Explore the best rated trails in Pittsburgh, PA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Beaver River Trail and Five Star Trail . With more than 47 trails covering 4503 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.
I did this trail twice in a weekend. I liked it.
After going out and back on the MC Trail (only a five mile round trip but totally worth it!), I connected to the Mon River Trail.
Starting at Pricketts Fort, I only went about six miles or so to just beyond the dam before heading back to the trailhead.
That twelve mile ride on a cloudy, late October Saturday afternoon were plenty enough to get awesome views of the Monongahela River, its dam, homes (some stately; some not so much), and dazzling fall color. Plenty of photo ops await!
The trail is hard packed dirt, covered in a layer of golden leaves, and despite rain earlier in the day, it was still smooth, fast, and navigable. I would say it was almost as smooth as asphalt.
I would suspect that because of the continued threat of rain, I pretty much had the trail to myself. My shoes and bike got mud splattered, but it was worth it. The Mon River Trail (South) is worthy of your time, and worthy of its status as a Rails-to-Trails Hall of Famer!
Anyone who rides Rails to Trails and have been on this trail loved it like we have. The trail is well maintained and there is plenty to see like the history, the fauna and the wildlife. We have not completed MM 18 to Ebensburg yet but we plan to. We don't mark a trail as completed until we ride both ways because the view is so different. And this trail is no exception to that rule. We have done MM 1 to 15, then 15 to 18 to the CI extension to MM 9, to Duman Lake which for a 1/4 mile or so is a pretty nice single track. We plan on coming back in the spring when the rhododendron are blooming. Can't wait!
This is a really nice trail to ride. It is the closest trail to our house so it’s our go to trail. The northern end it is somewhat desolate, and sometimes we don’t even see any other riders! The lower end is a little busier, but fun! Be very careful between the YMCA and the Mariner around mile post 46. The trail is paved, but very, very bumpy! Especially in the right hand lane heading to Ford City. Bikers were actually walking their bikes through the stretch. I’m
I did a round trip ride on the Redbank this summer. (As an FYI I ride on 700x35 Marathon Plus tires.) I might suggest this trail is among the best maintained trails I have been on. Even the morning I rode in a light rain there were no puddles or mud. I don’t know why TrailLink says there is ballast. That is very unfair to the folks who have done such a great job on this trail. It’s very scenic as you would expect for this part of the country. And who doesn’t love (2) tunnels! There are also informative markers that are, well, informative and add a bit of local color to the ride. Depending on how much and where on the trail you ride you may need to plan your food stops. For example, on the western end of the trail I continued north on the Armstrong Trail to East Brady for lunch. Bring a bit of extra cash since not every restaurant takes credit cards. I plan to be back and will be bringing a few friends along this time.
The idea of a rail trail through rail tunnels fascinated me so we made the plan to travel to ride this trail.
Started in Emlenton and headed north. Trail head parking is a bit hard to find, you drive a short distance north on what feels like you are driving on the path, a parking area is past the industrial building on the north end of town.
Beautiful ride along the river through fall colors. There are a few spots where the tree roots are pushing up but most of the trail was in good condition.
The tunnels were amazing.
First tunnel was 2500 feet and the second was 3300. Both have a slight turn near the south end so going north you are in darkness for a short time before the circle of light at the other end appears. South bound you are most of the way through before you see light glowing on the wall.
Emlenton trail head to the north end of the second tunnel was 13.9 miles, mainly up grade going north.
A few months ago we were camping in the Raystown Lake area and drove to the the trail head at Saylor park in Black Lick. We rode the whole trail to Ebensburg which was about 32 miles. It was slightly uphill that direction. We turned around and rode back to the truck the same day and it was slightly downhill and went much faster. It totaled about 64 miles for the day. So glad we took the time to finally do this ride It was wonderful. Great trail, great condition.
My wife and I rode this trail on Oct 18,2023. We started at the Freeport end, doing the longest incline first to make the return trip easier. That was just a long ,steady, gradual climb. Not hard to do with probably nothing more than a two percent grade. Coming back from Butler was a slightly steeper (maybe 3%) climb but much shorter. We really liked this trail as it follows the Buffalo Creek for much of the ride and it goes through a lot of forested areas and farm fields lined with trees. There are plenty of benches to rest and enjoy the scenery. I think it could have maybe two more porta johns or restrooms. There are plenty of parking areas and trailheads. The Derailuer Bike Shop would have been a nice place to get something to eat or a snack along the way but it was closed for the season on weekdays now. Freeport had no place open to get some food after our ride, and from what we could tell, Butler had nowhere close to bike to for anything to eat or drink. Overall the trail was nice and I'd do it again.
Early October 2023. This is a 2.5 mile paved, detached section of the mainline trail. Runs from Foxburg to Parker. A little bumpy. Some signs of Fall color. Trail follows the Allegheny River and crosses the Clarion River which flows into the Allegheny. Foxburg offers lodging, food, a winery and ice cream. At the Foxburg bridge is the future site of a park and trail parking. There is a canoe-kayak launch there as well.
Wasn’t impressed not much scenery and trail just ended.
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