Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Altoona, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The trail was ok. My goal was to do the full trail 32 miles out and 32 miles back (Blacklick to Ebansburg), however the incline heading east was more than I could take on a very hot day so I turned around at mile 22. There were a lot of signage explaining towns that were once in a location. I think I pictured in my mind these abondoned towns were there were at least foundations left or something. It got boring after a while. Glad I did it, don't need to do it again.
Nice trail, a tree down across the trail about 4 miles up from parking lot when I'm writing this.
Enjoyable trail. Coming from the east, we tried to find the trailhead off Winslow only to find that the road was closed. And google maps routed us to a two track just down the road that you couldn’t really get a car in. We eventually made our way to the west end at Villiere where there was parking at the trailhead. We had a trailer with five bikes. We rode as far as Punxsutawney and had dinner and beers at The Burrow.
Great trail..been riding it for years, from various trailhead sites. Disappointed to see a roofing company has placed several advertising placards along the trail in Ebensburg near the West Street crossing/entrance. This ruins the scenic beauty of the trail. Please remove before “others “ show up.
Four of us rode this trail on Memorial Day. Not many people were out riding. We only rode from Saltsburg to the Conemaugh dam. At age 78, hauling a bike up and down stairs at Bow Ridge is not for us. I love this trail! The first 4+ miles was typical tree covered rail trail along the river. Then it turns interesting as the trail goes cross-country with many changes in elevation. The hill just past Elder run is very steep with some loose gravel that can be a challenge. Then there is a long downhill run thru the woods. But these are the type of things that made the trail interesting. More trails should offer some natural diversity, even if it requires a parallel route to the main trail.
Day 2 of our ride to complete all 16.5 miles (and back). We parked at Flowing Spring Road/Trailhead and biked to Williamsburg and back. Another great day on the trail. This trail is crushed limestone with the exception of the Williamsburg area, which is asphalt paved. We enjoyed the historic Grannis Station, mile 13 on the trail.
Having traveled over 3 hours, we split this trail up over 2 days and made an overnighter out of it. So much history along this trail, old foundations, and locks & canals, with many interesting sights. We also stopped at Mt. Etna old furnace, near the trail. Day 1 cycled from mile 0 in Alfarata to Williamsburg, mile 11. Trail surface is crushed stone except the Williamsburg section is paved. We stayed in nearby Altoona which offers several hotels and many restaurants.
While in the area, we stopped at this trail. We only pedaled up the first one mile due to it was later in the afternoon and we had already ridden 12 miles earlier. Parking on Igou Road just outside of Bellwood. Trail surface was crushed limestone which eventually turned to game lands access road, we didn't go out that far. The entire trail is 6.2 miles. Elevation at mile 00 Igou Road is 1,240 and mile 6.2 it's 2,180. Good workout uphill climb but nice downhill coast on the way back. There is a parking lot at the top. It's on Skyline Drive, and it's in State Game Lands 158.
This trail has been upgraded around tofftrees…
It's a nice walking trail, or if you're taking it to get to the MTB trails. But, if you have a road bike you should just take the road. It's a shame they couldn't have used crushed gravel so roadies could bypass the section of road past the Elks. As it is, it's worthless for road bikes.
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