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Named Pennsylvania’s 2026 Trail of the Year, the Pine Creek Rail Trail (PCRT) runs 65 miles from Wellsboro to Jersey Shore, dropping roughly 700 feet along its route. Merging with the Pine Creek around 9 miles from Wellsboro, the trail dives into the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, a majestic and time-worn gorge between Ansonia and Blackwell. The route strings together several quaint villages including Blackwell, Cedar Run, Slate Run, Cammal, Jersey Shore, and Waterville. Rock outcrops, side-canyon waterfalls, and railroad artifacts are common sights along the trail. Outside of the Grand Canyon along the lower half of the trail, the views are magnificent, often featuring the shimmering Pine Creek in the foreground and old, weathered mountains in the background. Several crossings of the Pine Creek are made on stately truss bridges, offering sweeping views of the river and landscape. The trail is quite remote with ample opportunities to see an abundant variety of flora and fauna. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources of Pennsylvania meticulously maintains the trail, making it accessible to everyone for a wide range of activities.
Pine Creek Rail Trail
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the Pine Creek Rail Trail has about 110 to 156 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, e-biking, running, biking, walking, and birding, with May, September, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the Pine Creek Rail Trail!
In half of past years, color along the Pine Creek Rail Trail peaks October 11 to 21, typically around October 16. The trail has 63% deciduous coverage, with the majority being red maple, sugar maple, northern red oak, and black cherry.
Before the railroad, the Pine Creek valley was already timber country. Pine Creek, also known by its Native American name, Tiadaghton, carried white pine and hemlock downstream to sawmills as loggers cleared the surrounding hills throughout the 1800s. As lumbering and coal mining expanded, the Jersey Shore, Pine Creek and Buffalo Railway built a line along the creek, opening it in 1883 to move timber, coal, and passengers through the gorge. After several reorganizations, the route became part of the New York Central Railroad and later Conrail, which continued service until operations ended in 1988. The tracks were removed soon after, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources began converting the corridor into a trail. The first section opened in 1996, and the full Pine Creek Rail Trail was completed in stages, with the final segment from Ansonia to just north of Wellsboro opening in 2007. Today, DCNR manages the trail through Tioga and Tiadaghton State Forest lands. In 2025, the trail extended 3 miles from north of Wellsboro to the Patterson Trailhead Facility in Wellsboro proper, officially completing the full 65-mile route from Wellsboro to Jersey Shore.
Turkey PathMid State TrailGolden Eagle Trail
