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Print Friendly MapWinding through the fields and forests of northern Pennsylvania, the Knox & Kane Rail Trail follows a former railroad corridor. Spanning four counties (Clarion, Elk, Forest & McKean), the Knox & Kane Railroad was used for both freight and passenger service until it was abandoned.
Once complete, this scenic rail-trail will provide a 74-mile off-road route from Marianne in Clarion County to Mount Jewett in McKean County. Six local organizations are responsible for developing and managing different trail sections.
The multiuse rail-trail is a gentle, flat route with a mix of paved and gravel surfaces. As of 2023, there are three open sections totaling 47.6 miles:
Kinzua Bridge State Park to Lantz Corners (7.8 miles):
A 7.8-mile section of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail stretches between Kinzua Bridge State Park (296 Viaduct Rd, Mt Jewett) and Route 219 in Lantz Corners.
This section of the trail is open for walking/hiking, running, biking, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and snowmobiling. (Please note that snowmobiles are not able to enter from Kinzua Bridge State Park.) The maximum speed limit is 25 mph. Dogs are welcome on the trail as long as they remain on their leashes. The trail's surface is crushed-stone.
The Kinzua Bridge State Park's signature feature is the 301-foot-high Kinzua Bridge Skywalk, which was the tallest railroad bridge in the world when it was built in 1882. Several former railroad trestles along the route have been transformed into pedestrian bridges. From the bridge, the multiuse trail runs southwest through the woods to Center Street in Mount Jewett.
At the intersection of Center Street and Peterson Street, the trailhead includes an information kiosk, a bike rack and a bicycle repair station. An equestrian picnic area near the Kinzua Bridge State Park can be easily accessed from the Knox & Kane Rail Trail. There are benches and picnic tables placed periodically along the route.
As the rail-trail winds its way southwest from Mount Jewett, open fields are occasionally visible on one side of the trail, peaking through trees that shelter nearly the entire route. The trail comes to an end at Route 219 in Lantz Corners, which is where it will meet the next trail segment currently in development.
The Mount Jewett to Kinzua Bridge Trail Club (MJ2KB) manages this section of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail.
Kane to Lamont (12.3 miles):
A 12.3-mile section of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail heads southwest from Route 6 through the borough of Kane to Highway 66 in Highland Township. Open to pedestrians, hikers, and cyclists only, this crushed-stone path runs parallel to Route 6 as it travels through Kane—passing by restaurants, lodging, wineries, a brewery, a distillery, artistry and places of historical significance. The route also includes a pedestrian bridge over an active railroad line.
Including 7.5 miles from this section, approximately 23 miles of the eventual 74 miles of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail will be managed by TAMED (Trail Association of the McKean/Elk Divide). As trail manager, the organization is working towards constructing their segment of the rail-trail, as well as maintaining the 7.5 open miles of trail. With a projected construction date of 2023, the next section under development heads northeast from Route 6 to Route 219 in Lantz Corners. The section of the trail just east of the Kane Country Club to Route 219 at Lantz Corners is currently undeveloped but will hopefully be completed in 2023. Also on the agenda is completing the trail from Nansen southwesterly to the Elk/Forest County Line.
Marienville to Marianne (27.5 miles):
Paralleling PA-66, this 27.5-mile section of the trail runs between Marienville in Forest County and Marianne in Clarion County.
The northern end of this trail section is just south of Woodland Drive in the northern outskirts of Marienville. Trail access is available slightly further south on Snyder Lane, though the historic Railroad Roundhouse train station trailhead in Marienville is a popular starting point for this section.
This section is open for walking, running, cycling, and cross-country skiing. Snowmobile use is allowed, weather permitting, from Oak Lane in Marienville north to Goat Farm Road (Forest Road 226).
Continuing southwest, the Knox & Kane Rail Trail crosses the Forest/Clarion county line. This 20.1-mile section is known as the Rail 66 Country Trail. The Rail 66 Country Trail's northern endpoint is on Blood Road, off PA-66 in Vowinckel. It is open for walking, running, cycling, and cross-country skiing. Please note that the Rail 66 Country Trail does not allow horseback riding or snowmobiles.
From the Clarion/Forest county line, the trail winds south through Vowinckel, Leeper, Snydersburg, Lucinda, and Marianne. The route passes by several railroad landmarks and points of interest, including the historic Lucinda Railway Station (1040 Lander Dr, Lucinda). There are places to eat in Leeper, Snydersburg, and Marianne. The trail follows PA-66 more closely between Lucinda and Marianne.
The trail's southern end is on PA-66/Paint Boulevard, just south of Pine Terrace Road in Paint Township in the borough of Shippenville. While it is possible to access the trail here, there is no parking and PA-66 is a fairly busy road. Parking and easier trail access is available at US-332 and Willow Lane—less than a mile along the trail from the southern endpoint on PA-66.
It is possible to access the trail whenever it crosses smaller local roads, but parking is only available at the more official trailheads listed below and marked on the TrailLink map.
Parking is available at a number of locations along the trail, including:
For the Kinzua Bridge State Park to Mount Jewett segment, parking is available at the Kinzua Bridge State Park (296 Viaduct Road) and at the Center Street trailhead in Mount Jewett.
For the Kane to Lamont segment, parking is available in Kane by the intersection of Route 6 and Welsh Street, near the old train depot.
For the Marienville to Marianne segment, parking is available at the Marianne trailhead on SR 322, just east of the SR 322/SR 66 intersection. It is next to Willow Lane and holds approximately 12 vehicles. In Lucinda, there is a parking lot at mile 7.2, about 300 feet north of the historic Lucinda Railway Station (1040 Lander Dr, Lucinda). There is additional parking in Snydersburg, Leeper, and Marienville.
For all parking options and detailed directions, refer to the TrailLink map.
Started at Kane. The trail was unmaintained after mile 4.7. I then went to the Kinzua bridge state park and rode to 219. A nice trail
Road the Kane Knox Trail starting in Kane down to DeYoung and back before taking a break and then doing the bit north to the current stopping point near the Kane Country Club.
The path is exceptionally maintained. Easily bikeable on any type of type of bike due to the surface being primarily asphalt.
The trail was lightly traveled for a Saturday so had no issues with traffic on the trail.
We made a stop at Country Pines Ice Cream Shop on the north stretch out of Kane for extremely good ice cream! Get a "kids" size, the prices are extremely reasonable for the large serving sizes.
Post the ~25 mile ride we went to Logyard Brewing in town for a great beer and snack.
We rode this trail from the Forest County line (at Blood Road) to Marienville and back. This section is 6.5 miles in length. Flat and paved for 6 miles of it, the last half-mile into Marienville is crushed limestone in very good condition. Most of the trail is very well shaded. The former train station in Marienville is a Pennsylvania Wilds Gift shop open daily. Near the trail in Marienville is a UK University Korner convenience store. They have water if needed, sandwiches, fruit and pizza. Found it to be very clean.
We rode from the Kinzua Bridge State Park to Lantz Corners. It was a very hot day but the trail is mostly shaded. It is smooth and in great condition. We very much enjoyed it. We will be back.
Started in Kane at the former train station on Route 6 across the street from the County fair. Trail is crushed limestone. One direction takes you 3 miles to the Kane County Club, along side of Route 6. The other direction, the one we took, travels approx 9 miles to the Kane Russell Road via Lamont. We saw one mile marker, mile marker 50. The trail goes through farmlands and the Allegheny National Forest.
Pennsylvania's Trail of the Year 2023. This trail section is 7.5 miles in length and surface of crushed limestone. Mile markers 66 to 73.5. We parked in Mt. Jewett. There are very small signs along Route 6. The best way to find the parking lot is to turn at the Mt. Jewett post office. Parking lot is a block away behind the post office. We biked from Mt. Jewett to Kinzua Bridge State Park at the Kinzua Skywalk. The viaduct was damaged by a tornado on July 21, 2003. Beautiful views from the Skywalk. There is also a visitor Center at the Skywalk. Once back in Mt. Jewett we rode to the other end of the trail to Lantz Corners. Trail goes through mainly wooded areas and a few farmland fields. Mostly shaded in the summer! For reference, Lantz Corners is mile marker 66. Mt. Jewett is at mile marker 70 and the Kinzua Viaduct is mile marker 73.5.
WOW…..non-paved trails don’t get any better than this one folks!!! Rode from Mt J to Kinzua after a heavy downpour and only had 1 puddle right at the end in the state park. Wonderful crushed gravel surface…smooth…no bumps…no potholes…no soft spots…grass edges nicely mowed…trees trimmed back…shaded the whole way…milemarkers every .5 miles…interpretive signs with area history…and to top it off it goes directly to a bridge that was at one time called the eighth wonder of the world…SWEET!!! Major kudos to the folks who built and maintained this section. I see they have a crawler tractor, a trail groomer and even a huge vacuum. Keep up the great work. Thank you…bikin-mike June 2022
P.s. Looking forward to returning someday and riding the whole 70 miles when it’s done.
P.s.s. I was expecting some eating places in Mt Jewett. Only saw 1 cafe that closed at 2.
We have biked and walked the trail from Mount Jewett to the bridge and enjoyed it very much. Today I had a chance to walk a portion of the trail starting at Lantz Corners and heading to Mount Jewett.
The trail makes for easy walking but would be a challenge for a road bike. It has some large gravel and is slightly bumpy in some spots. There are plans to improve that section. In the meantime, it makes for a nice 15-mile round trip walk from Lantz Corners to Kinzua Bridge State Park and back. Mount Jewett makes a great place for breakfast, lunch or both. There is a campground (High Pines) across the street from the trailhead at Lantz Corners.
We took our tow along burley bee on this trail and it was very smooth. My daughter wasn’t bounced all around even though the path is crushed stones.
July 2020. I found this to be one of the most beautiful trails! Heavily wooded through an absolutely gorgeous forest.
Though just under 4 miles in length I enjoyed the short ride on this trail. Having been constructed in 2018-2019 the surface is crushed limestone in very good condition.
I was dropped off at the parking area in Mt. Jewett and biked into Kinzua Bridge Skywalk State Park.
This trail ends at the skywalk. Visitor center and restrooms at the skywalk.
We walked a bit more than half the trail from Kinzua Bridge today and it's one of the best designed and maintained we've encountered. We plan to go back to hike from the Mount Jewett end tomorrow to finish the whole length. We'll be adding it to our list of Rails-to-Trails donations each year going forward.
As a bonus, as we were hiking in the woods along the trail, a train travelled the current rails, not far off. I love having an actual train running nearby when I'm hiking rail trails, so a great day after Thanksgiving hike.
Very nice walking path with great scenery, took our 2 small dogs with us & they loved it! Only were able to do about 3 miles due to a thunderstorm but it was perfect. Started at the Bridge, next time maybe we’ll start in Jewett.
Eventually this will be just the north end of a 74 mile trail. Can’t wait to see it completely surfaced on all 74 miles!!!
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