I biked this trail on 7/18/2020. I initially attempted to find this trail by entering the Sinnemahoning State Park at its south entrance. That was a mistake since this trail does NOT have a trailhead at is southern end unless you wish to bike the park road to get to the trail. Also, it is VERY easy to miss the trail entrance at its southern end. The best location to access this trail is from its northern end where there is a nice sized trailhead parking area. The Trailhead parking area is accessed by taking the 1st road off to the right AFTER passing the Park Entrance at its North End. The Trail is initially pretty flat with a very, very slight downhill grade from the Northern Trailhead and is on a crushed limestone surface; i.e. your typical Rail-Trail. However, at the 2 mile mark where the trail initially crosses over the Park road, the trail veers off the original railroad Right Of Way (ROW) and ascends significantly as it winds its way thru the forest laden with pine trees on a narrow path and then descends sharply back down to the park road. After crossing the park road, the trail gets back on to the Original Railroad ROW. But unlike the trail surface at its northern end, this section of the trail is covered with a rough grass surface for about 3/4 of a mile before the trail makes a very sharp U turn and ascends a VERY steep hill before terminating at the Park Road. Feel Free to reference the DCNR Map: http://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=1737237&DocName=SINN_ParkMap.pdf. According to my bike odometer which is accurately calibrated, I had 4.56 miles from the Northern Trailhead to where the trail terminates on to the Park Road.

Started at the Thayer Road parking lot, and went 7 miles out and back. It was a nice gradual uphill ride through mostly a carpet of leaves. Riding a fat tired bike with 26x4.0 wheels, so some muddy spots were ok. I would recommend at least a mountain bike. The ride was a complete joy and I look forward to a longer ride.

Was superb ride Just flew along Saw a owl Heard different birds than I'm used to had a great time Gates very bike friendly Trail Surface brand new at least 20 miles Total asphalt is 25.6 mi Lot of road crossings but it is what it is Stop means stop !! Easy 1-1/2 hrs from Pgh
May ride again this week
And there is a DQ at one end lol
How good does that get

We started in Mayville, and got bogged down a few miles west of town-Heavy rains earlier in the week probably were part of the issue, East of town-headed for Bemis Point-the Grass on the trail was overgrown & too thick to pass with Our Gravel bikes (probably not as well maintained after the season) I’d love to try it again in Mid-Summer, though! The scenery was was gorgeous- it’s such a beautiful area!!

Trail is complete from Route 322 in Shippenville to the Forest County Line. Brand new asphalt paved section recently extended from mile marker 12 in Leeper to mile marker 20.5 at the Clarion-Forest County line.
The mid section of the trail, mile markers 5.5 to 7.5 which were tar and chipped since 2013, has been resurfaced with new asphalt.
Once you come to the end of the trail at Blood road, you can access the Four Seasons Marienville Trail for an additional 6 miles into Marienville.
Beautiful colors of Fall to enjoy on the trail.

Beautiful ride from Leeper to Mariane. Very nice trail for a fall ride.

Have ridden the trail a couple of times. I was surprised when I got to Leeper at the 12.7 mile mark it was paved. It turned out it was paved the next 14.1 miles to the edge of the town of Marienville. I rode another .5 miles into Marienville on a cinder path and there is an old train station that it appears that is being fixed up. The trail appears to keep going up along Rt. 66 as a cinder trail. Also the tar and chip part of the trail was also paved. We rode on October 9 and the trees were in full color. The trail is now paved from the 0.7 mile marker(Rt. 322) to 26.8. The bad part of this trail is that it crosses Rt. 66 four times and the first two are on the dangerous side. Site distance is not great for cars going 55-60 mph. If you like paved trails, this is a must.

Taking advantage of the fall colors, I started out in Emporium on my recumbent trike with street tires. I rode the gentle upgrade for about 12.5 miles, but had to turn around because the cartway surface has been damaged by heavy equipment tracks. I didn't see any bathroom facilities or water fountains, but there's a nice sheltered picnic table just West of where the trail crosses Route 120, about 8 miles. Very nice scenery of farms the meandering West Creek, but this would get more stars if they had at least a porta-toliet, and the better care of the cartway going West.

The 26 miles from SR 322 (Marianne) to Marienville are asphalt (no more tar and chip), and about half of that is new asphalt put down in 2020. About .7 mile in Marienville between SR 322 and SR 66 is coarse gravel, unmaintained, and little-traveled as of October 2020.

The trail follows a ridge between the watersheds of the Clarion River and Allegheny River. There is a very gradual elevation rise over the 26 miles, from an altitude of 1500 feet in Marianne to 1730 feet in Marienville.

The trail parallels busy Route 66 for its entire length, with the distance between trail and road varying between 30 feet and almost 1 mile. There are four dangerous crossings of Route 66 at which cars travel at speeds approaching 60 mph, and do not slow for cyclists. There are also gravel driveways and roads crossing the trail, some of them soft and a bit treacherous for bikes with narrow tires.

Along the trail you pass O’Neil’s Quality Foods (smoked meat, deer processing, etc) at the Marianne trailhead, Zacherl’s Farm Market south of Lucinda (hay rides and a field of pumpkins when I was there in mid-October), DB’s Smokin’ BBQ north of Lucinda, apple trees by the side of the trail, a huge field of corn, a friendly and very attractive horse, and the Shamrock Dining Room at Kelly Hotel in Marienville, among other attractions.