Find the top rated running trails in Altoona, whether you're looking for an easy short running trail or a long running trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a running trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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This trail fairly close to State College, so thought we would try it out. Yes, there are some scenic sections but also numerous crossings. The grade from Curwensville to Grampian just took the fun out of it for me, but I was determined to reach the end.
Started at trailhead in Clearfield behind Family Dollar. Rode the 10.5 miles to the end at Grampian. The scenery is mostly wooded areas and 1 farm. You will ride beside mountain stream the last 5 miles. The trail is crushed limestone and wide enough to ride side by side. There are port a johns at mile marker 1.9 and 8.1. If you are going to ride the entire trail, start at Clearfield. The last 4.5 miles are all up hill. When you turn around at Grampian, the first mile is easy peddling and the next 3.5 miles you will coast. The last six are not to hard either. The only problem is at Curwensville is you have to cross 2 roads at a traffic light. I had to look for the trail. Not well marked here. Go straight across the road then turn 90 degrees right across the next road. The best scenery is the last 5 miles up the mountain.
This is a beautiful trail in the heart of Central PA. It is very close to Arch Springs. I have spent many trips with friends and family on this trail. It's probably one of the most fond memories I have at my time at Penn State. I miss it and hope that I'll get back there one day.
Nice little trail but it has not been completed yet. We biked from Sunset Park in State College and made it as far as Toftrees Apartments. We couldn't really go any further than that. There were some really steep hills on this trail. Not really a good one for kids.
We started out with wonderful lunch at Bedford Springs hotel.Then we rode into town on the trail. The scenery is beautiful. But the trail was not crushed stone but a rough gravel.
Unlike most rail to trail bike paths, that have a finely crushed packed Stone, this trail has the very large sharp gravel stones. It is a rough ride unless you have a mountain bike. Beautiful scenery in beautiful Bedford PA but unfortunately the trail is not the best bike trail for hybrid or Smooth tire bikes.
My nephew and I biked this trail from Grampian to Clearfield and back. The trail itself is very well maintained and easy riding, even for a novice like myself. I would say that if you are in marginal physical shape (like myself) you should plan on the climb from Curwensville to Grampian to be what I would call challenging. However, the scenery is fantastic! This trail is well worth visiting!
I would ride this trail again! My husband & I ride rail trails all around PA & as far as we can drive from our home in Philadelphia. This is one of the nicest trails. In addition to the wonderful history of 19th century mining, the trail is well maintained with clean & frequent bathrooms, benches & picnic shelters. Yes, there is a bit of a hill between Vintondale & Nanty Glo, but that is part of the fun. I want to give a thank you to Cambria & Indiana counties for their great work in maintaining this trail.
My wife and I rode the entire Lower Trail out and back on 11 June 2019, and had a wonderful time. We drove out from Camp Hill PA in the morning and stopped for an "MTO" sandwich at the Sheetz in Huntington PA, then parked at the Alfarata (north) end parking lot. It's a beautiful trail that has been on our bucket list for awhile. Saw some wildlife (snakes, turtles, etc), but lived to tell the tale. We highly recommend this trail!
The Ghost Town Trail has grown and evolved over the years into one of the best trails in Pennsylvania. The key things riders should keep in mind for riding this trail is the mountain. I highly recommend heading west to east, up mountain first.
On Memorial Day 2019 I rode the newly opened portion of the trail, designated the C&I Extension, between Vintondale and the northern end of Nanty Glo. Parking in Vintondale and riding north and then east, the round-trip is just more than 30 miles.
I recommend parking in Vintondale and riding north to Route 422, going under the highway, following Vic Miller Road for a short distance and continuing the next eight miles back to toward Nanty-Glo along the trail. Most of the trail is a true railroad grade, so if you want to have a nice ride back to the end, definitely don't start at North Street and ride west and south.
The ride is quiet and serene. There isn't much to look at along the trail, you're in the woods along the first four miles, but the newly opened (as of 2018) portion from Vic Miller Road to North Street has some wide open areas. I would recommend this trip in the autumn, late September and early October is prime leaf season in this portion of the Laurel Highlands.
One note, there is limited parking at a trialhead along Vic Miller Road. At that trailhead, if you're using the "cycling" feature in Google Maps, it shows the trial continuing northwest. That is not the case, with no trespassing signs and a gate blocking the ATV path Google Maps is mistakenly showing as trail.
There are no services along the C&I spur, so pack and plan accordingly.
Overall, this portion of the Ghost Town Trail provides a quiet ride in the forest to escape to, but your legs will be sore the next day from the uphill portions.
The trail is nice from Houtzdale west. We only road to mile marker 9. There are sections of the trail that are all grass, so you'll probably want a mountain bike. The trail east of Houtzdale is all grass and muddy in spots, so be prepared. The Bilo market is no longer in Houtzdale; it appears to be replaced by a Family Dollar. There's a large parking lot, so you can park there and take one of the streets about a block north to find the trail.
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