Riding the Rails - Biking on Rail Trails
Take a former, non-used railroad track, remove the rails, put in a surface for bikers/walkers/joggers/sometimes horses, and you have a rail trail! These trails often go through lovely country and small towns. They can be surfaced with asphalt, crushed granite, or hard-pack. They don’t have any large ups and downs, and there are no motorized vehicles allowed. Perfect for our desires to go biking!
In deciding where to go, we looked at Pennsylvania and Ohio. These states had many railroads in the past, and both places have done a great job of converting many of them to rail trails. Pennsylvania boasts over 2000 miles of rail trails, while Ohio claims over 1000. Plenty to keep us busy for a month! One nice thing is that you can ride as long or as short as you want to - just remember when you ride out that you have to ride an equal distance back!
We were gone for the month of May 2025, camping along the way at federal and state campgrounds. Now, if you remember this month, it was unseasonably cool and rainy all over the Northeast, and we got the same type of weather in PA and OH. The good part is that we always have found it better to ride in cooler rather than warmer temperatures, but there was a fair amount of time spent in our little pop-up Aliner camper or doing other things (Rock Hall of Fame, Packard Museum, Botanical Conservatory, perusing small towns, local libraries, lots of walking/hiking, and visiting family in Ft. Wayne, IN). Regardless, we rode on 9 different trails, on some of them twice as we would do the northern end one day and the southern end another day. We rode about 270 miles, nothing extreme, but plenty for us.
There are SO many trails, and trails that connected into other trails. We just tried to choose ones close to campgrounds and rode when the weather was reasonable. We brought gear to do bike-camping, but it was hard to find 3-4 days in a row of good weather, so we ended up just doing day trips.
We met so many friendly cyclists along the way - it seems that when we would find a place to stop and break out the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, there would be another couple also stopping. So conversation always ensued - where are you from, what do you know about local trails, and a million other topics.
The most well-known trail in PA is the Great Allegheny Passage, which we did some years ago. This is an amazing trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, and then connects to the C&O Canal Towpath down to Washington DC. https://thegreatalleghenypassage.com/ We highly recommend this trail. Here is our trip on this trail: http://www.sharingourjourney.com/great-allegheny-passage.html
The Great American Rail Trail is underway to connect existing rail trails and public greenways across America - 3700 miles, 55% completed. Check it out! - https://www.railstotrails.org/site/greatamericanrailtrail/content/route/
www.pacanyon.com/PineCreekRailTrail.html
Below are some highlights of the trails: (Trails were in northwest PA, mid to upper east of OH, and Fort Wayne, IN)
We’d like to go back and do some of the many, many trails that we didn’t get to.
Pine Creek Rail Trail - https://www.pacanyon.com/PineCreekRailTrail.html We took a shuttle ride to near the northern end of the trail and rode 43 miles back to our car. This trail goes through the “Grand Canyon” of Pennsylvania, and while it is a beautiful gorge, we wouldn’t call it a grand canyon. There are 62 miles of great scenery, lots of free camping with permits along the trail, comfort stations periodically (no water), and a well-maintained crushed limestone surface. Billy got rattled at by a 6-foot timber rattlesnake on the path where we stopped for a rest. The water in the river was high, and there were numerous ‘runs’ teaming with water streaming down the hills. The honeysuckle was in full bloom and almost overwhelmingly sweet. Total ride: 43 miles
Pine Creek Rail Trail (part 2)- We rode the southern end of this trail, had lunch at a Subway in the town at the end of the trail, and rode back. Total ride: 26 miles
Take a former, non-used railroad track, remove the rails, put in a surface for bikers/walkers/joggers/sometimes horses, and you have a rail trail! These trails often go through lovely country and small towns. They can be surfaced with asphalt, crushed granite, or hard-pack. They don’t have any large ups and downs, and there are no motorized vehicles allowed. Perfect for our desires to go biking!
In deciding where to go, we looked at Pennsylvania and Ohio. These states had many railroads in the past, and both places have done a great job of converting many of them to rail trails. Pennsylvania boasts over 2000 miles of rail trails, while Ohio claims over 1000. Plenty to keep us busy for a month! One nice thing is that you can ride as long or as short as you want to - just remember when you ride out that you have to ride an equal distance back!
We were gone for the month of May 2025, camping along the way at federal and state campgrounds. Now, if you remember this month, it was unseasonably cool and rainy all over the Northeast, and we got the same type of weather in PA and OH. The good part is that we always have found it better to ride in cooler rather than warmer temperatures, but there was a fair amount of time spent in our little pop-up Aliner camper or doing other things (Rock Hall of Fame, Packard Museum, Botanical Conservatory, perusing small towns, local libraries, lots of walking/hiking, and visiting family in Ft. Wayne, IN). Regardless, we rode on 9 different trails, on some of them twice as we would do the northern end one day and the southern end another day. We rode about 270 miles, nothing extreme, but plenty for us.
There are SO many trails, and trails that connected into other trails. We just tried to choose ones close to campgrounds and rode when the weather was reasonable. We brought gear to do bike-camping, but it was hard to find 3-4 days in a row of good weather, so we ended up just doing day trips.
We met so many friendly cyclists along the way - it seems that when we would find a place to stop and break out the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, there would be another couple also stopping. So conversation always ensued - where are you from, what do you know about local trails, and a million other topics.
The most well-known trail in PA is the Great Allegheny Passage, which we did some years ago. This is an amazing trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland, and then connects to the C&O Canal Towpath down to Washington DC. https://thegreatalleghenypassage.com/ We highly recommend this trail. Here is our trip on this trail: http://www.sharingourjourney.com/great-allegheny-passage.html
The Great American Rail Trail is underway to connect existing rail trails and public greenways across America - 3700 miles, 55% completed. Check it out! - https://www.railstotrails.org/site/greatamericanrailtrail/content/route/
www.pacanyon.com/PineCreekRailTrail.html
Below are some highlights of the trails: (Trails were in northwest PA, mid to upper east of OH, and Fort Wayne, IN)
We’d like to go back and do some of the many, many trails that we didn’t get to.
Pine Creek Rail Trail - https://www.pacanyon.com/PineCreekRailTrail.html We took a shuttle ride to near the northern end of the trail and rode 43 miles back to our car. This trail goes through the “Grand Canyon” of Pennsylvania, and while it is a beautiful gorge, we wouldn’t call it a grand canyon. There are 62 miles of great scenery, lots of free camping with permits along the trail, comfort stations periodically (no water), and a well-maintained crushed limestone surface. Billy got rattled at by a 6-foot timber rattlesnake on the path where we stopped for a rest. The water in the river was high, and there were numerous ‘runs’ teaming with water streaming down the hills. The honeysuckle was in full bloom and almost overwhelmingly sweet. Total ride: 43 miles
Pine Creek Rail Trail (part 2)- We rode the southern end of this trail, had lunch at a Subway in the town at the end of the trail, and rode back. Total ride: 26 miles
Allegheny River Trail - https://www.traillink.com/trail/allegheny-river-trail/ This 30-mile trail follows the Allegheny River through beautiful country. The ‘new green’ of the trees and the blue sky made for a picturesque ride. We started at the southern end but got discouraged by the number of roots breaking up through the asphalt, making for a very bumpy ride. We were told later that the northern end was better. We went through a 3/4-mile-long tunnel, which was cool, and at the beginning of the south end of the tunnel, several streams of water gushed from the tunnel’s roof, except for the fact that Billy’s light was not working, so we walked very slowly in pitch dark. We cut our Allegheny ride short and rode on the Rail 66 trail nearby for a bit. Total ride: 30 miles
Rail 66 Trail - https://rail-66.com/ This 20-mile trail has a great, well-maintained asphalt surface that goes through forest and near small towns. We met a man at a trailhead who had an encyclopedic knowledge of all the local trails. Total ride: 25 miles
Western Reserve Greenway Trail - https://www.traillink.com/trail/western-reserve-greenway/ This 42-mile trail goes through forested land and some wetlands. We were whizzing along the path, going through the wetlands section when a HUGE goose attacked Billy - flapping his wings, hissing, pecking, and attaching to Billy’s back, leaving 3 large claw marks when the goose finally beat his retreat. Now, this papa goose was only protecting his family, but we just didn’t see him in time to slow down. On the return trip by his spot, we walked very slowly and quietly by, and while he hissed, he didn’t attack! Although this trail is well-surfaced, we didn’t think it offered much diversity - just lots of woodlands. Total ride: 31 miles
Maple Highlands Trail - https://geaugaparkdistrict.org/park/the-maple-highlands-trail/ When riding this trail, you often have to share with Amish in horse and buggy. Much of the trail is in the sun, it goes through 2 covered bridges, and connects 2 towns. We hit this on one of the only unseasonably HOT days that we had during the month, so we cut the ride short because of the heat and the need to travel to our next campground. Total ride: 19 miles
Towpath in Cuyahoga Valley National Park - https://www.nps.gov/cuva/index.htm The towpath goes 20 miles within the park but is part of the much longer Erie to Ohio Trail. This was great fun! The trail has great historical signage, you can view the old locks along the way, it goes through a few small towns where you can get ice cream or other food, across a river, through a wetland with the longest wooden boardwalk we’d ever been on. This is a well-known destination so be prepared for more people than on other trails. Total ride: 32 miles
Holmes County Trail - https://holmescountytrail.org/ This trail is interesting because it is divided into 2 lanes - one lane for bikes/walkers and the other lane for horse and buggies. Very well surfaced, it goes through farm fields, forest, and small towns. Total ride: 18 miles
Richland B&O Rail Trail - https://richlandcountyparks.com/bike-trail/ An 18-mile trail with a great surface of asphalt with all roots planed off, goes through lots of farming, we stopped at the YNOT bike store in Lexington. Total ride: 23 miles
Pufferbelly Trail - https://www.traillink.com/trail/pufferbelly-trail/ 9-mile trail through suburbs through Ft Wayne, IN. We’ve never seen so much green grass and manicured yards! This trail connects to other Ft Wayne trails throughout the city and along the river. We rode from where we were visiting family, then up and down the trail. Total ride: 22 miles