Railroad Grade Trail (PA)

North of Mansfield lies the Railroad Grade Trail, know to locals as Ives Run. The 2.5-mile trail begins on the north end at the Ives Run Recreation area, near the boat launch parking lot. Travelers on the sometimes rough crushed stone surface are rewarded for their efforts in this seemingly secluded marsh area. The careful observer can view a variety of songbirds, waterfowl and game birds as you travel through the Bryant Hollow Wildlife Management Area. The trail ends near Pennsylvania Route 287.

Parking and Trail Access

To Ives Run trailhead: Coming from the south on US-15, take US-6 west to PA-287 north. Coming from the north on US-15 take PA-287 south. Look for the sign for Ives Run Recreation Area on the east side of the road.

Shady and railbed are its primary attributes

June 2022 russnelson_tl

My wife and I are railfans, and we're always looking for railroadiana on a rail-trail. This one .... not so much. We found a code pole tilted over into the stream, an original 1926 railroad culvert, and the bridge over Hills Creek. Speaking of which, the trail per se ends at the west where an access road takes off to the south. West of there it's overgrown, although there's a herd path to the bridge over Hills Creek. It's too overgrown to make way past the bridge, with prickers and stickers.

As others note, the trail is rocky and bumpy (for wheeled users) and open to motorized vehicles. Some of them were polite and drove past us hikers slowly, but the four-wheelers didn't slow down and choked us with their dust, reinforcing the incompatibility between motorized and non-motorized users of trails.

That said, it is shady and runs alongside Crooked Creek for much of the way.

Beautiful!

October 2019 liznancyschoonover

Nice scenic views. Little rocky in some places, but very enjoyable biking

Stones, potholes and trucks.

September 2018 tmillers4

This trail is indeed short and rough, with lots of loose stone, mud and potholes. There was a nicer section in the middle, shady and less stone. But it is also not closed to vehicles, and I encountered 4. Unless you're on a mountain bike on the way to somewhere else, wouldn't bother.

Little Rough

September 2015 dale17h

Close to camping area. Not a long trail. Very level and very rough. I rode down the trail to see what is was like but came back to the camping area along rt.287.