Explore the best rated trails in Wheeling, WV. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Clearview Park Trail and Three Rivers Heritage Trail. With more than 30 trails covering 4179 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.
Like a long slow roller coaster ride
WOW!!!…no boring flat straight rail trail here….this trail has it all:
- curves….and more curves
- varying grades….typical easy RR grade but some felt like maybe 3% to me…see the elevation pic…I wonder if there is even a flat spot?
- Tunnels…3 of them!
- Viaducts
- A short section of trail-with-rail
- Spur trails
- A connection to the Panhandle Trail
- Lots of shade
- Historical signs….lots of them….with wonderful pictures…nice to learn some history and get out of the saddle for a few minutes…THANK YOU!
- A campsite at Boggs
- And even a SuperFund Cleanup Site near the end in Coraopolis
- And best of all, it looks like a crew of volunteers that are always working on the trail surface
A great ride through varying terrain and scenery and learned some history along the way. Can’t ask for much more than that. Thank you…bikin-Mike…Sep 2022
See Elavation Pic
Low MM0 Coraopolis
High MM12 Rt 22
Low MM13.5
High MM15
Low MM17 McDonald Viaduct
High MM19.25 Peacock Cut
Low MM23 Cecil
High MM25 National Tunnel
Hadn't ridden the panhandle in about 5 yrs. It is in much better condition than it was last time. WV has what looks to be very new blacktop. Good trail, without heavy traffic.
We parked in Lisbon at mile 0 and biked up to Leetonia, mile 10. Once in Leetonia follow the signs through town and re-connect the trail which runs into Washingtonville at mile 12.5. A nice warm Fall day to enjoy the pretty leaves.
This is a nice hidden gem of a trail. Great for those that want to ride smooth asphalt with very little elevation change. Out and back the full length of this trail is a total of 22ish miles.
In early October, my brother and I did few sections of the trail. We had parked at Cecil Park (Cecil Township). This is a very nice area with a large paved parking lot and pavilions. The one thing we really enjoyed about this trail are the mile markers. Every 1/2 mile there is one and there are many information boards explaining the history of the railway, the coal industry and other points of interest. Plus, the trail is maintained. We started going west (Cecil Park is 22.6). Venice Bridge followed by Gilmore Junction were the first points of interest. This was where the train had switched off the main line for the Westland Branch. We went a few miles on the main part of the trail to MM20. Points of the interest were at Galati Road and the Peacock Cut. At one time there was a tunnel here but because of the ground being unstable and water leaks it was abandoned. The trail runs where the tunnel would have been; you can see on each side where it had existed. We went back and did the entire Westland Branch. This is 4.1 miles and for the most part you are riding next to an active rail line. The trail is uphill for about 2 miles of this section and then it is downhill and it is very open - no areas of shade. There are some nice areas of the countryside that made for picture taking. This is a quiet / peaceful section. From Cecil Park east to MM30, there are a lot of things to check out. There is the National Tunnel (623 feet long), more rail and mine history, the Greer Tunnel (235 feet in length), a small trestle bridge and some rail cars on display near the end of our trip (MM30). We found a camp grounds right off the trail as well. We finished our day with some awesome subs at Nobby's Pizza. Which is next to the trail. About 0.2 miles west of the Greer Tunnel. The Tandem Connection Bike Shop is right there as well. Definitely would do this section of the trail again. The Fall season provided many beautiful pictures.
What a beautiful trail! Rode it on a crisp sunny fall day, well maintained, hadn't really researched it so the 5 covered bridges were a pleasant surprise. Plenty of benches and places to stop and rest, highly recommend!
Worth it if you stop at the Red Finn Blues
This is a must ride trail. Gravel path is well maintained, better than many asphalt trails I've been on in fact. Trees, rivers, waterfalls, butterflies, bridges 100ft+ above the canopy, if you enjoy nature, you can't miss this trail!
I was able to go directly to the trail head in Shinston, WV by typing "City of Shinston Rails to Trails Trail Head" into Waze.
There is a nice, shaded parking lot with enough room for several vehicles. The trail starts right there between the highway and the parking lot. I unloaded and was on it within 5 minutes. I had noticed on TrailLink that it looked like I'd have to travel some city streets. This was so, because short sections of the original railroad bed ran through private property and wasn't accessible. I actually rode a short distance up a couple of streets and back before I noticed there were LARGE YELLOW PAW PRINTS painted on the street to guide you back to the trail.
There are short sections of paved trail mingled with longer sections of well packed gravel base for about the first 3.5 miles. After you reach Marion County (it's marked) the trail is paved nearly all the way to Monongah - with a few very short exceptions like where the pavement has deteriorated and had to be replaced with gravel. There are mile markers.
I rode the 10.5 miles to Monongah, then back to Shinston. It took me almost 2 hours but I stopped a few times to sight-see and grab a drink. The pavement was mostly pretty smooth but there were places where freezing and thawing had broken it and pushed 2 - 4 inch ridges across the trail, making me slow down.
Overall, it was a quiet, pretty, and peaceful ride and I regret not riding the last 5 or so miles of the trail. I'll be back to ride the entire trail from the Fairmont end soon.
This is the best trail I have rode. Putts burgh to Cumberland md with many bridges and tunnels along the way. Great “patch towns” along the way. Connie to to cno canal and goes to dc
Rode from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. Great bridges and tunnels. Slight uphill until the continental divided. Then hold on for a few miles. Connects to cno which I did not do yet.
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