Explore the best rated trails in Pittsburgh, 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 46 trails covering 4400 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.
The 17.8-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...
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...
Keep your eyes open for wildlife when you visit the Allegheny River Trail. This segment of the Allegheny River—once a canoe route for local tribes and French trappers—was designated a national wild...
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...
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 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...
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...
The Wheeling Heritage Trails running on the former B&O line are known locally as two trails that connect in downtown Wheeling: the Ohio River Trail and the Wheeling Creek Trail. The route is flat and...
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....
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 Airport Connector is a spur off the impressive Montour Trail that circles the western outskirts of Pittsburgh. The paved pathway begins just off the extended-term parking lot on the western end of...
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...
A short, but sweet, unassuming trail which runs on former trolley right-of-way while flanked by Clearview Avenue above and Crafton Boulevard below. Provides a traffic-free alternative to busy Crafton...
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 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...
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 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 Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail runs parallel to the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature...
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...
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...
Morgantown is known as the home of West Virginia University, the inspiration for a Joni Mitchell song and the birthplace of Don Knotts. But it’s also known for its extensive rail-trail system along...
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 Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail runs parallel to the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature...
The Greene River Trail provides an up close tour of riverside communities whose histories are steeped in the coal industry. You can see remnants of coal mining along the trail, as well as chipmunks,...
A short, but sweet, unassuming trail which runs on former trolley right-of-way while flanked by Clearview Avenue above and Crafton Boulevard below. Provides a traffic-free alternative to busy Crafton...
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...
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...
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...
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 Airport Connector is a spur off the impressive Montour Trail that circles the western outskirts of Pittsburgh. The paved pathway begins just off the extended-term parking lot on the western end of...
The Harmony Trail in the North Hills is a work in progress, managed by volunteers with the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy. As of August 2011, about 1 mile of a proposed 4.3 miles of abandoned rail...
One mile of the proposed 4-mile Browns Run Trail is currently open near Masontown in German Township, Fayette County. The trail follows the former Monongahela and B&O lines from Lardin House, a local...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
If you have a tendency to tootle along when you walk or bicycle, then consider taking the Hoodlebug Trail. You’ll find many diversions in and around the college campus in the borough of Indiana and...
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 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...
Keep your eyes open for wildlife when you visit the Allegheny River Trail. This segment of the Allegheny River—once a canoe route for local tribes and French trappers—was designated a national wild...
To the residents of Lastrobe, 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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
If you have a tendency to tootle along when you walk or bicycle, then consider taking the Hoodlebug Trail. You’ll find many diversions in and around the college campus in the borough of Indiana and...
The Vestal Trail is 0.5-mile connection through town of McCandless that joins the Oakridge neighborhood to the playing fields at its eastern end. The trail is maintained by volunteers of the Rachel...
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...
The Airport Connector is a spur off the impressive Montour Trail that circles the western outskirts of Pittsburgh. The paved pathway begins just off the extended-term parking lot on the western end of...
The Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail runs parallel to the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek and has many beautiful and interesting features, including glacial outwashes, upland fields, mature...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
Great ride. Very peaceful. Way to get in some exercise and some stress reduction. Many places to stop, especially along the Samuel Justus part of the trail going north to Oil City. Nice restaurants in Franklin.....Leonardo's pizza great; Benjamin's Roadhouse has nice variety also. Have not tried Trails to Ales yet, but was told it was also good. Bella Cucina is good, but for eclectic tastes. Pricey, but that's what I would expect for more upscale dining.
Just wanted to make people aware that the last 2 times I biked this trail I saw a coyote. Please be aware of your surroundings. The first time it bolted when it saw me but the second time it ran parallel to me for abt 40 feet. I was just abt to do a u-turn and it ran into the woods. I just want to remind everyone you are in what is left of the woods in these areas so please keep your eyes open as these animals don’t have a lot of places to go. I also saw one on the Montour Trail this year near mile marker 5 and last night there was a wounded raccoon lying in the middle of the Montour Trail near mile marker 15.
Rail Trails are ridden for the pleasure, recreation, and enjoyment of the bike and nature. This trail, in Pennsylvania is in good condition and enjoyable. As soon as it crosses over into Ohio, it is absolutely Horrible. In fact, Horrible is too kind a word. Be warned. It is not pleasant. There are creaks, heaves, bumps that will drop your speed down to 2 -3 mph (if you stay with it). Ohio should be embarrassed. It is apparent nothing has been done since its opening in 1983. (See dedication sign at Ohio side start). From the New Castle start/ trailhead, would suggest stopping at the Ohio line approx. 7.5 miles, and turnaround. Western PA has so many trails to choose from that this will be our last visit here. Final Note: No restrooms, No port-a-johns, anywhere along entire route. Poor design again.
Rode this trail when doing kiski river trail. Very well maintained and nicely shaded. Good trail for beginners. Mostly flat with a slight grade. At end there is a turn around to head back.
Easy to find. Started in Apollo and headed toward Roaring run trail. Short time on road to get to trail, but road not very busy so we had no trouble with traffic .
A week after the 40-mile ride, did a 50-mile ride. This trail is great if you'd like to get in a long ride.
Parked in Franklin and headed South thru Belmar, then Brandon, Kennerdell Tunnel and Rockland Tunnel. Biked to the South end of the Rockland Tunnel which was 22 miles from Franklin. Be sure to have a light for each tunnel as they are nearly a mile in length.
Great day for a ride. The only section not paved is the few mile detour just South of Brandon to a little before the Kennerdell Tunnel.
The detour is due to the trail ends then you have to go on a dirt road section for a few miles before returning back to the actual paved trail.
It was a weekday and the trail had few people on it but they were friendly. We stopped and talked to some along the way.
Once back in Franklin at a tripometer reading of 44, went North onto the Justus trail and back to Franklin to round the trip off to 50 miles.
Once you leave Franklin, heading South, be prepared with water and snacks because there is nothing until you would get all the way to Emlenton!
Very beautiful and peaceful trail to ride along the Allegheny River. Take a strong and bright flashlight to get through the two tunnels as you will definitely need one per person. I will definitely return from the Pittsburgh area to ride this trail again!!!
I started at the southern-most part of the trail (48th St & Water St) and rode north. Despite the fact that the trail was paved, there were a lot of cracks and bumps in the pavement. After about 15 minutes I wished I brought my mountain bike rather than my road bike. Once I got through the downtown Wheeling area and north, the pavement smoothed out. I got as far north as Warwood and had to turn around because the weather was beginning to get bad. If you plan on riding this trail, be aware that it is rather bumpy for a road bike with no suspension.
I did this trail last year and it was really nice. As of June 2020, there are many tree roots that have uplifted the asphalt (many places). I broke 2 spokes and the front wheel hub is loose from this. Maybe the bearings are loose from the asphalt. I doubt it will be an easy fix if it can be done at all. And it can only get worse over time. Thats the problem with asphalt trails where are trees close by. Friendly people along the trail. Several miles near Franklin are open where there is no shade so be prepared. Starting in Emlenton there is plenty of shade.
I live in the CVNP and do allot of riding by my home. Due to COVID the Tow Path and Bike and Hike have been so busy. Coming here was so refreshing! The trail is beautiful and shady! Definitely worth the drive. So sad that Lisbon is struggling so bad. I look forward to The Courthouse Inn & Restaurant to open again soon.
Nicely shaded walk with a gradual grade. It's well-maintained and offers beautiful views of the river. Easy walk with the stroller and our huskies had plenty of trees to sniff!
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