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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. Today, the rail-trail is an accessible multi-use path with a compact crushed-stone surface and a gentle, flat route. Trail advocates hope to one day expand this scenic rail-trail to 74 miles, continuing its southwest trajectory through Elk, Forest, and Clarion counties to end at Clarion Junction. As of 2022, there are two complete sections of this rail-trail:
Mount Jewett to Kinzua Bridge State Park:
A 7.8-mile section of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail stretches between Kinzua Bridge State Park and Route 219. The multi-use trail runs through a largely forested corridor between Center Street in Mount Jewett and Kinzua Bridge State Park. The 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. Part of the trail's surface is paved and the rest is gravel or crushed-stone.
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.
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.
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.
The Mount Jewett to Kinzua Bridge Trail Club (MJ2KB) manages this section of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail.
Lamont to Kane:
A 7.5-mile section of the Knox & Kane Rail Trail heads northeast from Highland Kane Road in Lamont to Route 6 on the outskirts of Kane. Open to pedestrians, hikers and cyclists only, this crushed-stone path runs parallel to Route 6 as it travels through the borough of 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 this 7.5-mile 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. Also on the agenda is completing the trail from Lamont southwesterly to the Elk/Forest County Line.
For the Mount Jewett to Kinzua Bridge State Park segment, parking is available at the Kinzua Bridge State Park (296 Viaduct Road) and at the Center Street trailhead in Mount Jewett.
For the Lamont to Kane segment, parking is available in Kane by the intersection of Route 6 and Welsh Street, near the old train depot. Additional parking is available along the Highland Road behind the Kane Area High School.
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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