Looking for a great biking adventure near Pittsburgh? Check out the Montour Trail!
Disclaimer - This is a sponsored blog post by the Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency. As always, my opinions are unbiased and my own. I want to thank Washington County for their generosity!
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Montour Trail Overview
The Montour Trail runs from Allegheny County to Washington County, with over 60 miles of trails, including multiple branch trails. This is an amazing trail to bike south of Pittsburgh, with a well-maintained trail, frequent amenities, and great places to stop along the way. It’s easy to see why over 400,000 people use this trail every year and it was named Pennsylvania’s Trail of the Year in 2017.
Read on for more information about planning your trip, where to stop along your route, and how to get there!
Table of Contents
- About the Montour Trail
- Best Stops along the Montour Trail
- Planning Your Trip
- FAQs about the Montour Trail
About the Montour Trail
The Montour Trail is a bike trail that runs from Clairton to Coraopolis with 47 miles of continuous trail. It also has some side trails that extend the trail to over 60 miles and offshoot to other areas, including the Pittsburgh International Airport and connect to other trails, like the Panhandle Trail or the GAP.
For the most part, the surface of the trail is crushed limestone. Some sections are paved, but they are few and far between. I recommend using tires that are wider than traditional road bike tires on this trail for this reason.
There are over 25 trailheads available to access the Montour Trail throughout Allegheny and Washington Counties. These trailheads offer handicap parking, water fountains, picnic tables, and port-a-johns. See below for more detailed information about the amenities at each trailhead.
The Montour Trail can also be accessed by public transportation. Both the bus and the T connect to specific trailheads and accommodate bicycles. For more information on bringing your bike on the bus or the T, check out Bike PGH’s great resources on bikes & public transportation.
Riding the Montour Trail was a super fun experience. I didn’t have a lot of experience riding on crushed limestone before (only on the small Panhandle sections) and as a former road rider, I wasn’t sure I was going to like the rougher surface. However, my cyclocross bike handled it like a champ and it was super fun to explore something different.
There were also tons of people walking or running on the trail as well, if you’d like to explore that way too. The trail offers horseback riding on one section in Cecil Township. Make sure to check out the trail rules for where you can horseback ride or use an ebike, as both methods of transportation are limited to specific sections of the trail.
Looking for another awesome bike trail near Pittsburgh? Check out my guide to the Panhandle Trail, which connects to the Montour Trail!
Best Stops Along the Montour Trail
One of the best parts of biking the Montour Trail is all of the unique and interesting stops along the way!
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Tandem Connection
I love a business that combines two things that I love and a bike shop plus ice cream shop right alongside the bike trail is a winner. This two for one shop offers giant ice cream scoops, along with bike maintenance and rentals. Their parking lot is also huge, so it’s a great place to park to end your ride with a sweet treat. The trail goes right by the back of the shop so no detour needed.
For more information about other bike shops along the route, check out the Montour Trail website list of bike shops.
Trailside Campgrounds
Some of the trailheads offer first come, first serve camping, if you’re looking to do a bikepacking trip. Most people do this as they’re tacking the GAP trail between Pittsburgh and Washington DC. It’s amazing that such great amenities are totally free!
Note that campsites are first come, first serve, so make sure to have a backup plan during high season when the campsites might be busy! The campsites are only available for people who are biking or hiking through the trail – you cannot use the sites if you arrived via motor vehicle.
The campsite locations are:
- Boggs
- Mile Marker: ~11.5
- Amenities: One campsite with a platform, port-a-potty (March – Nov) nearby, posts for three hammocks, no water available
- GPS Coordinates: 40.434501, -80.2908825
- Kurnick
- Mile Marker: ~25.5
- Amenities: five campsites with fire ring and picnic tables at each site, port-a-potty and water fountain available nearby (in season)
- GPS Coordinates: 40.312613, -80.17184
- Gill Hall
- Mile Marker: ~40.5
- Amenities: fire ring, picnic area, port-a-potty (year round). No water available nearby
- GPS Coordinates: 40.280215, -79.955210
If you want to visit the trail, but would prefer a real bed and a shower after biking, check out the map below for other places to stay near the Montour Trail!
Bike Through the Tunnels
The Montour Trail has three tunnels, two in Washington County and one in Allegheny County. These tunnels are remnants of the railroad that came before the trail and are each unique in their own way.
The Enlow Tunnel
This Allegheny County tunnel is located around mile marker 7. It runs 575 feet so is the second longest tunnel on the trail. The trail makes its way through a wooded valley along this stretch.
The Greer Tunnel
The Greer Tunnel is 235 feet long and located near mile marker 29. However, it’s located near two different bridges making it a great stop for scenic views. The tunnel was recently renovated and restored
The National Tunnel
This 623 foot long tunnel at mile market 25 is a highlight of the trail. It’s so long that you can’t see the light at the end of it (pun intended) so bring a headlamp or a bike light. On a hot day, it’s lovely to bike inside of the cool tunnel. Just be careful as not everyone comes prepared with a light and it can be hard to see inside. In winter, the drips from the tunnel’s ceiling can create icy patches on the trail, so it may be worthwhile to get off and walk your bike in cold conditions.
Vintage Caboose and Signs
Near Peters Township, you’ll be surprised by a vintage caboose and old machinery. This Norfolk Southern Railway Caboose was restored by Tom Robinson, who owns the warehouse covered in vintage signs nearby. This stop is a cool nod to the trail’s railroad history. Just past the caboose is a warehouse covered in vintage signs. This warehouse is a trip down memory lane, as you can see old brand signage from many years ago. I had no idea this was there and it was so cool to stumble upon.
McDonald Viaduct
This giant bridge near mile marker 18 is the Montour Trail’s longest bridge. See amazing views below you, including the Panhandle Trail and the beautiful landscape. The bridge itself is also amazing, at over 1,000 feet long. Just be sure to pay attention to the trail as much as the views, as it is narrower here as you cross the bridge.
Little Free Libraries
I’ve never thought about biking with a book before but the Montour trail offers six Little Free libraries along the trail. I love how community oriented that makes the trail feel and will definitely plan to drop off some of my old books next time I am on a trailhead with a LFL.
Love exploring Washington County? Check out my guide to the best trails in Washington County!
Planning Your Trip
When planning to bike the trail, you’ll have to think about the distance you want to bike and what parts of the trail you want to cover.
An out and back is easiest to complete logistically. You can park at one trail head, bike out, and return the way you came to your car. I always recommend picking a place to park where you can do something fun after to reward yourself for all the hard work. If doing a point-to-point, you’ll need to
Here are a few recommended itineraries for biking parts of the Montour Trail!
Out and Back from Tandem Connection
- Distance: while an out and back can be any distance you want, I recommend 20 miles going westbound
- Highlights: Doing ten miles out and back from Tandem takes you through the National Tunnel and over McDonald Viaduct, two of my favorite sections of trail
- GPS Coordinates for Parking: 40.299577, -80.151998
- Notes: This is my favorite way to bike the trail, because I ALWAYS want to end with some ice cream. While I have stopped at Tandem on my way back to my car, biking is not very fun after eating two giant scoops of ice cream so I’d rather just end with ice cream
Out and Back Options from McDonald
- Distance: ~22 miles out and back to Greer Tunnel, ~18 miles out and back to the National Tunnel
- Highlights: McDonald is an awesome trail town. Both options above will take you through the McDonald Viaduct and the National Tunnel as well as Tandem Connection and then if you pick the longer itinerary, you’ll also get to see the Greer Tunnel.
- GPS Coordinates for Parking: 40.367437, -80.234625
- Notes: This requires biking on the Panhandle Trail to the Montour/Panhandle Connector to then reach the Montour Trail, so it’s directionally less straightforward than some of the other itineraries. However, McDonald is such a cool trail town that it’s worth the extra bit of logistics to be able to start and end your ride here.
Point to Point from Boggs to PRT Library Station
- Distance: 24 miles
- Highlights: You get to see everything in Washington County, including the McDonald Viaduct, Tandem Connection and both the Enlow and Greer Tunnels.
- GPS Coordinates for Parking:
- Boggs – 40.435063, -80.290555
- PRT Library Station – 40.287631, -80.021176
- Notes: By ending at Library Station, you can take public transit back to Pittsburgh, making this a great ride for those without a car (if you can get dropped off at Boggs).
- Alternate Route: If you need to take public transit the whole way, do a 22 mile out-and-back from PRT Library Station to the National Tunnel and back. This way, you can see both tunnels and Tandem Connection, but not have to worry about a car.
Point to Point Overnight Adventure
- Distance: 47 miles
- Highlights: literally everything PLUS getting to use the campsites provided specifically for the Montour Trail cyclists
- GPS Coordinates for Parking:
- Montour Road – 40.456138, -80.178458
- Clairton – 40.306225, -79.885129
- Notes: Depending on how fast you are, you could bike the entire thing in a day. But then you’d miss out on the camping experience. If you wanted to still camp and were ok with long mileage days, you could park at Montour Road, bike east to Clairton, turn around and bike back to either Gill Hall campsites (~54 miles on day 1, ~41 miles on day 2) or Kubrick (~68 miles on day 1, ~26 miles on day 2). This is a lot of milage, but would save the hassle of dropping a car or figuring out how to get back.
What’s great about the Montour Trail is that you can really choose your own adventure based on what you feel like that day. The above itineraries are just suggestions based on my experience and the Montour Trail website has a ton of great resources to plan your trip.
Looking to explore more of Washington County? Check out Mingo Creek County Park, a great place to hike!
FAQs about the Montour Trail
Where can I find a map of the Montour Trail?
For a paper copy of the Montour Trail map, visit any of the trailheads as most of them are well stocked with paper maps. The Montour Trail website also has a great pdf map of the trail, as well as a lot of information about each trailhead. You can also go onto the website and look at their GIS map, which has interactive layers depending on what you’re looking for
What bike trails does the Montour Trail connect to?
The Montour Trail connects to the Panhandle Trail via a less than one mile connector trail. You can also access the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP Trail) via the Clairton Connector.
Is the Montour Trail paved?
The trail is mostly crushed limestone, with a handful of paved sections. I don’t recommend road tires, but rather hybrid, mountain, or cyclocross tires.
I love this trail so much! How can I support it?
The Montour Trail Council is a 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to maintain the trail. They are always looking for volunteers and you can learn more via their website. You can also support via donating or becoming a member. It costs as little as $35/year for an individual member and your support can go a long way for maintaining the trail for future generations.
Are there bathrooms along the Montour Trail?
There are port-a-potties at almost every trailhead along the trail. In my experience, even in summer months, they were clean and well-maintained. The Montour Trail Council pays to maintain these toilets so please leave them clean and don’t dump trash.
Overall, the Montour Trail was a great way to spend some time outside on a bike! I highly recommend checking out this trail.
Updated September 7, 2025