Honor Your Loved Ones
There’s a new way to support the Trail: Honor Bricks are a wonderful expression of respect and appreciation for an important person, pet or event in your life. We call them Honor Bricks because they memorialize those living and gone from our lives. Click to learn more about this tangible tribute, available for Cecil and Peters Township locations.
Hot off the press!
The first of its kind: Montour Trail now has an official cycling jersey, for sale from AeroTech Designs. AeroTech is donating a portion of sales to the Montour Trail Council.
Montour Trail has received a four star rating from Charity Navigator. That means if MTC aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
Save the Date: MTC Annual Meeting
Where did summer go? It’s time for MTC’s Annual Meeting & Dinner! The event, November 3 starting at 5 pm, features keynote speakers Roy Weil and Mary Shaw, who are decades-long rail-trail advocates. The agenda includes dinner, program, and the 2024 ballot count. Be sure to turn in your reservation and ballot by October 26.
We’re a bit short of our $350,000 goal.
Coming This Fall
The weather is changing, and so is our schedule. We have a number of activities going on that you might want to participate in:
- South Hills ribbon cutting, marking the latest continuous stretch of non-road-sharing trail
- Penny Days, a chance to teach the next generation the value of stewardship, at South Park, Peters Township, and Bethel Park locations
Gateway Engineers Tour the Montour
Tour the Montour bike ride raffle tickets and related merchandise are available trailside this summer and at special events. Look for dates on Facebook.
In addition, the event committee is looking for volunteers to staff related activities before, during and after the Tour. Check out the list of dates and times, and volunteer if you are able.
This fundraising bike ride is on September 21, and registration closes soon. Don’t miss out!.
Safety First
It’s been a long, hot summer. We received many complaints this year from Trail users being buzzed by speeding ebike riders and misbehaving youngsters. “Take a photo of the offender and report the incident to the police” is our advice, as captured in this TribLive news article.
This Outstanding Rail-Trail is in Your Back Yard!
The Montour Trail is a multi-use, non-motorized recreational pathway around Pittsburgh, the country’s longest suburban rail-trail. It is privately owned and operated. The main line extends ~47 miles; branch routes increase length to 60+ miles. The relatively flat half-loop stretches from Coraopolis (along the Ohio River) to Clairton (on the Monongahela River). A northwest branch connects directly to Pittsburgh International Airport.
The Montour connects to other rails-to-trails in western Pennsylvania and beyond: the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the C&O Canal Towpath, a completed trail system that stretches 300+ miles from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.; the Panhandle Trail — a converted railroad line that stretches from Weirton, West Virginia, to Carnegie. And this local resource is part of U.S. Bicycle Route 50, which runs east-west and, when completed, will span the country.
Currently, 46 miles of the Montour Trail are continuous with several short gaps in the southeast section.
The Trail is easy to get to by car, as there are access areas and trailheads every few miles along the route. Pittsburgh’s rapid transit system runs near some of these, and it is bike friendly. The Trail is ADA accessible as well.
