The Coal & Coke Trail is a neat little biking and hiking trail in Westmoreland County connecting…read moreMount Pleasant with Scottdale. A mere 5 miles in length, it's one of the few Rails-to-Trails I hadn't covered yet. Really, I couldn't justify the time or gas money to do a 10 mile round trip bike ride. A 10 mile hike is of course another story! And that's just what I did as part of my employer's wellness program. I planned the whole thing and of course headed up the hardy group of hikers able to complete the entire 10 mile round trip. The trail begins and ends in city parks at both ends. We began at Willows Park in Mount Pleasant. The address I gave you above is the parking lot and it's based on information from www.traillink.com Drinking water and restrooms are available in the park, but the restrooms appear to be closed in winter. We began by working our way southbound. The trail was built on the roadbed of a Pennsylvania RR branch. As ts name implies, the railroad hauled coke ad coal over the line. The railroad was abandoned for many years, however after 8 years of planning, the trail opened in 2007. Upon leaving town, we hiked through some scenic wooded areas to the town of Bridgeport. At one point we noticed the trail paralleling an active rail line. The forest here is old growth and we crossed one of a few small streams. Beyond the town of Bridgeport, we again entered the woodlands while paralleling Jacobs Creek. Curving to the west as we approached Scottdale, we arrived at the scenic high point of the day. The sewage treatment plant. Yep! The trail even goes through plant's parking lot and is routed onto Sewage Treatment Lane! Well no worries--we crossed Old US 119 and then ducked under the new highway before entering our last stretch of woodlands. Part of the trail is incomplete at Scottdale, so we had to walk down Mildred Street , Bessemer Street, and Mt. Pleasant Road (they're actually all the same street) before reaching Kendi Park. The trail resumes briefly here but this was our rest stop and turnaround point. So this is a pleasant and relatively easy trail to hike or bike. Just remember, there aren't any places to obtain food or water along the path, so be sure to bring adequate supplies of each.

Great place to walk. You can choose to challenge yourself or take it easy. Got lots of great pics…read moreas well

We had a wonderful few days camping at Coopers Rock! The…read moresites are a good size and decently spaced apart so we have a good amount of privacy. The campsite bathroom was clean, well stocked and regularly maintained. All of the employees at the trading post were friendly as well! Park rangers drove around regularly (4-5 time through the campsite a day I'd say). My only wish would be adding closure information onto the website so people know ahead of time. During our visit the main overlook was under construction/maintenance so there was no access to it. Which was a little disappointing since it looks beautiful online! But it was a short 5 minute walk out to the overlook so it was easy to get back to a different trail. (It is clear the individuals who work and manage the park take great pride in it, and take care of the facilities wonderfully!).

My husband and I just went on a camping trip to Coopers Rock and loved our time there! The views…read morewere beautiful, the trails were well cleared, and the bathroom at the main overlook site was one of the cleanest bathrooms we've ever been in. The Ravens Rock trail has a beautiful outlook with cool, large rock structures. And the rock city trail was super fun too! The free maps of all the trails are very helpful. Some blazes could've been marked a bit clearer and some signs for trail heads could be adjusted as well. There is limited parking at trail heads so be sure to get there early to beat the crowds. The trading post was a fun addition with Coopers Rock merch, stickers (our personal fav), some local goods, firewood, some camping supplies, and even some ice cream treats! Overall we had a really nice stay!

I just found out that there's a dog park there. I started taking my 15 year old dog and she loves…read moreit. There's a side for dogs 30 lbs and over and a side for smaller dogs. There's a picnic table under a tree and a fountain to fill water bowls. I just wish I had known about it sooner. There are only 2 problems that I can see. They need to build a set of steps from the road to the enclosures. It's a small hill but it's very steep and if the grass is damp it's very hard to get up and down without falling. The other thing is I wish there was a port a john closer. Other than that my dog and I are loving it. Thank you Washington Park.

This park is more expansive than you first realize, and has several venues, and great classics like…read morethe Main and Stone Pavilions, which can hold events for hundreds of folks at a time. The trees and trails meandering throughout the Park make for a relaxing walk in the woods. The pool and ball fields provide plenty of recreational activity opportunity.

This was a pretty and easy hike with a very cool water hole. We went with our kids and friends and…read moretheir kids.

Lovely dog friendly trail with easy access to pristine water. The Rock Furnace trail provides…read moreaccess to a clean stream which flows into a larger river with a lot of kayaking activity.

A friend and I rode the Great Allegheny Trail from Myersdale, PA down to Cumberland, MD. It was a…read more33 mile ride overall, but we really enjoyed it. Now, neither of us are Lance Armstrong wanna-bes. We're old farts riding plain bikes. From Myersdale, the first 9 miles is uphill, but since it's an old railroad, it's a very gentle uphill slope. The highlight of this part of the trip was riding across the Keystone Viaduct. On our uphill leg, our average speed was 8.0 mph (from my GPS). At the end of the 9 miles uphill, we arrived at the Eastern Continental Divide. From there, it's ALL downhill all the way to Cumberland. We overheard someone else on the trail say that on the downhill side, "you don't need pedals, all you need are brakes." My GPS said our average speed during the downhill leg was 13 mph. There are a few spots along the way you could get on the trail and just do the downhill portion. We saw some families with kids doing the downhill portion, too. As an alternative, you can ride the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad from Cumberland up to Frostburg, then ride your bikes from Frostburg 16 miles back down the hill to Cumberland. Lesson learned: We had planned to stop and have lunch in Frostburg, MD. When we arrived in Frostburg, we found there was a nice rest area for bicyclists along the side of the trail with maps of the town, park benches, bicycle racks, and port-a-potties. Unfortunately, the path goes by at the BOTTOM of the side of the hill that Frostburg is on. In order to go into town for lunch, we would have had to either bike or hike half a mile UP a steep hill. We decided not to do that. We just ate snacks that we had packed in our backpacks and continued onward to Cumberland. The scenery was beautiful. There were three long tunnels to go through. Each tunnel was either short enough it didn't need to be lit up because you could see light from either side, or had installed lighting (the Big Savage Tunnel was really long but well-lit inside). The trail is well marked with mile markers along the way so you can tell how far you are from Cumberland, MD. The trail ends right in downtown Cumberland next to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad train station and right where the C&O Canal Towpath begins. We had a great time and I would love to come back here and do the downhill portion with my kids sometime. I think we might try the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 1-way trip up to Frostburg then ride our bikes down the hill. Side note: Why do I give it 4 stars instead of 5? Only because I try to reserve my 5 star ratings for restaurants that are truly spectacular, and I don't want to inflate my average grade with a rating for a bike trail. :-)

We did it! My husband Rick & I biked the 130+ miles of the Great Allegheny Passage Trail between…read moreCumberland, MD & McKeesport, PA! I'm sore now! We'd been planning this trip for years as we are avid bike trail riders, and it's been our goal to bike the entire extant length of the trail. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Great Allegheny Passage, it's the ultimate in rails-to-trails conversions. It occupies the roadbeds of several abandoned rail lines including the Western Maryland, the B&O, and the P&LE. It connects with the C&O Towpath in Cumberland, and it's planned to connect with the present South Side/Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh. Thus a bike ride all the way from Pittsburgh (Station Square) to Washington, DC will be possible. So my brother Paul drove us down from Pittsburgh to the Canal Heritage Center, a former railway station in Cumberland. This also doubles as the train station for the Western Maryland Scenic Railway. And yes, because my husband's a railfan, I've ridden their trains. We arrived in Cumberland in the afternoon and from the Canal Heritage Center, we set out for the initial 17 miles to Frostburg. Because we had to carry overnight bags and our food supplies (I'm a type-1 diabetic) we borrowed some kiddie trailers from a friend. Rick carried the overnight bags and I carried the coolers. The initial ride from Cumberland to Frostburg is also the steepest. The Great Allegheny Passage rises from an elevation of about 500 feet in Cumberland to about 1600 feet in Frostburg. But the climb isn't that bad as the right-of-way remains an active rail line at this point. It's not like you're climbing Sycamore Street in Pittsburgh or Lombard Street in San Francisco. Here the line follows the Western Maryland Scenic Railway. The State of Maryland had considered forcing the rail line to discontinue so they could build the trail. But then they realized how much money visitors bring into Cumberland and Frostburg because of the train line. The scenic highpoint here is Helmstetter's Curve, where the trail and rail line arc around the Helmstetter farm in a "U" pattern. It's a smaller version of Horseshoe Curve in Altoona. Just beyond that the train line and the trail share Brush Tunnel. The tunnel is lighted, but trail riders are warned not to enter when a train is approaching. The WMSR runs both diesel and steam locomotives. Guess which one we saw? I'll give you a hint--Railfan Rick was slightly disappointed. We arrived in Frostburg and spent the night at the Trail Inn. We set out again the next day and just north of Frostburg, we hit the Borden Tunnel. This tunnel is NOT lighted. You MUST dismount your bike and walk it through. This tunnel is over 900 feet long, so headlights or a working flashlight are recommended. Around milepost 20, we came up to the Mason-Dixon Line, the boundary between MD and PA and the boundary between North and South (read your American history). A 1900 foot bridge connects the two sides. We turned to the north and went thru Big Savage Tunnel. This tunnel is 3,294 feet long, the longest on the GAP. It is lighted, but please take note. The Big Savage Tunnel is CLOSED between late November and early April and there is NO DETOUR route around it. So plan carefully if you intend to bike or hike in the area between those dates. Not long after leaving the Big Savage Tunnel, we came to the highest point on the Great Allegheny Passage at 2392 feet. We'd climbed 1892 feet since leaving Cumberland! A few miles later we hit Deal and from that point, it's all downgrade to McKeesport. Deal has restrooms, if you need to make a pit stop. Continuing northbound we made our way to Sand Patch, PA. Here we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide, marked by a short tunnel, which demarcates two watersheds of the Atlantic Ocean: the Gulf of Mexico watershed and the Atlantic Seaboard watershed. Much of the Great Allegheny Passage parallels the Amtrak Capitol Limited route and I've seen signs marking the divide while riding the train. We'd been following Flaugherty Creek and north of Sand Patch, we crossed the 909 foot long Keystone Viaduct. We made our way into Meyersdale, PA and as this is the largest town en route, we stopped at Food Lion for some supplies including steaks for our dinner tonight. We also made a rest stop here as we've been pedaling for about 20 miles with another 45 to go. Besides, I needed a snack for my blood sugars. Meyersdale was first settled by the Monongahela Indians and has hosted the PA Maple Syrup Festival for the past 60 years. --Continued in Part Two below--

Calvin our guide was perfect. Full of historical knowledge and kept us safe (unlike the unguided…read moreblue rafts we saw tip approximately twenty people in the river) . The staff start to finish (especially on the phone during booking) were friendly & professional. We did a private 4 person with lunch tour and it was well worth the extra cost. Highly recommend this company.

My family of 6 had a great time! Class 3-4 rapids, but Hayley was FANTASTIC!!! In fact, I tried…read moreto adopt her after our trip! The other guide, Gary, and our safety kayakers, Phil and Trout, were also very fun and handled my daughter's abuse like pros:). I highly recommend!

My daughter and I enjoyed a lovely Saturday morning walk/hike here! I had never been to Montour…read moreTraul but I'll definitely be back. Everything was very well marked and maintained. Lots of options of varying levels and water, ecosystem or built objects of interest. A new favorite!

Great trail for running. Some areas feel safer than others as with any trail. It's always clean too!read more

This place is trash I was quoted at $85 for two new rims and a brake adjustment the guy there said…read morethere was much more wrong that what was actually wrong so he could get more money out of me these people are crooks stay away from there

They have fixed two flat tires on my grandsons bike and they did a wonderful job. They squeezed me…read morein which I really appreciated. Very reasonable prices and also a large selection of bikes on display

Its a nice bike trail but its worth noting its an uphill slope if youre going from Freeport to…read moreButler. Its barely noticable but coming back down is a much easier ride.

Beautiful green lush landscape surrounds trails through this area. Be careful in case you…read moreencounter ticks.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is not only a collection of industrial…read moreartifacts, it's also got a great hiking trail, the 6 to 10 Trail System. The 6 to 10 Trail System is the only way you can see many of the attractions here. But for serious hikers, it's also a great trail for just plain ol' hiking. In fact, the NPS website encourages use of the trail, stating that not only is it good for your health, but also for the health of the national parks. The 6 to 10 Trail System is so named because it connects Engine House #6 and the site of Engine House #10. It's not a circular trail, so it's same-way-out/same-way-back walk. Mountain biking is allowed on east end of the trail only, from Muleshoe Bridge to Engine House #10. But before hiking, I warn you--there are some steep slopes along the way and you should have some experienced hikers in your group. In our foursome, the experienced hikers were the females (Susan and Cindy). Rick and Bob, not so much--but in all fairness to my guy, he's quite the cyclist. Comfortable clothing and sturdy hiking shoes are a must. The 6 to 10 Trail Systems follows the route of the old railroad, but it's not really a rails-to-trails. Not all sections are on the roadbed of the old railway. The construction of a portion of "New" US #22 saw to that! We began our hike upon leaving the Lemon House. We proceeded eastward, coming up on the site of Incline #6, a portion of which has been reconstructed. From Incline #6, we go down the slope and pass under the westbound lanes of "Old" US 22. The next site we encountered was the Skew Arch Bridge. With the construction of the highway, it is actually located between the eastbound and westbound lanes. The bridge can be reached via the trail or the mowed incline. After the bridge, the trail briefly curves to the west before heading east again. There aren't many sites to see on this portion of the trail, but it is a beautiful hike in through here. The trail hugs the park boundary along here before curving to the north again. Ah, here begins the fun part of the trail. The slopes get really steep in through here and they'll test your hiking abilities. But hey, Cindy and I are veterans and if we can tackle the Firelane Trail and the Lower Riverview Trails in Frick Park, we can handle this. "C'mon boys, ya gotta keep up with us! We've barely begun the hike!" I shouldn't talk--I know I'm gonna have to test my sugars soon. We then pass an historic culvert and then come upon the ruins of Engine House #6 and Incline #6. The next site we saw was Muleshoe Bridge. This is a stone arch bridge over "Old" US 22 and is presently closed to hikers and cyclists. This was also built on the Alegheny Portage Railroad right of way, but is much newer. The Pennsylvania Railroad built a freight train bypass line here in 1904 and it remained in use until 1981. The Pennsylvania called it the New Portage Line and a portion of "New" US 22 was built on that too. There is a tunnel up in Gallitzin called New Portage Tunnel and it remains in use by freight and Amtrak trains today. New Portage Tunnel is the sole remaining railroad operating part of the New Portage Line. But back to the Muleshoe Bridge, here is where the bike trail begins. We then passed some more historic culverts and a shout out to my Yelp friend Mike O--no these aren't the "Culverts" where you can get yummy frozen custard. We also passed the Hollidaysburg Reservoir. The State Gamelands are located along here. During hunting season, it is recommended that you wear bright clothing, even though hunting is not allowed on the trail itself. Further east of here, the bike trail splits from the hiking trail. If you're on foot, you will want to remain on the hiking trail. The trail passes the site of Incline #9, although nothing remains. It's mostly a pleasant hike from here and about a mile from the trailhead, the hiking and biking trails rejoin. The Foot of Ten Trail veers off to the left just east of Historic Culvert #1692 and goes to the Engine House #10 ruins at Foot of Ten. The ruins was the end of the line for us too and we decided to take a snack and water break before heading back. Remember, there are no restroom facilities anywhere on the trail. There are no places anywhere on the trail or in the park to obtain food and beverage. Make sure you have an adequate supply before setting out. There are no trashcans along the trail. This is because the park doesn't want furry little creatures scavenging through them. So whatever you bring in, make sure you take out. Finally this is an out-n-back trail. So hike to your abilites. Remember, if you make it to the end, you're really only 1/2 way done because you have to hike back. Thanks to my husband Rick for help in writing this.

I am training to hike the grand canyon to the bottom and back in one day next month, so this trail…read moreis good prep for that because by starting at the lemon house, you go down first then up. Parts of the 6 to 10 are much steeper than what I will encounter in Arizona. I only did the hiking portion of the trail, as the rest is just flat. Well marked, with a couple exceptions, as I actually veered off the trail unknowingly once. This trail will test your hiking abilities, and will disappoint few serious hikers.