Trail Alerts
Topic of the Week: Winter Trail Use
T
he Montour Trail is open to visitors year-round, even in winter. Since snow/ice removal might damage the trail’s limestone surface — and we don’t have enough volunteers or resources to perform such maintenance — users should be prepared during bad weather conditions. Take appropriate caution at all times and locations, especially on bridges, in tunnels, and at low-lying areas.
When there are cross-country ski tracks set, avoid walking over them as a courtesy to the users who worked hard to create them.
Volunteering Is Good for the Soul
There’s always something interesting going on within the Montour Trail Council. If you want to become involved as a volunteer, now is the time to look into it. 
Even in winter, we need volunteers for all sorts of activities, from event planning to trail maintenance, web/newsletter writing to grant writing, construction project management to front-office filing … for an hour, a day or an avocation.
If you’re interested — or want to start a conversation — send an email to volunteer@montourtrail.org and tell us what interests you. An MTC member will get back to you as soon as possible.
The Montour Trail stretches 60+ miles around Pittsburgh — the longest suburban rail-trail in the U.S. The railbed’s bridges and tunnels played an important role in the region’s coal-mining history.
Walk. Run. Bike. Camp.
If you live near Pittsburgh, one of the the nation’s outstanding rail-trails is right in your back yard!
The Montour Trail is a multi-use, non-motorized recreational pathway around Pittsburgh, the country’s longest suburban rail-trail. 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.
Scenic beauty
Restored bridges
Historic tunnels
4-season access
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.
Montour Named to PA Top-Ten Trails List
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, January 2021
How GAP Transformed a Region
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, May 2020
Montour Greenway Expansion
Tribune-Review, November 2019
Montour Trail Named Best in the ‘Burgh
Pittsburgh Magazine, July 2020
Great American Rail-Trail Coming
Post-Gazette, May 2019
30 Years Championing Outdoors
Tribune-Review, March 2019
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.
