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Print Friendly MapThe Five Bridges Trail in northwestern Pennsylvania uses a portion of the former Pittsburgh and Shawmut Railroad corridor, which ran from Brockway to Brookville.
Begin at the western end of the trail in Allens Mills, where parking is available. The rail-trail traverses a scenic wetlands area, then cuts through shale hillsides as it heads east, ending just outside of Brockway.
The trail follows Mill Creek, crossing the waterway with several bridges that give the trail its name. On your journey, watch for beavers that have made dams along the creek, as well as great blue herons and other types of birds that call the wetlands home.
The surface varies from ballast with cinders to loose gravel and there are some spots that can be mushy after a hard rain, however drainage and grading has been much improved recently.
A parking area is located near the western end of the trail in Allens Mills on Reitz Bottom Road, just east of its intersection with Allens Mills Road. From Interstate 80, take exit 90, SR 830 North. Follow SR 830 for 3.2 miles, then turn left onto Red Barn Road. Follow Red Barn Road until it ends (1.4 miles) at Allens Mills Road. Turn right; after 0.2 miles, turn left onto Reitz Bottom Road. The parking area will be on the right after a few 100 feet.
A variety of backroads lead to this parking area, so it would be best to use a GPS or online map website to get directions, if not coming from Interstate 80. Using an address of "500 Reitz Bottom Road" should get you close.
There is currently no access point at the eastern (Brockway) end of the trail.
First the cons: A roughie. A lot of undeveloped trail here. Need a mountain bike. No skinny tires here. Don`t travel alone on this the way I did. Lots of "close ones."
The pluses: Tremendous potential here. Beautiful area. A hats off to the individuals who are pioneering and working on this. HEROS in my book. No doubt at all. Get the money. Contact township, county officials, feds. Set up meetings with them. Get a good grant writer Get the $$.
I rode my bike from Allens Mills to Arch St Extension and back. There has been much improvement to the trail since last autumn! The trail has been rolled and the rough clinky rocks were not a problem. Much smoother. It was a wonderful ride. The beavers have been busy this spring performing maintenance on their dams. There are 2 large beaver ponds on the trail. I love this trail and will return again and again!
If you biking on the trail and were disappointed with the surface please try it again. We graded last year and it was rolled this spring.
There are a lot of wetlands, making it somewhat unique, but also buggy. Wear a repellant to make your ride/walk more enjoyable.
We are in the process of placing mile markers and installed two flower beds and some geocaches.
We put name markers on the bridges to match the map and help you to locate. We have a kiosk with brochures at the Allens Mills trailhead.
Please sign the log with your comments if you want. Please add your zip code.
We try to keep fallen trees off the trail but the beavers are very busy.
Happy trails!
After finding the trailhead in Allens Mill, we attempted to bike ride the trail. Found it to be too bumpy for our comfort bikes even with smaller/wider tires. Very rocky and bumpy. Would probably be better if just packed hard dirt. Didn't get very far due to the rocky conditions then there was a tree blocking the trail which was been cleared since then. This would be good on a mountain bike or fat tire bike or snowshoeing with snow. Even now would be difficult to walk/hike on unless wearing very sturdy hiking boots.
I rode this trail for the first time today. I was lucky enough to meet both Paul and Terry. These two gentlemen are both hard working and very kind men. Like most people I meet on the trails. I hope you both get the mechanical help you need, and God bless the both of you. The trail was a bit rougher than I am used to, but beautiful nonetheless. Short but sweet is the way I would explain it. However this is not crushed stone and a bit bumper than what I am used to. I will be back and looking forward to it.
The GPS directions provided on this site are incorrect. Searched around for 20 minutes finally found the trail head a half a mile away. Wanted to bike,however, grass was about knee high and impossible to do with our bikes. Note the last sentence of the description, there is no trail head in Brockway.
Loved the trail it was a bit rough at times but a nice ride on my fat bike once I aired the tires down a bit. Saw a few deer and some blue herring. Trail a bit over grown at times but you could see someone is working at giving it so TLC. Well worth the ride. I parked at Sugarhill rode toward Brockway first then I turned around and did the other half towards Brookville. Some nice scenery. Worth the trip.
The Five Bridges Trail is rough, swampy and somewhat isolated- which is exactly what makes it so awesome. I drove 80 miles to ride this trail and it didn't disappoint. This is a perfect trail for anyone who has a bike capable of handling mildly rough terrain and enjoys being in nature. I felt like I was exploring and not just cruising a bike path. It goes through wooded areas and wetland. I'm hoping this trail stays the way it is and doesn't get smoothed and groomed making like most of the other rail trails. Variety is a good thing.If you have a mountain or a fat bike and want a scenic but easy ride you should give this trail a try.
Beautiful scenery along the trail. This one needs a lot of work but was a great experience. Make sure you take the bug spray, they were awful, and take along plenty of fluids! This is definitely a Trail for a mountain bike, many very rough & rocky areas as well as many soft/muddy areas.
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