Rail trail guide

Roaring Run Trail

Armstrong County, PA

A 4.64 mile rail trail in PA.

Length: 4.64 mi
Total climb: 224 ft; one way, in the uphill direction
Elevation: 807 to 967 ft
Shade cover: 65%; 0% open to the sun
Surface: Gravel (smooth; crushed), asphalt
Grade: Gentle climbs
Managed by: Roaring Run Watershed Association

E-biking
Biking
Walking
Running
Hiking
Birding
Fishing
Kayaking
Cross-country skiing

Connecting trails: Rock Furnace Trail, Apollo's Kiski Riverfront Trail

Trivia

Charles Dickens rode a packet boat through the Salina and Edmon area on the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal in March 1842 and wrote admiringly of the walk along the towing path.
Bridge abutments for the canal towpath that crossed Flat Run still stand about half a mile northwest of the Edmon trailhead.
Mileposts numbered 2 and 3 along the trail are left over from the Pennsylvania Railroad's Apollo industrial extension.
The Trux mine discharge beside the trail was considered one of the worst abandoned mine water discharges in Pennsylvania before it was piped, terraced, and revegetated.
The Rock Furnace spur passes the stone remains of a cold blast iron furnace built by James W. Biddle in 1825 that went out of blast in 1855.

Planning a ride? Check the hourly forecast.

Trail map

Roaring Run Trail runs about 4.6 miles up the Kiskiminetas River from Apollo to the village of Edmon in Armstrong County. The first three miles are a wide, rail-grade crushed limestone path with the river on one side and a wooded hillside on the other, passing canal-era stonework, Pennsylvania Railroad mileposts, and the reclaimed Trux mine discharge site. The last mile toward Edmon leaves the old grade, dropping and then climbing hard enough that many riders turn around instead. A short spur near Flat Run reaches a creek waterfall, and the Rock Furnace Trail branches up Roaring Run itself.

History

Before any rail was laid, this bank of the Kiskiminetas was salt and canal country. Brine wells worked the riverbank in the early 1800s, and the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, begun in 1826, ran 104 miles from Johnstown to Pittsburgh along the north side of the river, carrying salt, coal, and farm produce between the 1830s and the 1860s. The Kiskiminetas valley was steep enough that builders used slack water pools behind timber crib dams instead of digging and reinforced the towpath embankment at Edmon with drystone retaining walls that survive today. In 1854 the Western Pennsylvania Railroad reached the far bank and the canal era closed; the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the canal in 1857 and converted parts of the route to rail. Most recently the corridor carried the Pennsylvania Railroad's Apollo industrial extension, hauling coal from the Leechburg mining operations, and a coal washing and loading plant stood near milepost 3.2. After abandonment, the Kovalchick Corporation acquired the line for salvage in 1984, and the Roaring Run Watershed Association approached the company in 1989 about a trail. Kovalchick donated the first 1.5 miles of right of way and the trail opened in 1991. Reclaiming the Trux mine discharge, once rated among the worst in the state, allowed construction to continue upriver, and the trail now reaches nearly five miles to Edmon inside a 652 acre preserve.

RailTrailWx Tips

The Roaring Run follows the right bank of the Kiskiminetas River. This section of the river flows through a deep valley southeast to northwest before it empties into the Allegheny River. Given this orientation, summer mornings can be moist and cool before things warm up nicely in the afternoon.
If riding, there is a very steep ascent as you approach Edmon. Unless you are a cyclocross champion, expect to dismount and walk your bike up the hill, as the gravel is loose enough to lose traction.
Tree canopy averages 65 percent over the trail and roughly a third of the route sits under deep shade. Only about 3 percent of the trail is fully open to the sky. Thus, expect cooler and moist conditions in this forested river valley trail.
The corridor sits low beside the river with high ground on both sides. Thus, cold air tends to flow off the ridge lines and pool in the valley overnight. When the cool air interacts with the moist river, dense fog tends to develop, particularly during late summer and early fall.
For train enthusiasts, there is an active railroad line across the Kiskiminetas River. Expect your outings along the Roaring Run to be occasionally infused with the rumbling sounds of industry meandering its way through Allegheny watershed.

Getting there

Apollomile 0Find on map
Edmonmile 4.64Find on map

Towns along the way

Apollomile 0
Edmonmile 4.64

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Hour by hour scores for heat, wind, rain, and shade on Roaring Run Trail.

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History

RailTrailWx Tips

The Roaring Run follows the right bank of the Kiskiminetas River. This section of the river flows through a deep valley southeast to northwest before it empties into the Allegheny River. Given this orientation, summer mornings can be moist and cool before things warm up nicely in the afternoon.

If riding, there is a very steep ascent as you approach Edmon. Unless you are a cyclocross champion, expect to dismount and walk your bike up the hill, as the gravel is loose enough to lose traction.

Tree canopy averages 65 percent over the trail and roughly a third of the route sits under deep shade. Only about 3 percent of the trail is fully open to the sky. Thus, expect cooler and moist conditions in this forested river valley trail.

The corridor sits low beside the river with high ground on both sides. Thus, cold air tends to flow off the ridge lines and pool in the valley overnight. When the cool air interacts with the moist river, dense fog tends to develop, particularly during late summer and early fall.

For train enthusiasts, there is an active railroad line across the Kiskiminetas River. Expect your outings along the Roaring Run to be occasionally infused with the rumbling sounds of industry meandering its way through Allegheny watershed.

Roaring Run Trail

Trivia

Trail map

History

RailTrailWx Tips

Getting there

Towns along the way

Plan your ride with the hourly comfort forecast

Further reading

Nearby trails

Roaring Run Trail

Trivia

Trail map

History

RailTrailWx Tips

Getting there

Towns along the way

Plan your ride with the hourly comfort forecast

Further reading

Nearby trails