One-day Rides:

“Along the Main Line’s Juniata Section”

Ride the Lower Trail (17 miles) then the 6 to 10 Trail (10 miles) for a beautiful and educational ride/hike – with a moderate amount of exercise thrown in. A shuttle system would make this experience very doable for most rail-trail users. For those who wish to push themselves, doing this without a shuttle would require out-and-back rides totaling 42 miles and a 12-mile hike.

Climbing the Mighty Allegheny”

Climb the section of the Allegheny Front known locally as Blandburg Mountain on the Bells Gap Trail (6.3 miles), then shift to the 6 to 10 Trail (4 miles on bike, 6 miles hiking) to climb the Front where the Allegheny Portage Railroad ran in the early 1800s. This a very doable solo day outing that would involve 21 miles on bike and 12 hiking.)

“A Ghost Town (sort of a) Century”

With its 32-mile main trunk and 14 miles of branches, you can put in a very full day while riding each section out and back. If you ride each branch of the Ghost Town Trail and return to your starting point, you’ll have logged 92 miles! Want to make it a full century? Ride the Rexis Branch twice. Hint: If you start at John P. Saylor Park, you will get most of the climbing in on the first half of the ride.

“Riding the Johnstown Flood”

The Path of the Flood and the Staple Bend Tunnel Trail combine to bring you from the shadow of the South Fork Dam (which failed and caused the 1889 Flood) to the Johnstown Flood Museum (13 miles). Then you can enjoy an easy three-mile ride through Johnstown upstream on the Stonycreek River to the Jim Mayer Riverswalk for a beautiful little out-and-back trail (1.5 miles) ride. A shuttle makes this total ride less than 20 miles – downhill. Riding out-and-back makes this a 40-mile ride and will require moderate exertion on the return ride uphill.

“County Seat to County Seat”

Combining the Hoodlebug Trail (10 miles) with the Ghost Town Trail’s main trunk (32 miles) enables you to ride from Indiana Borough to Ebensburg Borough, both of which are picturesque county seats of government. Starting in Indiana will enable you to tackle the Ghost Town’s lengthy climbs with fresh legs.

“Pick Your Trail”

Starting a day ride on the Blairsville Riverfront Trail (1.7 miles) is a great warm-up. Then you have your pick of the West Penn (15 miles), the Hoodlebug (10 miles) or the Ghost Town (46 miles) trails, because all three are only minutes away by car or bicycle! Caution: Busy highways separate Blairsville from these other trails. Follow directions carefully or drive to your selected trailhead.

“Four In One”

One active day of bicycling enables you to cover our four western trails: the West Penn (15 miles), the Westmoreland Heritage Trail (9 miles), the Roaring Run Trail (6.5 miles) and the Apollo's Kiski Riverfront Trail (1.5 miles). Doing all of these as out-and-back rides provides 64 miles of pedaling and – because a few sections are more challenging – at least moderate exertion. Throw in some very challenging on-road connections, and you will know you’ve been riding in the Alleghenies!