Rail-Trails Pennsylvania. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

      Foreword

      Welcome to Rail-Trails: Pennsylvania, a comprehensive companion for discovering the state’s top rail-trails and multiuse pathways. This guidebook will help you uncover fantastic opportunities to get outdoors on the state’s trails—whether for exercise, transportation, or just pure fun.

      Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s mission is to create a nationwide network of trails, just like these, to build healthier places for healthier people. We hope this book will inspire you to experience firsthand how trails can connect people to one another and to the places they love, while also creating connections to nature, history, and culture.

      Since its founding in 1986, RTC has witnessed a massive growth in the rail-trail and active transportation movement. Today, more than 24,000 miles of completed rail-trails provide invaluable benefits for people and communities across the country. We hope you find this book to be a delightful and informative resource for discovering the many unique trail destinations throughout Pennsylvania.

      I’ll be out on the trails, too, experiencing the thrill of the adventure right alongside you. Be sure to say hello and share your experience with us on social media! We want to hear how you #GoByTrail. You can find us @railstotrails on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

      See you on the trail!

      Ryan Chao, President

      Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

      Acknowledgments

      S pecial acknowledgment to Amy Kapp, editor of this guidebook, and to Derek Strout for his work on the creation of the trail maps included in the book. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy also thanks Gene Bisbee and Amy Ahn for their assistance in editing content.

      We are also appreciative of the following contributors, editors, and trail managers we called on for assistance to ensure the maps, photographs, and trail descriptions are as accurate as possible.

      Milo Bateman

      Ken Bryan

      Cindy Dickerson

      Alan Ibarra

      Nancy Kapp

      Joe LaCroix

      Anthony Le

      Laura Stark

      Jorge Brito

      Ryan Cree

      Eli Griffen

      Karl Kapp

      Willie Karidis

      Jake Laughlin

      Jimmy O’Connor

      The Hanover Junction train station along Heritage Rail Trail County Park

      Introduction

      R ail-Trails: Pennsylvania highlights 72 of the top rail-trails and other multiuse pathways across the state. These trails offer a broad range of experiences, from sweeping Appalachian views to narrow wooded ravines, from challenging hiking and biking adventures to relaxing riverside strolls, and from vibrant cities to small towns that thrived in Pennsylvania’s heyday in the 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial powerhouse.

      Along the 15-mile Mahoning Shadow Trail, you can visit the hometown of Pennsylvania’s most famous furry critter—Punxsutawney Phil—who puts the shadow in the trail’s name. Or take a majestic trip through Presque Isle State Park on the 13.4-mile Karl Boyes Multi-Purpose National Recreation Trail, featuring majestic views of the Lake Erie shoreline and the Presque Isle Lighthouse.

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