About

We are working to close several short gaps in the the south. The all-volunteer Montour Trail Council (MTC) adds new sections each year as it works to complete the route.

The rail-trail is paved with a relatively smooth surface of crushed limestone, which makes it ideal for all forms of non-motorized use: bicycling, walking, running, cross-country skiing, dog-walking and nature appreciation. In certain sections, horseback riding is permitted, but not on the improved Trail surface.

The converted railway bed is steeped in history: It began life as the coal-carrying Montour Railroad (MTR) in the late 1800s. In its heyday, MTR trains served 27 mines and carried 7 million tons of coal per year. Coal fired the steel mills of the Pittsburgh area, the product that built our nation and saw us through two world wars.

Dotted with refurbished railroad truss bridges, replacement spans that are engineering marvels, and lengthy tunnels that eliminate steep grades, the Trail offers views of beautiful rural landscapes, wooded corridors, flora and fauna. The suburban towns along the route provide many opportunities for refreshment and diversion.

You can access the Trail via 25+ trailheads, conveniently located every few miles. These gateways offer parking (including handicapped), water fountains (in season), benches, picnic shelters and  portable toilets (mostly in season). In addition, the Trail hosts a number of campsites for through-travelers bicycling to the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and C&O Canal routes to Washington, DC.

Several branches provide access beyond the main line. The Westland Branch extends from Venice to Westland, a 4.1-mile stretch that offers rural beauty and solitude. It runs parallel to an active railroad line. The Bethel Park Branch runs 2.8 miles through forested and residential neighborhoods. The Airport Connector is a combination trail/on-road link that runs about 6 relatively flat miles from ~MP 8 to the airport parking lot, making Pittsburgh more accessible to bicycle tourists.

A portion of the Trail within Peters Township is called the Arrowhead Trail, owned and maintained by that township. When it was built in 1985, the township planted 500 trees along the 4-mile route, providing a suburban wooded corridor that links Peters neighborhoods with parks.

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The Montour Trail connects in McDonald (MP 17.3) to the Panhandle Trail that stretches 29 miles between Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and Weirton, West Virginia. Its original train corridor once connected Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis.

At the Montour’s southeastern terminus in Clairton, you can take the Clairton Connector route (urban, on-road) about 5 miles to McKeesport, which links to the  the Great Allegheny Passage: Turn north at this junction and you can travel about 15 miles to downtown Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River; turn south to follow the Youghiougheny River to the Allegheny Mountains and beyond.

The Montour Trail connects Pittsburgh International Airport to the GAP and the C&O Canal Towpath, a trail system that stretches 300+ miles from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC. Inside the airport, baggage claim hosts an area where bicyclists can disassemble/reassemble their bikes pre-/post-flight.

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Survey results do make a difference: Based on user comments in 2016, we added more year-round portable toilets, directional/distance signage along the Trail, and water fountains.

That survey also listed questions about etiquette, and responses reinforced the idea that we can all make improvements in this area, from bicyclists’ passing and speed to pet-leash enforcement to walking/running two-to-three abreast. As a result, we developed safety and etiquette guidelines that encourage respectful behavior.

The 2021 survey revealed that top user concerns include clear trailhead signage, year-round toilet facilities and adequate parking access — topics that will be prioritized as MTC updates it strategic plan. You can review the latest survey results here.

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• In 1992, the Trail was awarded the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Award.
• The Montour Trail received a Three Rivers Environmental Award in 1994 in the category of Community-Social Organization. That same year, the MTC obtained two 100-foot-long truss bridges to replace Montour Railroad structures lost to unwanted removals.
  

  The Montour Trail was honored as Pennsylvania’s 2017 Trail of the Year. Then-MTC president Ned Williams reflected, “We always circle back to where we started — which is you, the hard workers and strong supporters who are MTC’s heart and soul. Our prestigious award is really for ‘Trail Volunteers of the Year.'”

• In 2000, the Quicksilver Bridge was installed, an incredible achievement undertaken by Trail volunteers.
• Trail improvements in 2003 included the 970-foot-long McDonald Viaduct — a $1.8 million outlay.
• The first Annual Tour the Montour bike ride was staged in 2003. Today, it is the MTC’s largest fundraising event.
• In 2004, the Montour Trail was designated a National Recreational Trail, an honor bestowed on existing trails that connect people to local resources and improve quality of life.
• MTC completed and opened the connector between the Montour and Panhandle trails in 2007. It built three bridges in the highly prized Cecil section and asphalt-paved the rough National Tunnel floor the following year. Lighting was installed inside that tunnel — the Trail’s longest — in 2012.
• The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy named the Montour Trail its Trail of the Month in March 2015.
• In 2016, the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition began developing a 1,500-mile trail network through America’s Rust Belt and industrial Appalachia, which includes the Montour Trail within its framework.
• In 2017, the Montour Trail was named Pennsylvania’s Trail of the Year, citing its quality, benefits to the region, and strong volunteer network and partnerships. That same year, the Montour Trail was named a part of U.S. Bicycle Route 50, which runs east-west and, when completed, will span the country.
• In 2019 and 2020, readers of Pittsburgh Magazine named the Montour Trail Best in the ‘Burgh in the hiking/biking category.
• The Covid pandemic of 2020 brought unusually high traffic to the Trail, calling resurfacing crews into action in Cecil, Peters Township and Fort Cherry. A half-mile of new mainline trail was installed in South Park Township, reducing on-road detours to under 5 miles. To ensure users health and safety, many events were cancelled or staged virtually.
• Today, the MTC continues to complete the Trail as it gains new right of way or where replacement structures are required — at a cost of $12,000 in materials to resurface a mile of existing trail, as much as $2 million to renovate a viaduct.

See more about the MTC’s efforts to build the rail-trail

Read about the MTC’s founding fathers.