Explore the best rated trails in Johnstown, PA. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Bells Gap Rail Trail and Lower Trail. With more than 39 trails covering 4420 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.
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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...
Spurred by the success of New York’s revolutionary Erie Canal, Pennsylvania started constructing its own canal system in 1826 to link Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. But the Allegheny Mountains...
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 Carpendale Trail straddles the North Branch of the Potomac River between Carpendale in West Virginia and Cumberland in Maryland. The wooden bridge spanning 386 feet across the river is a...
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...
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...
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
The waterway implied in the name of the Jim Mayer Riverswalk is the beautiful Stonycreek River. The trail, also named for a local conservationist, hugs its eastern bank, providing a natural retreat in...
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...
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The David S. Ammerman Trail rolls through Pennsylvania coal country for nearly 11 miles between Clearfield and Grampian, skirting the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and two of its tributaries....
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 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...
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....
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....
The Shuster Way Heritage Trail (formerly known as the Bedford Heritage Trail) provides a safe and picturesque connection between a topnotch resort and a nationally recognized downtown. From the Omni...
The Loop Trail provides an alternate route to the Great Allegheny Passage between Boston and McKeesport. The route separates from the Great Allegheny Passage at Boston, crosses the Boston Bridge over...
The Indian Creek Valley Bike and Hike Trail winds through the rugged hills in the former coal-mining region of southwestern Pennsylvania. Although remote, the trail passes through several small towns,...
The first 0.5 mile of the Ligonier Valley Trail and Bikeway is now complete, linking the town's popular attractions: Fort Ligonier from the days of George Washington and the French and Indian War, the...
Forbes State Forest and the adjacent state parks (Linn Run, Laurel Mountain, and Laurel Ridge) maintain the PWS Trail System, a network of snowmobile trails and forest service roads though the...
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...
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....
Following the Potomac River, the C&O Canal Towpath traverses the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park for 184.5 miles between Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. For...
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...
The David S. Ammerman Trail rolls through Pennsylvania coal country for nearly 11 miles between Clearfield and Grampian, skirting the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and two of its tributaries....
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 short but scenic Cowanshannock Trail is a great pathway for hikers, walkers, and bikers to use to link to the larger Armstrong Trail. The Cowanshannock is 1.27 miles long, and plans are to extend...
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....
The Shuster Way Heritage Trail (formerly known as the Bedford Heritage Trail) provides a safe and picturesque connection between a topnotch resort and a nationally recognized downtown. From the Omni...
The Path of the Flood Trail might be unique among rail-trails for being named after a tragedy, the Johnstown Flood of 1889, considered the nation’s worst catastrophe of the 19th century. Some 2,200...
The Sheepskin Rail-Trail is a developing pathway located in rural Fayette County, Pennsylvania. As of 2018, the trail is open in three disconnected segments, totaling nearly 6 miles. Eventually, the...
Stretching 12.6 miles through south-central Pennsylvania, this rail-trail follows the route of the former Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad, a standard--gauge railroad founded in 1852 to...
Forbes State Forest and the adjacent state parks (Linn Run, Laurel Mountain, and Laurel Ridge) maintain the PWS Trail System, a network of snowmobile trails and forest service roads though the...
The old railroad line known as the Moshannon, or the Mills Branch, crossed the Moshannon Valley during the mid- to late 1800s. The line was the foundation of the region's late 19th- and early...
The Sandyvale Trail is a multi-use trail in the Sandyvale Memorial Gardens, a park and pioneer cemetery in Johnstown, PA. The are two parallel branches: One runs through the middle of the park,...
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 1.5-mile Rock Furnace Trail is a scenic path in Roaring Run Recreation Area. The trail follows Roaring Run Creek from its confluence at the Kiski River to a small parking area off Brownstown Road....
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...
The Carpendale Trail straddles the North Branch of the Potomac River between Carpendale in West Virginia and Cumberland in Maryland. The wooden bridge spanning 386 feet across the river is a...
The first 0.5 mile of the Ligonier Valley Trail and Bikeway is now complete, linking the town's popular attractions: Fort Ligonier from the days of George Washington and the French and Indian War, the...
The Honan Avenue Trail is a 3.5 mile long community pathway in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The trail begins at the River Walk Trail in Cambria City, Johnstown, then heads north for three miles along...
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...
The Sandyvale Trail is a multi-use trail in the Sandyvale Memorial Gardens, a park and pioneer cemetery in Johnstown, PA. The are two parallel branches: One runs through the middle of the park,...
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....
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 1.5-mile Rock Furnace Trail is a scenic path in Roaring Run Recreation Area. The trail follows Roaring Run Creek from its confluence at the Kiski River to a small parking area off Brownstown Road....
Spurred by the success of New York’s revolutionary Erie Canal, Pennsylvania started constructing its own canal system in 1826 to link Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. But the Allegheny Mountains...
The first 0.5 mile of the Ligonier Valley Trail and Bikeway is now complete, linking the town's popular attractions: Fort Ligonier from the days of George Washington and the French and Indian War, the...
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 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 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...
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....
The Loop Trail provides an alternate route to the Great Allegheny Passage between Boston and McKeesport. The route separates from the Great Allegheny Passage at Boston, crosses the Boston Bridge over...
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....
The waterway implied in the name of the Jim Mayer Riverswalk is the beautiful Stonycreek River. The trail, also named for a local conservationist, hugs its eastern bank, providing a natural retreat in...
The scenic Coal & Coke Trail connects the communities of Mount Pleasant and Scottdale in Westmoreland County, offering samples of the picturesque nature and friendly suburban feel of the area. The...
The Shuster Way Heritage Trail (formerly known as the Bedford Heritage Trail) provides a safe and picturesque connection between a topnotch resort and a nationally recognized downtown. From the Omni...
The Lower Trail ranks high on the list of many Central Pennsylvania residents when they’re searching for a remote path with a woodsy feel. The Lower (rhymes with flower, and named in memory of trail...
The Sheepskin Rail-Trail is a developing pathway located in rural Fayette County, Pennsylvania. As of 2018, the trail is open in three disconnected segments, totaling nearly 6 miles. Eventually, the...
The short but scenic Cowanshannock Trail is a great pathway for hikers, walkers, and bikers to use to link to the larger Armstrong Trail. The Cowanshannock is 1.27 miles long, and plans are to extend...
My kids and I have visited this trail multiple times this past month. We love it. My advice would be to start at the north parking lot near Alexandria. The entire ride is gorgeous. If you have kids, the Lower Trail Creamery in Williamsburg at mile marker 11 serves as a great ‘ice cream’ motivator. Williamsburg is a great trail town. If you continue south, there is a final (convenient) parking lot at mile marker 16. The rest of the way north involves a bit of biking on a road to get to the underpass that connects to Canoe Creek State Park (after some more road riding).
Nice trail, easy. worth the drive
My wife and I enjoy this well-maintained trail almost every weekend when the weather is nice. We like to drop onto the trail at different points along its 180+ mile length for variety—it’s absolutely beautiful with nature around every turn, mixed with lots of history. We recommend heading down to the Potomac River on one of the many paths to enjoy the scenery when you need a break.
Rode the trail from Harpers Ferry to Locke 8 on Tuesday, April 13th. Be aware that just east of Brunswick is a detour that crosses an ancillary canal that proved to be impassable and resulted in a 10-mile plus to detour, over road with little shoulder and hilly. Another cyclist said the area was passable as recently as the Sunday prior (4/11).
Just a pleasant short out and back walk. Trail is in excellent condition, scenery represents the area well. A very slight slope should no be much of an issue for anyone. Including children. Easy to find with ample parking nearby. Benches along the way if you need to rest or just want to take a enjoyable break. At a easy pace, about an hour to cover the out and back, add the lakes into the mix and you've got a really nice workout walk. Great way for the family to spend a few hours together outside
Was a great run visiting from out of town, easy to find trail head. Main trail is wide and fine limestone. Fun little Spurs that allow you to run more single trek along old trails that are slowly over growing. Will definitely come here again next time I’m in the area.
Armstrong Trail is across the road from the parking lot for the Cowanshannock Trail, you can take a easy hike on the crushed gravel with the site of the river which runs beside it. If you go in Early Spring bundle up the wind off the river is icy cold¿ but sight is pretty.
Closed for construction since March 8th no indication of when it will reopen. Really looking forward to hiking it since others said there are some pretty sights. To compensate the Armstrong Trail is across the road from the parking lot you can hike on the crushed gravel with the site of the river which runs beside it in the meantime.
I have done this trail a few times. I usually start near the college & go to Saylor Park, then back again. Stop by Sheetz along the way for a drink. I like the scenery.
This is my go to trail. Southern end is in Braeburn. Northern end is under bridge. Soon the trail will go past the bridge to connect to Kiski junction, running alongside the Baker Trail. Great to hike in all seasons and to bike when the weather is good.
Went for a ride 3-27-2021 from the bike parking to redbank and I loved it. Crushed gravel trail makes for a small bit of drag but still very easy. I'll be returning more often.
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