Loved the trail and scenery!

Parked at the new parking area at the Monroe Road trailhead. Buffalo Creek Nature preserve. Picnic area and restrooms when open. Biked down to Freeport (downhill) then back up and continued North the Dittmer Road and back down. Nice ride. Pedaling uphill was a workout but the return trip very nice downhill!

Great walk today along the water near the mill. leaves falling, smell of fresh pine and nuts. great time!

Started in Hawthorn at Gabriel’s Restaurant and north 6 miles then return. Nice trail next to river, saw several Deer with Forrest views.

Just the right length, with good signs and interesting sights along the way, complete with a swinging bridge and rope swing. Can’t ask for anything better!

Just the right length, with good signs and interesting sights along the way, complete with a swinging bridge and rope swing. Can’t ask for anything better!

We were camping at red bridge, and going to see the Pennsylvania elk. We were looking for some thing else to do in the area and saw this trail, so we brought our bicycles. This trail is awesome. We rode from our campsite at red bridge to the trail head and went 10 miles to the new covered bridge. I had to put my bike computer on so I could see how far we went, because they have added more to the trail from what we originally thought. I see it will be extended past the covered bridge eventually but we stopped there. Very scenic along the river. My husband was impressed at the construction of the bridges. The two by fours were laid flat together, so there were no nails sticking up. Some old bike bridges have broken off nails sticking up and hence flat tires on the bike. Really enjoyed this trail, will do it again. Lunch at historic Westline inn along the way. Delicious. Really enjoyed this trail, will do it again.

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.

This was our first time riding this trail. It was so peaceful and beautiful ride. At the North end is Drake Well that’s a must to see!!! They have a bike rack and very nice helpful people. We told “Vicky” that a tree was down on the trail and she let park rangers know to get it cleaned off the trail and thanked us for letting her know. We will be back!!!