Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Pottsville, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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The discovery of anthracite coal in the Tremont area of Pennsylvania shaped commerce and development well into the 1800s. The Union Canal was constructed in the 1820s to connect the Schuylkill and...
Tatamy Trail begins in West Easton and heads north to Tatamy Borough, primarily along a former railroad corridor. On its southern end, it meets the Palmer Township Recreation Trail, which connects the...
From 1880 until well into the 20th century, Bangor and Portland Railway steam locomotives plied this corridor and others in the region, providing essential transportation services for the nearby...
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail forms the spine of the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, a five-county expanse between Philadelphia and Pottsville. Built along former...
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The Palmer Township Recreation Trail (a.k.a. the Towpath Bike Trail) is a terrific community asset for Palmer and Bethlehem township residents and a great destination for visitors as well. Three modes...
Like so many trails in this area, the Great Hazleton Rails to Trails occupies the former corridor of a railroad line that supported the local coal mining industry. After a half century of disuse, the...
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail stretches nearly 13 miles along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Falmouth (near the Dauphin County line) and Columbia. Along the way, you can...
The history of Perkiomen Trail railroad corridor extends more than 140 years. Founded shortly after the Civil War, the Perkiomen Railway Company started running from Oaks to Pennsburg in 1868. New...
The Warwick Township Linear Park Trail is a joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough. The pathway extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road....
The South Bethlehem Greenway is a linear park that follows a former Norfolk Southern rail line through the southern neighborhoods of Bethlehem. The paved pathway begins just north of Lehigh University...
Currently, 9 miles of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail are complete. The trail runs between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg, and interpretive signs relate the region's history. The trail is mostly paved at...
The beautiful Lehigh and New England trail is a short, crushed-stone trail that follows a section of the former Lehigh and New England Railroad corridor just south of Tamaqua in eastern Pennsylvania....
The Bloomsburg Rail-Trail runs for a short distance along the former rail bed on the northwest side of town. Following the east bank of Fishing Creek, the trail stretches between Millville Road just...
The Back Mountain Trail, originally built by lumber and ice king Albert Lewis of Wyoming Valley 115 years ago, was acquired by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1887. Lumber, ice, leather goods and...
Saucon Rail Trail connects four communities: Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township, Upper Saucon Township, and Coopersburg. The trail has a slight 1% grade traveling from north to south and is easy for a...
Constructed in 2012, the Gravity Trail is one of the newer additions to the extensive network of trails and greenways that criss-cross the Greater Reading metro area. The trail's unusual name comes...
Lykens Valley Rail Trail is nearly half-way complete with 9 miles of trail open out of 20 miles planned. Those 9 miles are available in three disconnected segments. In Millersburg, a 0.4-mile segment...
Eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail spans just over 140 miles through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor from Bristol, in the Greater Philadelphia region, to Mountain Top, nestled in the...
Swatara Creek runs through the vast woodlands of Swatara State Park in eastern Pennsylvania. Bear Hole Trail traces the eastern side of the waterway, while the Swatara Rail-Trail runs along the other...
Tracing nearly two miles of riverfront, the Luzerne County National Recreation Trail (also known as the Luzerne County Rail Trail) will eventually form a 16-mile pathway along an active railway. Chain...
The Lebanon Valley Rail-Trail takes you on a journey into Pennsylvania Dutch country. Running along the corridor of the old Cornwall-Lebanon Railroad, the 14.5-mile trail lets you experience the...
Currently, 9 miles of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail are complete. The trail runs between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg, and interpretive signs relate the region's history. The trail is mostly paved at...
The beautiful Lehigh and New England trail is a short, crushed-stone trail that follows a section of the former Lehigh and New England Railroad corridor just south of Tamaqua in eastern Pennsylvania....
As its name implies, hikers on the Chickies Rock Overlook Trail will be rewarded with a beautiful vista at the end of their excursion. The trail follows an old trolley line route that once took...
The history of Perkiomen Trail railroad corridor extends more than 140 years. Founded shortly after the Civil War, the Perkiomen Railway Company started running from Oaks to Pennsburg in 1868. New...
The Conewago Recreation Trail in northwestern Lancaster County parallels Conewago Creek over most of its length, as it passes through farmland and forests. A unit of the Lancaster County Department of...
The Schuylkill Valley Heritage Trail passes through the rolling green hills of the Schuylkill River Valley, from just outside of Tamaqua to Middleport. The trail runs immediately adjacent to US...
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail forms the spine of the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, a five-county expanse between Philadelphia and Pottsville. Built along former...
Tracing nearly two miles of riverfront, the Luzerne County National Recreation Trail (also known as the Luzerne County Rail Trail) will eventually form a 16-mile pathway along an active railway. Chain...
The Palmer Township Recreation Trail (a.k.a. the Towpath Bike Trail) is a terrific community asset for Palmer and Bethlehem township residents and a great destination for visitors as well. Three modes...
For 77 years, the tiny Northampton & Bath Railroad traveled the 7 miles between the two Pennsylvania towns that gave the line its name. Then, like its larger cousins, the Northampton & Bath Railroad...
The Bloomsburg Rail-Trail runs for a short distance along the former rail bed on the northwest side of town. Following the east bank of Fishing Creek, the trail stretches between Millville Road just...
J. Manley Robbins Trail is a short trail with a long history. Quite possibly it is the oldest documented rail-trail in the country. The trail leads through a beautiful deciduous forest high above the...
The discovery of anthracite coal in the Tremont area of Pennsylvania shaped commerce and development well into the 1800s. The Union Canal was constructed in the 1820s to connect the Schuylkill and...
Lykens Valley Rail Trail is nearly half-way complete with 9 miles of trail open out of 20 miles planned. Those 9 miles are available in three disconnected segments. In Millersburg, a 0.4-mile segment...
The Warwick Township Linear Park Trail is a joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough. The pathway extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road....
Eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail spans just over 140 miles through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor from Bristol, in the Greater Philadelphia region, to Mountain Top, nestled in the...
Originally conceived by landscape architect Warren Manning (a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted), the Capital Area Greenbelt is a 20-mile ring of parks and trails circling the Pennsylvania capital...
The South Bethlehem Greenway is a linear park that follows a former Norfolk Southern rail line through the southern neighborhoods of Bethlehem. The paved pathway begins just north of Lehigh University...
The Back Mountain Trail, originally built by lumber and ice king Albert Lewis of Wyoming Valley 115 years ago, was acquired by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1887. Lumber, ice, leather goods and...
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail stretches nearly 13 miles along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Falmouth (near the Dauphin County line) and Columbia. Along the way, you can...
The Palmer Township Recreation Trail (a.k.a. the Towpath Bike Trail) is a terrific community asset for Palmer and Bethlehem township residents and a great destination for visitors as well. Three modes...
The Back Mountain Trail, originally built by lumber and ice king Albert Lewis of Wyoming Valley 115 years ago, was acquired by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1887. Lumber, ice, leather goods and...
Swatara Creek runs through the vast woodlands of Swatara State Park in eastern Pennsylvania. Bear Hole Trail traces the eastern side of the waterway, while the Swatara Rail-Trail runs along the other...
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail forms the spine of the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, a five-county expanse between Philadelphia and Pottsville. Built along former...
Originally conceived by landscape architect Warren Manning (a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted), the Capital Area Greenbelt is a 20-mile ring of parks and trails circling the Pennsylvania capital...
The South Bethlehem Greenway is a linear park that follows a former Norfolk Southern rail line through the southern neighborhoods of Bethlehem. The paved pathway begins just north of Lehigh University...
The Conewago Recreation Trail in northwestern Lancaster County parallels Conewago Creek over most of its length, as it passes through farmland and forests. A unit of the Lancaster County Department of...
The discovery of anthracite coal in the Tremont area of Pennsylvania shaped commerce and development well into the 1800s. The Union Canal was constructed in the 1820s to connect the Schuylkill and...
Lykens Valley Rail Trail is nearly half-way complete with 9 miles of trail open out of 20 miles planned. Those 9 miles are available in three disconnected segments. In Millersburg, a 0.4-mile segment...
The Warwick Township Linear Park Trail is a joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough. The pathway extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road....
Tracing nearly two miles of riverfront, the Luzerne County National Recreation Trail (also known as the Luzerne County Rail Trail) will eventually form a 16-mile pathway along an active railway. Chain...
Eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail spans just over 140 miles through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor from Bristol, in the Greater Philadelphia region, to Mountain Top, nestled in the...
Constructed in 2012, the Gravity Trail is one of the newer additions to the extensive network of trails and greenways that criss-cross the Greater Reading metro area. The trail's unusual name comes...
Currently, 9 miles of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail are complete. The trail runs between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg, and interpretive signs relate the region's history. The trail is mostly paved at...
The beautiful Lehigh and New England trail is a short, crushed-stone trail that follows a section of the former Lehigh and New England Railroad corridor just south of Tamaqua in eastern Pennsylvania....
As its name implies, hikers on the Chickies Rock Overlook Trail will be rewarded with a beautiful vista at the end of their excursion. The trail follows an old trolley line route that once took...
Saucon Rail Trail connects four communities: Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township, Upper Saucon Township, and Coopersburg. The trail has a slight 1% grade traveling from north to south and is easy for a...
Tatamy Trail begins in West Easton and heads north to Tatamy Borough, primarily along a former railroad corridor. On its southern end, it meets the Palmer Township Recreation Trail, which connects the...
The Lebanon Valley Rail-Trail takes you on a journey into Pennsylvania Dutch country. Running along the corridor of the old Cornwall-Lebanon Railroad, the 14.5-mile trail lets you experience the...
We started at Glen Onoko parking lot, easy flat couple of miles back across the river to the Scenic Rail station and then a steep 200 ft climb up Packer Hill Ave to the start of the South trail. This trail is easy, has a hard packed surface and is suitable for most bikes able to handle the odd rock. The ride to the lake took us about 35 mins of gentle uphill (total of about 300 ft climb). The trail then crosses the road and starts climbing steeper all the way into Summit Hill (another about 45 mins and 400 ft of climbing). We stopped in town for a snack and beer, and on the return ride took the North trail (fork well marked). This trail is mostly also a good hard surface, with a couple of fallen small trees that need to crossed. Most of the trail is relatively flat, other than 2 steep sections near the end, the first a short drop where the "bridge to clouds" used to start, and then a longer (half a mile?) steep rocky switchback section starting at far end of original bridge location. Both these section are rideable by an experienced mountain biker, but could be a walk if nervous or if on any other type of bike. Speaking of walking there is a section a couple of miles from the end that you need to portage your bike across a narrow ledge. This is not a major challenge for most, but there is a bypass trail that can be used - we did not check it out but it is clearly not rideable due to growth on the trail. All told the return trip took us 70 mins, and that included a quick stop at the viewpoint.
This little trail is less than 4 miles long but is connected to the D&L which at the present time (fall 2018) allows roughly 10 miles north (to Lehighton) and maybe 10 miles south (to Cemeton). So if a longer ride is wanted there you go. The easiest way to access the trail is from the Slatington trail head on the D&L, proceed south a very short distance to the Heritage trail which is to the right and starts on a neighborhood roadway. There are ample signs pointing the way.
The Slate Heritage Trail is open the entire length as the turnpike bridge is complete. As others have mentioned the trail follows the creek. There are (I think) 3 through truss bridges and an old railroad trestle for your creek crossing pleasure. There is also a (very nice) reproduction 19th century covered bridge next to a covered picnic grove. Signs and markers along the way tell of the once booming slate industry complete with ruins of old slate workings. It is a very pleasant abet short trail.
The trail surface is a combination of paved and packed cinders. There are small elevation changes but overall a fairly easy trail to ride or jog.
I mentioned the much larger and much touted D&L Trail which intersects the Slate Heritage Trail. A few words here note I write as of Fall 2018:
As mentioned going north it is 10 miles to Lehighton, 15 if you continue along the Weissport section (Lehigh Canal). The D&L abruptly ends at the waste water treatment plant in Jim Thorpe, leaving the explorer really no viable option to continue north along the Lehigh Gorge section of the D&L. The Carbon County Commissioners have constructed a rather impressive bridge over the Lehigh River that will at some point in the future connect the Lehigh Canal to the Lehigh Gorge Trails adding another 35 miles of rail trail extending from Jim Thorpe to just south of Glenn Summit. However this bridge is closed until a half mile of the northern end of the Lehigh Canal trail is constructed which will not be completed until mid to late 2019 at the earliest (as of fall 2018). Check with the D&L if contemplating this trip.
Heading south on the D&L from Slatington, the trail is closed just south of Cemeton due to a road bridge replacement. This bridge will not be completed until Dec. 2020. At that point, a road bridge just upstream of the current project is due to start which will put another gap in the D&L that will last until late 2023. It is possible to detour the current gap and it might be possible to detour the future gap but make sure before you plan your vacation.
Happy Trails!
From the train station, Pass under the tracks following the passage to the train platforms and on to the grounds of the Masonic Village retirement community. Don’t be intimidated. During daylight hours The community is open to the public. There you can enjoy biking on streets with speed limits under 20 mph or hike on miles of scenic walk only asphalt paths. The hills are very challenging. Head toward the farm market on Eden View Dr. This May be the highest elevation in Lancaster County and you can enjoy views for miles.
A wonderful trail to walk and ride bike on.
Much of trail has no maintenance. Was great trail not now!,,,,,
Very nice paved trail from Columbia to Bainbridge. Beyond Bainbridge you need a mountain bike and know how to use it. We struggled for about a mile on a hybrid but it wasn't worth it. Beyond Bainbridge trail turned to dirt and intermittant large gravel. Trail kind of peters out into tall grass.
Ride offers parallel trail at Marietta one through town and one along river, both are nice and suggest both especially for round trippers as the 10 mile ride each way is nice for a round trip. Traffic on trail became heavy on weekend after 10 am. Trail is narrow so for those who like to cruise I do not recommend a weekend.
A few weekends ago a good friend and I biked the entire trail starting in Lebanon and ultimately ending in Columbia along the river. The 14.5 mile trail is well taken care of and their were plenty of workers patching up spots along the way (they just had tons of rain the week before). The majority of the trail is well shaded and there are plenty of places to stop and take a break along the way. A very pretty ride through the country side. Well worth returning to time and time again. If you continue like we did along the Conewago Connector Trail it is a another approximately 5 miles until you reach Rt 230. A left turn onto 230 will take you 3.5 miles in the lovely town of Elizabethtown. Stay on Market St. through town and you will pass several places to rest, eat, relax, and grab a coffee. Continue on Market St. and then make a Left onto Rt. 241 (W. Bainbridge St.) until you get to River Rd (Rt 441). Cross over River Rd. and make a left onto N. 2nd St. and continue into the town of Bainbridge. Make a right onto Race St. and head straight down to the river, there you will find the terminus of the NW Lancaster County River Trail. I absolutely love this trail. Paved all the way to Columbia 14.1 miles away. Twisty, turnings, rolling small hills, river to one side, and forest and corn fields on the other. The entire trip is about 40 miles. Check the NW Lancaster trail for flooding or heavy rains prior to the trip as a few areas of the trail may flood out turning your trip into 57 miles instead due to turning around and finding road routes around it. Enjoy!!!
This is the tail of two rides. The one going out... And the one coming back...
I joined the trail at the Virginia Forrest trail head north of New Hope. I'm riding an ICE Adventure HD recumbent trike and heading north to Uhlerstown.
The ride up was gorgeous... Nice warm weather, not a lot of traffic, really picturesque. The trail is basically flat with the exception of a few quick climbs at the lock sites. I had an issue with just one where there was a lot of loose stone on that quick climb. That's really the issue when climbing with a 'bent trike. Keeping the traction to the ground. I had just a little problem that I overcame with a little repeated effort.
The problem started with about 6 miles left in the ride on the return trip. The "problem" being the trail became what I'm going to call a single-track. Instead of a nice wide cinder lane, it became a single track of cinder that was just wide enough for a walker or someone on a bicycle. I'm riding a nice wide trike, so two of my tires were in the grass all the time and I felt like I was riding a high resistance trainer for the last 6 miles. So, between that and the increased heat, I was pretty cooked by the time I got back to my truck.
Now, I did ride this stretch going out. But being fresh, it didn't affect me the way it did on the way back. I'm giving this review 4 stars because it is a beautiful ride. And for walkers and folks on bikes, my issues won't be their issues.
I'm going to be interested in finding out if the single track was an anomaly of the stretch I rode, or if it's prevalent the entire length of the trail. I know that the upper portion of the ride the trail was wide and the ride comfortable. I just had an issue with that last 6 miles when the temps climbed into the 90s and my brain was cooking.
My wife and I entered on the 54 side and road across and back. The 54 side of the trail has logging going on currently and was muddy in spots. Next time I will start on the 42 side and maybe go halfway and back. The trail map does not show the restrooms in the middle or the 42 trail head. A great easy ride with enough grade not to be boring.
This is a nice trail to bike on a hot day. Lots of shade. There is a covered picnic pavilion right after the covered bridge.
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