Snow Shoe Rail Trail Weather & Planning Guide

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Snow Shoe Rail Trail, Centre County, PA, 13.64 miles

Trail Facts

Length 14 mi

Elevation 1384 to 1564 ft

Grade 0.4% average

Shade cover 74%

Primary surface Coarse gravel

Secondary surface Crushed gravel, Ballast gravel, Dirt

Activities

E-bikingBikingWalkingRunningHikingBirdingHorseback ridingSnowmobilingATVand more

About This Trail

The Snow Shoe Rail Trail follows the old Beech Creek Railroad grade across the Allegheny Plateau in northern Centre County, from the village of Clarence west past Gillentown to the closed Viaduct Bridge above Moshannon Creek. The Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association runs it as a shared corridor: walkers, cyclists, and horses use it free, while registered ATVs and snowmobiles ride on a membership sticker. The grade is rail-flat under deep forest canopy. The four miles nearest Clarence carry a packed aggregate surface; beyond Gillentown the bed is mostly original ballast that suits fat or wide tires only. Highlights are the Black Moshannon Creek crossing, the ruins of the Gorton coke ovens, and the 1,277 foot Peale Tunnel.

RailTrailWx TIPS

Snow Shoe Rail Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

The corridor runs under near continuous forest canopy, so it stays shaded most of the day.
The trail runs through many deep cuts made by the railroad, which have naturalized into beautiful stretches of lush flora. Sunshine in these cuts is limited, so they run cooler and damper than other sections of the trail. The trail bed itself may also be muddy through them.
The trail trends east northeast to west southwest. A west or southwest wind is a headwind toward the tunnel and Viaduct and a tailwind home to Clarence.
The grade is almost flat, with only about 200 feet of total climb across the whole distance, so pace is set by the surface, not the hills; beyond Gillentown plan on rough ballast.
The 1,277-foot Peale Tunnel is unlit; carry a light and expect it to hold cold air and ice near its entrances long after the rest of the trail has thawed. You will have to walk your bike through the tunnel, as the ground is littered with sizable rocks and pools of water. Wear your helmet too in case a rock decides to fall while walking through.
The Viaduct Bridge has been closed since 2013. This section of the trail ends there; do not plan to cross Moshannon Creek toward Winburne.
Motorized use needs a Snow Shoe Rails to Trails membership sticker, and ATVs and snowmobiles share the bed year round; ride to the right and expect traffic on weekends.
While this trail can be ridden by any bike, it is definitely best suited for a mountain bike or a bike with wider tires or shocks. If you have neither, lessen the pressure in your front tires to absorb the occasional ballast you'll run over, and of course practice heads-up riding.
This is not a highly visited trail by cyclists or other non-motorized users. That said, it is worth experiencing. The cuts, lush forest, tunnel, and abandoned bridge are all quite scenic and conjure up loads of nostalgia as you pass through ghost towns and New York Central history.

-Cory

Trivia

Workers boring the Peale Tunnel from both ends met near midnight on October 30, 1883, after starting the east portal that June.
The Beech Creek Railroad was a Vanderbilt project: William H. Vanderbilt of the New York Central financed a syndicate of coal operators to build it, and the Central leased the line for 999 years starting in 1890.
The Clearfield Bituminous Coal Company signed a contract to ship its coal exclusively over the new railroad before a rail was laid.
Upwards of 250 coke ovens once burned at Gorton Heights; the red earth along the trail still marks where they stood.
Snow Shoe coal came from the Kittanning seams and made good coke, which fed blast furnaces including the Bellefonte Furnace and Nittany Furnace.
The Moshannon Creek viaduct at the trail's west end was rebuilt in 1902 and 1903 and stands 110 feet above the water.
The village of Peale, beyond the tunnel, was planned in May 1883 as a company town for the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Company.
The association that runs the trail started with 85 members in 1999 and has grown to nearly 4,000 members from 10 states.
Linked with township roads and the Bloody Skillet trail, the rail bed anchors an 80-mile riding system.
The last mining of note on the Centre County side of Moshannon Creek ended when the Penn No. 5 mine closed in 1950.

Climate

Excellent biking days per month, 2011-2025 climatology

In a typical year the Snow Shoe Rail Trail has about 108 to 146 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, e-biking, running, biking, birding, and walking, with May, September, and October the best months.

RailTrailWx Comfort Scores, for your activity.

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.

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Enjoy the Snow Shoe Rail Trail!

Peak Fall Color Climatology

Calendar of the typical peak fall color window along this trail

In half of past years, color along the Snow Shoe Rail Trail peaks October 10 to 19, typically around October 14. The trail has 61% deciduous coverage, with the majority being red maple, northern red oak, and white oak.

History

Coke ovens at Snow Shoe and Gorton once fed blast furnaces across Pennsylvania. Mining on the Snow Shoe coal field grew after 1859, when the Bellefonte and Snow Shoe Railroad opened from the east. In January 1883 the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Company agreed to ship exclusively over a new line then building west from Jersey Shore. That line became the Beech Creek Railroad. William H. Vanderbilt of the New York Central bankrolled it to break the Pennsylvania Railroad's grip on Clearfield coal. Contractors began boring the Peale Tunnel in June 1883 and holed it through on October 30. The village of Peale rose beyond the tunnel as a company town. Two miles farther west the line crossed Moshannon Creek on an iron viaduct 110 feet high, opened in November 1884 and rebuilt in 1902 and 1903. The New York Central leased the Beech Creek in 1890 for 999 years. Coal, clay, and coke moved east for decades. By 1950 deep mining on the Centre County side had ended. Conrail ran the last train through Peale in 1993 and pulled the rails by mid 1994. Headwaters Charitable Trust railbanked the corridor. In 1999 local riders formed the Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association and opened the bed as a shared trail. In 2012 the trust deeded the trail to the association. The Viaduct Bridge closed in 2013, and today the rail bed ends at its east abutment.

Trailheads

ClarenceMILE 0Directions
Gillentown TrailheadMILE 3.4Directions

Connects To

None

Managed By

Snow Shoe Rails to Trails Association

Nearby trails

Bellefonte Central Rail Trail

4.2 mi·PA

Explore Forecast

Houtzdale Line Trail

9.4 mi·PA

Explore Forecast

David S. Ammerman Trail

11 mi·PA

Explore Forecast

RailTrailWx TIPS

Snow Shoe Rail Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

The corridor runs under near continuous forest canopy, so it stays shaded most of the day.

The trail runs through many deep cuts made by the railroad, which have naturalized into beautiful stretches of lush flora. Sunshine in these cuts is limited, so they run cooler and damper than other sections of the trail. The trail bed itself may also be muddy through them.

The trail trends east northeast to west southwest. A west or southwest wind is a headwind toward the tunnel and Viaduct and a tailwind home to Clarence.

The grade is almost flat, with only about 200 feet of total climb across the whole distance, so pace is set by the surface, not the hills; beyond Gillentown plan on rough ballast.

The 1,277-foot Peale Tunnel is unlit; carry a light and expect it to hold cold air and ice near its entrances long after the rest of the trail has thawed. You will have to walk your bike through the tunnel, as the ground is littered with sizable rocks and pools of water. Wear your helmet too in case a rock decides to fall while walking through.

The Viaduct Bridge has been closed since 2013. This section of the trail ends there; do not plan to cross Moshannon Creek toward Winburne.

Motorized use needs a Snow Shoe Rails to Trails membership sticker, and ATVs and snowmobiles share the bed year round; ride to the right and expect traffic on weekends.

While this trail can be ridden by any bike, it is definitely best suited for a mountain bike or a bike with wider tires or shocks. If you have neither, lessen the pressure in your front tires to absorb the occasional ballast you'll run over, and of course practice heads-up riding.

This is not a highly visited trail by cyclists or other non-motorized users. That said, it is worth experiencing. The cuts, lush forest, tunnel, and abandoned bridge are all quite scenic and conjure up loads of nostalgia as you pass through ghost towns and New York Central history.

-Cory