Explore the best rated trails in Marklesburg, PA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Bells Gap Rail Trail and Shuster Way Heritage Trail . With more than 25 trails covering 4158 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.
Today we rode from Warrior’s Path State Park to Hopewell and back. We loved the recently opened section from Warrior’s Path SP to Riddlesburg. The rest is a little bumpy in places. If you continue south of Hopewell, you must ride on a relatively rough road until you re-enter the trail. From there you will enjoy the scenery till you reach the bridge, after which the trail moves away from the river, becoming less scenic. The trail currently terminates in Tatesville.
Very nice scenic trail. Many places to stop along the trail to stop and take in the scenery.
Please make sure you have bike lights, flashlights etc… those tunnels are dark!!
I just rode the trail 11 Oct 2025- shortly after the new Sideling Hill Trailhead grand opening a couple of weeks ago. I utilized the PA Turnpike to drive up from Harrisburg area- very easy and trouble free- just know that afterward you have to drive another 10 miles UP the turnpike to turn around and head back to Harrisburg....ugh 20 additional miles, even though both East and West bound have access to the Sideling Hill Rest Stop. Trail Head had really nice bike servicing equipment and picnic tables- Lots of food options at Rest stop- everything you need after 20 mile ride- Burgers and Pizza!! Leaving the rest stop- you ride a service road that is open to bikers (Mountain House Road). You then come to a 4 way stop- Make a left on North Hess Road- you will see a old farm/log cabin house on your right (see my pictures)- go straight this road will turn in to Pump Station Road- ride for about 1/4 of a mile do not turn on the first unmarked road on your right- go to the second road on your right just after the first one- look for a mail box- there is a home that shares the access- ride past home and you will be at the TOPP Trail- you will see cement road barriers on your left- this is the entrance to the trail- Enjoy your ride for the next 8 miles or so. The first tunnel you reach is about 1.5 miles up- This one is long and dark maybe a mile long. The second one is shorter. The trail is rough in sections due to the blacktop being torn up- if your a Pennsylvanian- this a typical PA road LOL potholes! Beware if you are with children or offend easily- There is a TON of Graffiti and things that will make a sailor blush (I used to be in the Navy). There is some really talented art work along the ride though. I would recommend mountain bikes or gravel bikes- my bike has 45MM tires and I rode with 35 psi which I thought was perfect for the rough areas. This trail was "Creepy Cool" and a perfect ride for a fall day and Halloween around the corner!
Friendly folks walking the trail. Nice they had a few porta johns along the way.
This is probably the most I could handle on a bike ride. We rode the GAP and C&O back to back like many do in 8 days. It was great fun but the C&O is noticeably rougher, fewer port-a-Johns and very scarce potable water sources. On our 7th day from Williamsport to Brunswick we ran out of water midway and rode the remaining 25 miles without water. Fortunately the shade offered by the beautiful canopy of trees made it bearable. We made sure to load up on extra water on our final day. The mix of loose sand that caught us by surprise & the larger stones on the trail made for a more challenging ride than expected. On the one rainy day we had from Cumberland to Little Orleans, some of the puddles we encountered offered a new sense of “oh dear” as we didn’t know how deep the hole we were riding thru when there was no room to go around the puddle.
Perfect day for a ride and on the first day of Fall. Trail and views were breathtaking!
Biked from Hancock to Little Orleans and return on August 30, 2025. Distance: 34.5 miles. Stopped for lunch at Bill's Place in Little Orleans and got good food and friendly service. The paved portion of the trail is in excellent condition -- thanks to the Maryland Park Service for recently repaving the trail. The only negative is the 3-mile detour on the C & O Canal towpath around the abandoned Indigo tunnel. The towpath detour is unpaved and has a rougher surface than the trail. The nearly one-mile long tunnel was closed in 2010 to protect a handful of bats allegedly living inside. The tunnel is an engineering marvel that should be seen and experienced by humans. Opening it to trail users would help the economically depressed Western Maryland area. For example, the equally-long Blue Ridge Tunnel in Afton, Virginia, draws about 50,000 visitors annually since it was reopened in 2020.
We live near this trail & ride it often (as well as the GAP). We decided to use the spur at Werhum & see how the new bridge is coming along to complete the "loop" everyone is waiting for. We discovered new signage (THANK YOU RTT!) and found a new spur through the woods to a small lake / large pond that we never knew as there. Awesome state park attached. Then met a guy on the trail who informed us that Nov. 2025 the loop should be done for GTT. This trail is fantastic. A golden nugget for a big ride day. We did 39 miles and didnt complete it all. Coming down hill from Nanty Glo is always a treat, but there has been some trail dammage and is well marked for that. They have improved it alot from early spring rides!! But still be aware its there. Enjoy!
This was a good trail, but the length shown is only including the improved part of the trail. I found the trail on this app and was biking to it from the north at Montauk Circle. This put us at the unimproved end first, which was ok, but had larger stone and skinny trails. We faired ok, but I think road bikes would have difficulty. It clocked almost 5 miles total from end to end. It was a little disheartening to get to the end and see it’s quite literally up hill both ways from there on the McKee/Clinton bike path. Still we love an adventure and the trial was fun, and if you hit Tofttrees just right the beer cart will be there for a water or Gatorade!
there are some really old bridges that go over the C&O. the highlight is the paw paw tunnel. better to walk through it. once you hit little orleans, i suggest going on the western maryland trail. it is fully paved and nice.
hancock is a great town
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