the trail this day.
Surface is packed crushed limestone but bumpy in some places.
Saw all kinds of cool history along the trail. This section crosses the Redbank Creek quite a few times via very nice wooden bridges. In Summerville there is a service station a few blocks from the trail if you need water and/or snacks.
Enjoying this trail very much and hope to visit again this Fall. Right now still very green.
Stopped at this trail while in the area. Nice trail runs from the Blairsville Memorial Veterans Park on West Brown Street to Wyotech Park.
Asphalt trail is a little bumpy/rough in some areas and is 1.7 miles in length along the Conemaugh River. Very shaded. Off the trail there are some ballfields. This day the trail was used by walkers, dog walkers and joggers and found the people to be friendly. There is parking at each end of the trail.
Located a block from town square where you can find trail services. This very old historic and quaint town has a new roundabout and gazebo.
A group of us traveled about 90 minutes to ride this trail and it was surely worth it!
Trail is packed crushed limestone in very good condition. The trail offers a lot of history including several ghost towns, hence the name, Ghost Town Trail. Trail follows very shallow and orange Black Lick Creek.
We parked in Saylor park at mile 0 and biked to Vintondale (mile 19) and back. It is a gradual incline the entire distance making the return trip very easy.
Trail services: have never seen so many nice restrooms....located every few miles, and some had picnic areas as well. There isn't any where along the trail for water so make sure you have some, and food.
In Dilltown there is a B & B and gift shop which sells water and snack but make sure they are open first.
We passed two furnaces on our journey, the Beuna Vista and Eliza Furnaces.
All in all a great trail and worth the drive to get to. Most importantly, research the elevation, you will want to start in Black Lick and head towards Ebensburg.
We did not cover the entire trail and plan to go back to finish.
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