Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail (Pennsylvania) Weather Forecast & Planning Guide

Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail, Forest, Warren Counties, PA, 4.29 miles

Trail Facts

Length4.3 mi

Elevation1090 to 1109 ft

Grade0.1% average

Shade cover62%

Primary surfaceBallast gravel

Secondary surfaceDirt, Grass

Activities

E-bikingBikingWalkingRunningHikingBirdingFishingKayakingSwimmingHorseback ridingCross-country skiingand more

Connects To

None

Managed By

Allegheny National Forest (U.S. Forest Service)

Trivia

The corridor was chartered on April 17, 1861 as the Warren and Tidioute Railway and, after several mergers and a foreclosure, ended up part of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Oil was struck near Tidioute at the mouth of Gordon Run in 1860, one year after Drake's well at Titusville, and the railroad was built to carry the boom's oil out of the valley.
The Forest Service also signs this corridor as the Tidioute Bird Trail, and a trailside marker welcomes birders into the national forest section.
A waterfall spills down Grover Run beside the trail about a mile and a half from the Tidioute trailhead.

About This Trail

The Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail follows the west bank of the Allegheny River south from the borough of Tidioute, tracing an abandoned Pennsylvania Railroad grade for a little over four miles to the Warren and Forest county line near Jones Run. It is a wild, simple corridor: rough ballast, dirt, and grass underfoot, heavy tree cover overhead, and the river alongside nearly the whole way. The grade is rail-flat, but roots and coarse surface favor a mountain bike or simply hiking instead. The trail dead ends at private land, so plan an out-and-back from the single trailhead at the lower end of Tidioute.

RailTrailWx TIPS

Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

The trail is known for excellent birding and is periodically closed to protect bald eagle nesting habitats; check with the Allegheny National Forest before a trip.
The Tidioute trailhead has parking for only 4 to 5 vehicles, and there is no bathroom.
If you plan to bike this trail, bring a mountain bike with shock absorbers. The trail surface is grass and dirt with occasional pockets of tree roots, rocks, and ballast. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, the first 3 miles are relatively clear of fallen trees and mowed. However, after 3 miles, expect to climb either over or under trees if you wish to continue to Jones Run.
This is an out-and-back: the trail dead-ends at private land near the county line about 4 miles south of Tidioute at Jones Run.
The views of the Allegheny River are spectacular on a sunny day. Some sections of the trail allow you to climb down to the river, where you can take your shoes off and wade into the clear water or skip a stone or two.
The trail hugs the Allegheny River, with a steep bluff to its west-south-west. Thus, the trail is relatively protected and shaded in the afternoons by the terrain itself. In summer, the tree canopy is very dense.
Because of the shade and terrain orientation, the trail may be soggy and take considerable time to dry after rains. Riding a bike could feel like pedaling through wet concrete in places.
Expect river fog and pooled cool air on clear mornings; it can be noticeably later burning off here than up on the plateau.
Don't forget bug spray and keep an eye open for snakes!

-Cory

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Enjoy the Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail!

Climate

Excellent biking days per month, 2011-2025 climatology

History

Before the oil boom, the forested hills around Tidioute fed a lumber economy: timber was rafted down the Allegheny each spring to Pittsburgh, and mills lined the waterways. A year after Drake's 1859 strike at Titusville, oil was found near Tidioute at the mouth of Gordon Run, and the town boomed, incorporating as a borough by 1862. The railroad followed the oil. The line was chartered on April 17, 1861 as the Warren and Tidioute Railway, renamed the Warren and Franklin Railway in 1864, and consolidated in 1868 into the Oil Creek and Allegheny River Railway, which completed the connection in 1867 and let oil leave the valley by rail instead of by barrel and riverboat. After a foreclosure sale in 1875 the line passed to the Pittsburgh, Titusville and Buffalo Railway and eventually into the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railway and the Pennsylvania Railroad. After the tracks were lifted, the grade south of town within the Allegheny National Forest became a public rail-trail, known variously as the Tidioute Riverside RecTrek Trail, the Tidioute Bird Trail, or the Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail. The Tidioute Lions Club helps keep up the trail today, and recreation has replaced oil and lumber as the river's main economy.

Trailheads

TidiouteMILE 0Directions

Nearby trails

Queen City Trail

1.5 mi·PA

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Oil Creek State Park Trail

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East Branch Trail

5.2 mi·PA

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RailTrailWx TIPS

Tidioute Rec & Trek Trail

Your comfort. Prognosticated.

The trail is known for excellent birding and is periodically closed to protect bald eagle nesting habitats; check with the Allegheny National Forest before a trip.

The Tidioute trailhead has parking for only 4 to 5 vehicles, and there is no bathroom.

If you plan to bike this trail, bring a mountain bike with shock absorbers. The trail surface is grass and dirt with occasional pockets of tree roots, rocks, and ballast. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, the first 3 miles are relatively clear of fallen trees and mowed. However, after 3 miles, expect to climb either over or under trees if you wish to continue to Jones Run.

This is an out-and-back: the trail dead-ends at private land near the county line about 4 miles south of Tidioute at Jones Run.

The views of the Allegheny River are spectacular on a sunny day. Some sections of the trail allow you to climb down to the river, where you can take your shoes off and wade into the clear water or skip a stone or two.

The trail hugs the Allegheny River, with a steep bluff to its west-south-west. Thus, the trail is relatively protected and shaded in the afternoons by the terrain itself. In summer, the tree canopy is very dense.

Because of the shade and terrain orientation, the trail may be soggy and take considerable time to dry after rains. Riding a bike could feel like pedaling through wet concrete in places.

Expect river fog and pooled cool air on clear mornings; it can be noticeably later burning off here than up on the plateau.

Don't forget bug spray and keep an eye open for snakes!

-Cory