Montour Trail — Canonsburg, PA to Bethel Park, PA

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Montour Trail 20 to 28-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. We meet at the Tandem Connection, Hendersonville, Pa (Mile-27), and ride to Bethel Park before returning to the Tandem Connection.The route traverses the Greer Tunnel. Lights are highly recommended, as the tunnels are dark. You should walk your bike through the tunnels if you do not have lighting. Along the Montour Trail at the Y (GPS: 40.287219, -80.056518), bear left onto the Bethel Park Branch. Upon returing an optional longer ride includes continuing past the Tandem Connection to Cecil Park via the National Tunnel for an additional 4-miles for a total roundtrip ride of 28-miles.

Trailhead

The Tandem Connection Trailhead - 5 Georgetown Road, Canonsburg, PA 15317

GPS: 40.299407, -80.151720

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.

The Arrowhead section of the Montour Railroad was not built until 1912-1914. Horses and manual labor cleared and leveled the site. The railroad transported coal 55 miles from mines in Mifflin and Library. Sweeping west and North to a "coal laundry" facility in Allegheny County, the train carried coal to coke ovens, then on to the Ohio River. Its cars also hauled wood to nearby lumberyards, and served general stores along its route. In 1975, the P&LE Railroad purchased the tracks; two years later the local portion was abandoned. Peters Township purchased the 100 acres of railroad right-of-way in 1985. The trail runs from Route 19 to Brush Run Road.