Pennsylvania


Great Allegheny Passage (gaptrail.org) in Pennsylvania | Photo courtesy RTC
Great Allegheny Passage (gaptrail.org) in Pennsylvania | Photo courtesy RTC

In Pennsylvania, the Great American route is hosted by trails that showcase the state’s history and heritage, from its days before the country formally came into being to its heyday as an industrial powerhouse. Beginning at the Maryland–Pennsylvania border on the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage (gaptrail.org), the route travels to Pittsburgh and through downtown on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail.

Plans to complete the Great American through Pittsburgh also align with the vision of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition—one of RTC’s TrailNation™ projects—to connect Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York via a developing 1,500-mile trail network.


The “Great American” Route Through Pennsylvania


RTC’s route analysis defines the preferred route of the Great American Rail-Trail through Pennsylvania as 172 miles and nearly 95 percent complete. Click the links below to view full trail descriptions on TrailLink.com.

Pennsylvania | Economic Potential of the Great American Rail-Trail, 2022
Pennsylvania | Economic Potential of the Great American Rail-Trail, 2022 | Download report

Download Pennsylvania Economic Impact


Route Reveal Celebration


Live from McDonald, Pennsylvania, along the Panhandle Trail


Trail Stories about Pennsylvania


Be a Part of the Movement to Complete the Great American


Like you, we can’t wait to see the Great American Rail-Trail vision come to life—but we can’t do it alone. Help us reach 1 million pledges for the Great American, showing the strength and solidarity of the trails community.

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