I rode a 5 mile round trip on this trail on a beautiful fall day. The trail is well maintained and in its short length has several interesting visual features such as two tunnels, a gazebo, and a 40 foot high trestle. Small markers along the way commemorate the conversion of the once rail line into a trail. The tunnels run under Interstate 70 and US-40 which historically is the old National Road from which the trail gets its name. For a rail trail it features quite a bit of elevation gain over its 2.5 mile length with a gain of about 223 feet. However, since it is a rail trail, the rise is never physically taxing. The only reason I did not rate this trail as a 5-star trail is because its short length leaves you wanting it to be longer.

We only rode a portion of the trail from Slickville to Saltsburg. Returning to Slickville was uphill but the fall views were amazing!

My family and I rode the Jewett to Scio portion of the trail. It was a very nice trial. 7 year old daughter enjoyed. Very scenic, flat and peaceful.

My husband & I bicycle all over the US (Rails to Trails only) and this little section of trail was a huge surprise. We live in Latrobe PA & use the GAP & Ghost town trails mostly. Plus we have used the Saltsburg side of the WHT a lot. But we never used the Export-Trafford side. WOW what a surprise. The infrastructure of this trail section is special. Whoever was involved in building this one; hats off to you and thanks! The bridges: quality. The road crossings: very safe. The bathrooms: abundant. Just cant say enough about the infrastructure. The trail itself was not paved, but no issues there, most are not. Well maintained trail - both the surface & the green growth on the banks of the trail. Most of this section of the trail is very beautiful, woodsy. Other parts going through Murrysville has traffic noise but that is just an indicator that there are lots of options for food & shopping off the trail. Lots of parking options at varied access points along the trail. The only negative thing i could say is that there were no trail maps (printed) in the map pocket cases at any of the trail heads. I suppose that means the trail is "just that popular". Again - try this section of the WHT - Don't put it off because its a nice stretch of the legs for either a morning ride or after work stress reliever.

I went on a hike with my dog. We saw beautiful wildlife and the vibe there was quite serene!

Nice trail that we will ride again. Couldn't quite give a 5 though. The cracks in the asphalt are in need of repair and a bit annoying. Also, a few too many road crossings than I would like. One other thing that would be nice to see is some picnic tables for resting along the way. The only nice rest area is at the bike shop at Kirk Road.

GLH 9/20/20

As others have described the PA side of this trail is fairly well maintained. There are a couple bad spots that are marked so you can avoid them as of September 2020. I crossed into Ohio and immediately had to turn around because the pavement was ridiculous. The trail has a few gradual inclines, if you park at the New Castle lot you will have that last little workout as its a gradual uphill to the parking lot.

My friend and I designed our bike ride for today to go to Washington’s Landing as our destination. Once you get over there, the bike trail is very rocky, which makes it difficult to ride. It’s narrow as well. We ended up ditching the trail and riding around the area on the sidewalks and roads since there was hardly any car traffic. Been there, done that - it’s an area we won’t go back to.

Started at Freeport and rode 7 miles and back. Slight uphill the way out, but not too difficult. Parking lots were full at every stop we passed, but the trail was never crowded. Enjoyed the shaded and wide trail. Spotted 2 deer chasing each other across the creek and 2 Great Blue Heron fishing for their lunch. We will return to complete the trail soon.