Find the top rated hike trails in Johnstown, whether you're looking for an easy short hike trail or a long hike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hike trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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PA-Cumberland 5/2023. Loved this trail with lots of places to camp, a winding and entertaining trail, views of the river, tunnels, small towns along the way. I particularly liked Frostburg and camped two nights. The switchbacks up to town aren't as miserable as some describe and the view is rewarding. The Toasted Goat in Hotel Gunter is an old hotel worth a walk around and a meal. Check out the basement holding cell and speakeasy.
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.
Well established and fun trail. Spring hike wasn’t too hot and the rain made the creeks fast and pretty. Park at the end of the trail and walked to the river and back. Uphill grade on the way back. Cool rocks and neat suspension bridge.
Ok section, kind of dull. Agriculture & cows. Found a bit of shade by a grain elevator for lunch. Several washouts filled with tumbleweeds as you get closer to Lind.
Mid March, we parked at Snyder Park on Johnston Road at McMillen Road and headed out the trail to Buttermilk Falls. The trail is packed crushed limestone. Very scenic walk (hike) as it follows Cowanshannock Creek. Trail is a little over a mile in length, at the end you will find Buttermilk Falls.
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.
I rode this trail a week ago as part of a loop on the Indian Creek Valley Trail. The trail is easy to find and was relatively easy to ride on a gravel bike with 700 x 38 tires. There is a trail that splits off halfway but just stay straight and you'll be fine. There's really no issues with riding this unless you're trying to ride it on a skinny tire road bike. I enjoyed the trail.
I rode this trail on November 1st, a sunny but windy fall day. The leaves were off the trees mostly but were a beautiful carpet of color on the ground. I have ridden here before but never this late in the year and not for a few years. I started in the town of Indian Head as I always do. I first headed south and right away you do have to take a quick jog west on Indian Head Rd but the trail is easy to find. This section was in great shape and the tread was excellent. I rode south to the gate and seeing that people were continuing south on the unfinished section I rode on about .3 miles but there were some mud holes and the tires on my gravel bike weren't up to that task. Next time I'll bring the mountain bike and go further.
I went back to Indian Head and headed north. This was an extremely pleasant trail with what I can honestly say is the smoothest path (outside of pavement) I've ever ridden. It's actually smoother than some pavement. I flew along with only a few people on the trail until the town of Champion. Here you have to ride back Roaring Run Rd a short distance to regain the trail. From here on the trail, while still full width is only single track. For the most part though this single track is very smooth and quite rideable. At Jones Mills the trail ends in a short but steep climb up to Rt 31. As others have noted, there is no parking here.
I continued this ride by carefully crossing Rt 31 and riding down Rt 381 a short distance to the Blair Brothers Trail. This is a fairly easy 1.5 mile ride through the woods to a dirt road before turning around.
All-in-all, this is a great trail and likely to be much less crowded than the GAP. There is a diner in Indian Head (the Creekside Diner) if you need something to eat. I did not check it out though. Go and enjoy the trail.
Great parking, smooth packed crushed limestone. Nice views of the river and golf course. Still some fall color but fading and falling fast. Only reason for 4 stars is the only restroom was out of service.
My husband and I ride this trail about 3-4x/month starting in Freeport. We always stop at the Derailleur Cafe which has great food—the most delicious grilled cheese (add the various relishes—you won’t be sorry!), roasted veggies over rice (add chicken or beans for a healthy lunch), fresh fruit smoothies and Leona’s Ice Cream sandwiches. It’s a darling cafe with good history (ask Dee about it—she loves to talk:-)). It’s opened daily in the summer, but due to lack of traffic, Fall has only weekend hours…11-3.
The trail itself is a nice workout—about 10 miles up a very gradual incline after the first 5 miles of flat, then down another 5 miles to Butler (we always turn around before town). We turn around to get back to Freeport all within about 3.5 hours. (If my husband is alone, he cranks it out in about 2.5). The views are along Buffalo Creek, Jones’ turkey farm (hold your nose during the heat of summer), and a cow pasture.
It’s a great, well maintained trail that’s well shaded in the summer months.
I biked from Pittsburgh to DC (GAP and C&O trails combined) 9/8 thru 9/14/24. This review is for the C&O only. Weather – excellent. Scenery- beautiful. Accommodations – very good. Trail surfaces –highly variable from narrow dirt paths laced with muddy holes to relatively smooth, hardpacked dirt to loose gravel (better for a pickup truck than a bicycle!). From 10 miles south of Great Falls into DC the trail/road was especially rough. I was riding an Off-road bike with 40 MM wide tires and momentarily lost front tire stability in MANY spots due to loose gravel (especially on the sloped paths leading into & out of lock areas). My biggest safety concern were the numerous concrete bridges over creeks & culverts that had ZERO guard rails, warning signs or even yellow paint. The bridge widths were narrower than the trail requiring the biker to NOTICE and move more to the center for safety. If a biker went off the side of any of these bridges, I’d expect serious injuries or worse. The worst safety hazard was at Lock 38. Approaching the lock from the southwest side, the (main) trail leads right across the top of the lock wall- that is 3 to 4 ft wide with only an outer rail – very dangerous. The drop off to the grassy floor below was about 7-9 feet straight down. I was in a group of riders that suddenly saw this “tightrope” situation and jammed on their brakes. (Nobody realized we should have diverted onto a narrow, unmarked path that led downward through the lock.) Fortunately, everyone stopped safely; walked their bikes down a slope and on to the safe path through the bottom of the lock. A simple, cheap sign could prevent the near-miss accidents at this spot.
I’m really disappointed that this National Park hasn’t (at least) marked these safety hazards. Considering all the hazards and the rough gravel, I think this C&O Towpath trail merits 2 stars.
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