Most of the recent reviews are spot on. If you are used to crushed limestone or asphalt the bulk of this trail is bumpy and full of exposed rocks, ruts and tree roots. The downside is you have to keep your eyes front and center most of the time. The Paw Paw Tunnel detour is a real challenge. I only had two panniers that were not full and it was a struggle. Can’t imagine how the fully loaded bike packers did it. (But I’ve also not done any mtb, so that could affect how easy/hard it was.) But the amount of history and really cool places to stop and explore make it worth it. Beautiful aqueducts and lock houses as w.landmarks makes up fo me the trail conditions.

***ATTENTION***
The Paw Paw detour due to the tunnel being closed which with talking to the construction crew, will remain closed for another 18 months (Spring ’23) but when reopened, it will have a new riding surface.

The marked detour is not like any other that I have ever experienced on a trail which normally is a divert to local roads until you can rejoin the trail. Eastbound is best described as a mountain bike trail which is narrow in sections and at a 10 to 15 percent grade with exposed roots, rock gardens (rocks vertically embedded in the trail surface) and other obstacles. With a bike loaded down with gear, it is extremely strenuous to make it to the top and over the tunnel. Just pushing your bike up and over East bound is a challenge also.

Westbound is a trail that is a large enough for a vehicle but also has 10 to 15 percent grades but has a loose surface for a majority of it.

From Cumberland to Paw Paw, the trail is need of maintenance as there is numerous hazards to include mud holes that are deep (10” to 12”), segments of large branches and this time of the year with leaves falling, they hide some of the obstacles. You must keep your eyes on the trail and not sightsee for this section of C&O.

Also, confirm your dining options along the trail as even if sites on the internet say they will be open during your visit, you may be disappointed and going hungry due to the lack of staffing.

The rest of the trail is in great condition to DC and be aware as you approach the Capitol and it is on a weekend that there will be plenty of trail traffic as they enjoy this gem in their backyard!

My buddy and I rode the entire lower section of the Armstrong Trail this past weekend from Rosston to East Brady and back and were well pleased with the trail. We started at the parking area at/near the Rosston Marina and headed south over the decked Crooked Creek bridge to a dead end .2 miles from the parking area and then turned around. Just a short ways up the trail you hit Ford City and the trail is paved. I liked this area. The pavement was pretty good with practically no heaves but there were some little ruts across the trail which were not bad at all. There is an old factory you ride by but it isn't trashy. The trail then turns back to crushed gravel/limestone sand for a ways before hitting Kittanning. Pavement again and there were some areas with root heaves but really not that bad - just stand up off the seat for a few moments. This area was pleasant also. After Kittanning the pavement ends and you're basically in the woods and alongside the river the rest of the way. You do go through the small town of Templeton but that's it till East Brady. In East Brady you pick up pavement again starting with Shady Shores Drive and then an actual trail by the park which dead ends at the intersection of 6th St and Purdum St. This is the last point I saw an actual "Armstrong Trail" sign but there were green and white signs with a bike image and the words "Bike Path" along the streets. We followed those out Purdum St to 3rd St to Kellys Way out to the Old Bank Deli and saw that they continued. This brings me to a gripe about the Armstrong Trail. Traillink and the trail's website list this section of the trail as 31 miles long so we thought we could squeeze in a metric century ride (62.13 miles) with just a little extra riding. However, I believe that the 31 miles includes this road riding because the trail signs along the way show the trail going through East Brady and continuing to follow Rt 68 across the Allegheny River and then turning north, probably onto Seybertown Rd. Our round trip mileage to this point with a detour to the park was 60.75 miles. Anyway, we grabbed some pastries at the Deli then rode back through town and down to the Riverside Park which was very nice. Paved trails, picnic tables and a very nice shelter with benches facing the river. We enjoyed our lunch there and then did the long ride back.

Pros of the trail - the surface where it wasn't paved was GAP level smooth. About as good as it gets. There were well spaced benches for resting. Plenty of historical interest with lots of signs with titles big enough to read without stopping if you wanted to. The Allegheny River is right beside you almost the entire time and it is a nice, clean river to look at. The Riverside Park in East Brady is a nice touch and a great place to stop. There are a lot of summer campsites along the river and they were very clean and well kept - a pleasure to look at.

Cons - beside the aforementioned root heaves in Kittanning there were a few short gravelly sections that could be fixed up and the smaller bridges with wooden decking were rough - they really need redecked. The biggest con in my opinion was the lack of trailside amenities. There were almost none. I saw nothing in Ford City or Kittanning. To be honest those towns were near the beginning or end of our ride so I went back to Google Drive through there (which doesn't cover a lot of the area) and there is a pizza place in Kittanning but that looks to be it right on the trail. There are places to be sure in Kittanning but they are off the trail a ways. After that there is nothing until East Brady and the pickings are slim there. Of course, you have to ride into town which wasn't bad and there is the Old Bank Deli with pastries, ice cream, coffee, etc. I also saw a pizza place and there was a gas station/food mart. That was about it. If you're doing the entire thing like we did bring your own lunch. We did and I'm glad.

Overall this was a nice trail and I suspect if/when the Erie to Pittsburgh connection is complete and through riders start using this that more trailside amenities may open. Until then, go knowing you might want to pack your own food (or ride off the trail a bit) and enjoy. Outside of the two larger towns we saw almost no one. On a sunny, pleasant Saturday over 60+ miles we saw less than a dozen bikers (some twice) and maybe one jogger. I was amazed by that. The middle section of the trail is quite isolated and even though there apparently was a trailhead at Rimer we didn't realize it since no one was there.

Go, enjoy the trail and maybe if enough people use it a few more establishments will pop up.

My husband and i were on vacation from Maine. We have fat tire mountain bikes and have a shwinn child carrier that we haul for our 2 dachshunds. We have the rails to trail system at home and found out they had it here. So we started in williamsburg and made our way to the very end of the trail. It starts out on pavement then turns to like crushed packed limestone. The trails were awesome, smooth without any pot holes. It was great. There were benches to stop and take breaks and have lunch. There was a picnic area with picnic tables about half way to the end of trail system and our only bad thing that happened during our trip was one of our dachshunds which is only 13 weeks old started to whine, so my husband pulled off the side of the trail to see what was wrong and stepped in someones dog poop and it was all stuck in his sneaker. So i guess some people don’t pick up after their pets. At the end we got the dogs a pup cup icecream at the lower trail creamery. The young man that was running it was so nice and very polite. We met several people along the trail that stopped to talk to us and even and older gentleman as we were loading up. It was a great way to spend our last day here in Pennsylvania. The people here are the nicest people we have run into out of all the states we have visited. The state is just so beautiful and you feel so welcome here by everyone. People here say hi, they wave and even hold the door open for you. We will definitely be coming back again.

I completed this ride the first week of September, cycling from Cumberland to DC the day after Hurricane Ida passed through. The first time I have done a multi-day ride. Took the Amtrak to Cumberland with my bike and stayed at 9 Decatur (recommended). The trail was in good shape. A couple of additional puddles from the rain but very rideable. I had a great time. Four days and three nights. Rode 50/50/50 and 30 miles. Camping worked out very well at the hiker/biker sites. The only major hitch was the Pawpaw tunnel had just closed and taking a bike loaded with gear up and over is quite a slog. Hopefully some entrepreneurial locals have come up with some drive around alternatives. Unless you are a purist I recommend taking advantage if they have.
Don't expect stunning vistas but settle in to a rhythm and enjoy the history and it is a meditative and fulfilling experience.
Thanks to all the park staff who keep the park in such great shape.

Parked at mile marker 16.5 at Bonniebrook. Biked to mile 8.5 and back then down towards Butler. High point on the trail is Cabot. Trail is somewhat shady and there are many open areas through fields as well. Always a great ride on this trail.
Surface is crushed stone. Some sections of the trail were very wide at 10-12 feet and other sections barely a few feet wide.
This is not an Equestrian horse trail.

August 11 -- arrived at Saylor Park as a morning rain subsided and the humidity rose with temps in the 80s F. The trailhead to Dilltown, near the vault toilet, was not immediately obvious. Be careful not to take the Hoodlebug trail by mistake. Spotting a large black snake was the highlight of our day. Saylor Park has a nice picnic pavilion where we ate lunch after our easy, somewhat downhill return ride from Dilltown. Rain started soon after lunch.
Considering the amount of rain in the days prior to and the morning of our ride, the trail was in excellent condition, even for our road bikes. No serious washouts or mud. Kudos to the trail crews who maintain this section!! A lot of shade made this a great trail to ride on hot summer days.
August 13 -- more rain last night and another day in the 80s F. A moment of confusion when we tried to find trailhead parking at Vintondale/Eliza Station. Trailhead parking is down the street and around the corner from the Eliza Furnace site. Again we were impressed by the excellent trail conditions (more kudos to the trail crews). The Hwy 422 underpass at MM4 (the confluence of the north branch of Blacklick Creek and Elk Creek) is the only tricky portion of the trail. Pay attention to the "Slow Down" signs or you could end up in the creek. The almost 26-mile return ride was our longest so far this year. Our legs were relieved to have a mostly downhill return ride back to Vintondale. There was plenty of shade, great creek views and lots of late summer flowers to add to the joy of riding.

After riding this trail I'm not sure why it has so many 5 star ratings. I did ride it just after Hurricane Ida and there were some washouts but that did not affect my rating as I suspect those will be quickly repaired. We started from Tatesville and the section to the bridge over the Raystown Branch Juanita River was decent. It had a fairly good trail bed and was in the woods. No outstanding scenery until the bridge which was very nice. Not too far after the bridge the trail becomes a shared use gravel roadway for 2.3 miles. This is easy enough to ride and the river (flooded when we were there) is alongside all the time at this point. However, it is a gravel road. At the end of the road you ride some paved roads through Hopewell for a bit then back on to a decent portion of trail until Riddlesburg where you ride pavement again for a bit before turning back onto the trail which is a coarser gravel at this point - certainly rideable but not as much fun. (This section is actually beyond where the TrailLink map indicates that the trail stops). The trail dead ends at Red Cut with a gate. As a positive there were numerous benches along the way and some picnic tables. I did not see any tire pump or repair stations as mentioned by another poster though there may have been one in Riddlesburg where we pulled away from the trail just a bit. Amenities were basically non-existent. There was a small gas station in Riddlesburg which might have something and the post office advertised food but appeared closed. Hopewell may also have had a small business but it wasn't along the trail.

I would not drive any distance to ride this trail and will likely never ride it again. There is just nothing outstanding to warrant it and the gravel road ride probably sealed the deal on this review. In short, there are much better trails - and some worse.

Nice trail. At Punxsutawney the trail is marked closed in the down town area. We found the trail signs and found the trail again. Other than that , it is a very nice shady trail for a warm summer day.