OHIO RIVER TRAIL COUNCIL

Steel City Loop — Coraopolis, PA to Coraopolis, PA

Pittsburgh Steel City Loop 62 or 82-Mile Bike Ride

Come out for a ride! This is part of a trail ride series sponsored by the Ohio River Trail Council (ORTC) intended to bring awareness to the wonderful trails in our quad-state region (Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia). All cyclists are welcome for this rails-to-trails, moderate-paced ride!

Join us, as we visit the Montour Trail, Three Rivers Trail, Steel Valley Trail, and the Ohio River Trail for a metric century ride. We meet just outside of Coraopolis, Pa at the Coraopolis/Moon Townnshp Trailhead (Montour Trail Mile-0), and ride a 62 or 82-mile ride loop returning to Coraopolis, Pa.

Trailhead

Coraopolis/Moon Township Trailhead - The trailhead is actually located in Moon Township near Groveton, just east of Coraopolis. 42 Montour Coketown Moon, PA 15108.

GPS: 40.504876, -80.145176GPS:

This trip could also be started at the Pittsburgh International Airport or anywhere along the loop.

Features and Points of Interest:

The Montour Trail follows a portion of the old Montour Railroad, which was built between 1877 and 1914 to link the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad with the region's many coal mines. Forming a semi-circle around Pittsburgh, the Montour Railroad also connected other railroads, including the Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Union. Both the trail and the railroad are named for the creek that runs alongside.

At the Montour Trail Boggs Trailhead there is camping available for trail users. if you continue to McDonald, Pa., the impressive McDonald Trestle spans more than 900 feet. Here the Montour Trail connects directly to the Panhandle Trail, which travels east to Collier Township and west to Weirton, West Virginia.

Located on the north side, Bicycle Heaven, established in 2011, is the United States largest bike museum.

Along the Three Rivers Heritage Trail in Hays a pair of Bald Eagles are now nesting within 5 miles of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River near where the famed Carnegie Steel Homestead site once existed. Industrialization beginning in the 19th century led to extensive unregulated pollution of the rivers, which decimated fish populations that eagles feed on. For example, during a survey on Monongahela River in 1967, one scientist could find only one bluegill. As efforts to clean the waterways took effect over the past 30 years, 76 species of fish have been found in the Monongahela. Experts say it has probably been more than 250 years since Bald Eagles last nested along Pittsburghe three rivers. As recently as the mid-lg80s, there were just a few remaining nesting Bald Eagles pairs anywhere in Pennsylvania. This year marks 30 years since the reintroduction of Bald Eagles in Pennsylvania. With the help of the Canadian government, several agencies brought bald eagle chicks back to their states to reintroduce Bald Eagles. Today, Pennsylvania boasts more than 250 nests. The Hays bald eagle pair first started nesting along the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh in 2013. A nest was observed by workers at the Keystone Iron and Metal Company The pair successfully hatched one eaglet but on June 6, 2013 a strong storm blew the nest down and the parents successfully fledged the eaglet on the ground. The follow year the Hays eagle pair build a new nest in the location it is today. A camera was installed on this new nest in December of 2013 and can be viewed here.