10 places
Rail trails, river towpaths and long rides through the hills
Photo: Jbro620, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Old railroad beds and canal towpaths give Pennsylvania some of the best easy riding in the East: gentle grades, few cars and small towns along the way. The Great Allegheny Passage runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, where it meets the C&O Canal towpath to Washington, D.C., and the Pine Creek Rail Trail follows the floor of the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.
Closer to the cities, the Schuylkill River Trail heads out of Philadelphia to Valley Forge and beyond, the D&L Trail follows the Lehigh River through its gorge at Jim Thorpe, and the Heritage Rail Trail runs south from York to the Maryland line. Check each trail's surface, rules and conditions before you go.
Our picks
Rail trail · Stewart Township, Fayette County
Running 150 miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, this crushed-limestone rail trail crosses the Eastern Continental Divide and the Youghiogheny gorge at Ohiopyle and links to the C&O Canal towpath.
Photo: Jbro620, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rail trail · Brown Township, Lycoming County
A 62-mile crushed-stone rail trail along Pine Creek, running through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and past small villages, with eagles overhead and the creek for company.
Photo: Jakec, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rail trail · Philadelphia, Philadelphia County
Beginning in Center City, a long riverside trail runs past Boathouse Row and Manayunk to Valley Forge and beyond, paved through the city and busy with cyclists, runners and walkers.
Rail trail and towpath · Jim Thorpe, Carbon County
A 165-mile trail from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol; here it follows the Lehigh River through the steep, wooded Lehigh Gorge, and farther south it runs on old canal towpaths.
Rail trail · Railroad, York County
Following the old Northern Central Railway from York to the Maryland line, this crushed-stone trail passes the 1838 Howard Tunnel and the Hanover Junction station, where Lincoln changed trains en route to Gettysburg.
Rail trail · Buffington Township, Indiana County
Vanished coal towns once lined this crushed-limestone rail trail along Blacklick Creek, where the stone stack of the 1846 Eliza Furnace still stands beside the path.
Photo: Jet Lowe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The full list
Running 150 miles from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, this crushed-limestone rail trail crosses the Eastern Continental Divide and the Youghiogheny gorge at Ohiopyle and links to the C&O Canal towpath.
A 62-mile crushed-stone rail trail along Pine Creek, running through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon and past small villages, with eagles overhead and the creek for company.
A 165-mile trail from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol; here it follows the Lehigh River through the steep, wooded Lehigh Gorge, and farther south it runs on old canal towpaths.
Vanished coal towns once lined this crushed-limestone rail trail along Blacklick Creek, where the stone stack of the 1846 Eliza Furnace still stands beside the path.
Following the old Northern Central Railway from York to the Maryland line, this crushed-stone trail passes the 1838 Howard Tunnel and the Hanover Junction station, where Lincoln changed trains en route to Gettysburg.
A mostly crushed-stone rail trail through farmland and woods, climbing gently from Cornwall's old iron country to the cottage colony of Mount Gretna and linking with the Conewago Trail toward Elizabethtown.
Arcing through the countryside west and south of Pittsburgh, a long crushed-stone rail trail with tall trestles, old railroad tunnels and a link toward the Great Allegheny Passage.
Beginning in Center City, a long riverside trail runs past Boathouse Row and Manayunk to Valley Forge and beyond, paved through the city and busy with cyclists, runners and walkers.
A paved rail trail following the wild and scenic Allegheny River south from Franklin through a deep, wooded valley, with two long railroad tunnels along the way.
From the Schuylkill River Trail at Oaks, this rail trail follows Perkiomen Creek up to Green Lane Park, through creekside parks, woods and small villages.
