Explore the best rated trails in Oil City, PA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Clarion-Little Toby Trail and Knox & Kane Rail Trail . With more than 39 trails covering 493 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.
Easy river view trail on all paved surface. Shaded most of the way by the trees. Beautiful views of the windy river and one bridge and railroad trestle and plenty of benches and rest stops in the 10 mile ride. Would have given this trail a 5 as most others did but the paved surface in many areas had roots of trees creating ridges and thus is quite bumpy in some areas. Especially in miles 6 to 7. Around mile marker 8 a bear with a couple cubs can be seen if you time it right according to the ranger. If I could give this a 4.5 I would. If the trail was resurfaced in the bumpy areas it would be a 5 with ease.
This past Friday my buddy and I rode the entire Allegheny River Trail from Emlenton to Franklin and back - 54.4 miles. It was a great ride. The entire trail (with one exception) is paved and along the free-flowing Allegheny River the entire time. The river was a delight to view. The two tunnels on the trail are fantastic - large and long (6th and 9th longest bike tunnels in the country). The pavement through them has raised reflectors that your lights will light up and they are nice and cool on a hot day. I would say that about the southern two-thirds of the trail is well shaded but the northern section is more open and sunny.
The caveats with this trail are two. First, the root/frost heaves. This is basically a problem with the southern portion of the trail. Leaving from Emlenton they aren't too bad - lower and more rolling than sharp. After Rockland tunnel they are worse. We found that the east side of the trail was better for riding than the west side. After Kennerdell tunnel they lessened and eventually were mostly non-existent. We've had experience with heaves so nothing we haven't experienced before but it would be nice if they were ground down. The second caveat is the dirt/gravel road section. Coming from the south you immediately hit a climb so be prepared to gear down. This section is rough. It's a mix of dirt, gravel and embedded rocks. Fortunately, it's pretty short.
I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and would highly recommend it. If you're inclined after the ride, be sure to visit the Emlenton Brew Haus about a block from the beginning of the trail
Loved this trail. The metal statues are such a nice addition and good reason to take a brief rest. Plenty of places for a picnic. Trails are well maintained. Great views throughout the trail. Historical information provided is interesting. Will definitely do this trail again.
Enchanting with beautiful scenery and lots of shade.
Great trail! Ate lunch at The Sawmill in Leeper and then enjoyed a pint at Lost In the Wilds. Very fun!
We biked from Franklin, mile 0, South to Brandon at mile 10.5 and back. The first 8 miles traveling South are out in the open and not shaded.
June, 2024 ride....enjoy the shade! Most of the nearly 12 mile loop around Lake Wilhelm is very well shaded. A great trail for hot sunny summer months!
A friend and I rode the Armstrong Trail out and back from East Brady to Kittanning in June 2024. Temperatures were in the 90s with some humidity. Fortunately a fair amount of the trail had full or partial shade, even in the middle of the day.
On this stretch the trail surface is good, mostly packed dirt with occasional small or medium stones. At the north end of Kittanning, the pavement was quite rough from tree roots in places. At times the trail narrows to a track when coming to a crossing road.
The trail mostly follows the wide Allegheny River, a change from other regional rail-trails which follow creeks or small rivers. On the trail are a magnificent coaling tower at Redbank, a railroad turntable at Phillipston, and several locks and dams.
The trail passes through several towns, and past clusters of trailers and houses used as summer/weekend retreats. Their boats and jet skis were in use on the river.
Much of this route is road, not trail. The only trail is the first mile at the south end (Oil City) and within Oil Creek State Park. Otherwise it's road - and some of that is dirt with medium-size gravel.
A friend and I planned to ride the trail in June 2024 using 35mm tires. We turned around when we hit the gravel (tires were not wide enough to ride safely). We drove to the state park, and rode its smooth asphalt trail with partial shade. The trail is slightly uphill to Titusville, and runs along Oil Creek. The trail is just wide enough to ride 2 abreast.
Trail signage is spotty south of the park, particularly where the trail becomes paved road then dirt road with gravel.
Emlenton end of the trail, enjoy the shade! Parked in Emlenton at mile marker 27.5 (27.5 miles South of Franklin). Biked North to mile marker 13.5 at Kent South or Sunnyslope (take your pick what you call it) which is a 14 mile ride on this section. Very well shaded for most of it. Has 2 tunnels, each several thousand feet in length, bring a light. At Kent South there is a short section of gravel road through Sunnyslope to reconnect to the trail. From Emlenton traveling North you may experience some sections of the trail which are lifted from tree roots but it's not the entire length. Enjoy the ride this summer and soak up the shade, leave the sunscreen at home!
Extremely bumpy from roots under the blacktop
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!
Scan the QR code to get TrailLink on your phone
