Thursday, June 27, 2019

Spring Creek Horse Trails, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

There is a network of old roads and trail in the Spring Creek area of south eastern Allegheny National Forest.  The campground at Kelly Pines makes a great place to start - either at the gated road in the campground, or on the trail across the road from the entrance.  Note that Kelly Pines is a good place to camp as well.  It's an equestrian campground with two sites reserved for non-equestrian campers (which often go unused).

Kelly Pines Campground info

The trail system encompasses quite a few old roads, linking to the dead end FS 130, and others near Duhring.  There are also singletrack trails, including the one opposite the campground, which leads up the hill and to an amazing area of HUGE (building sized) boulders.

Gated entry road from Kelly Pines Campground.

One of the non-equestrian campsites at Kelly Pines.

Getting ready to ride.

Typical abandoned road heading east from Kelly Pines.


Intersection.

There are abandoned roads in the area that intersect with the designated trails, but are not part of the system - leaving room for additional exploration.  The photo above has the horse trail to the right (see the sign with the painted horse?) and a seldom used abandoned road dropping off to the left.



Watch for snakes.


Active oil well along the route.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Moraine State Park mountain bike trails, Pennsylvania






Moraine State Park is located about 5 miles east of New Castle, Pennsylvania.  The North Shore area features a paved bicycle path and dedicated mountain bike trails.  These mountain bike trails are some of the more technically challenging trails in western PA, with many difficult rock features.

Moraine State Park information

Map of the mountain bike trails at Moraine SP.