From award-winning trails to expansive parks and lakes, June 7’s National Trail Day will highlight Washington County’s many opportunities to walk, hike, bike or run close to home.
Exploring Washington County's many trails? Show us! Take pics of your bike, hike, dog walk and more, use the hashtag #GoWashCo and tag us @visitwashingtoncountypa for a chance to be featured on our website and socials!
The county is home to 2 rail-trails, the Montour Trail and the Panhandle Trail. Both trails are ideal for all forms of non-motorized use: bicycling, walking, running, dog-walking and more. The 63-mile-long Montour Trail was designated as the 2017 Trail of the Year for its significant annual user numbers – totaled at 400,000 and growing – and strong volunteer network dedicated to maintaining the trail dating back to the its conversion from a railroad line in the 1980s. As the longest suburban rail-trail in the country, the Montour Trail is popular for both its crushed limestone surface and connection to the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Townpath that leads to Washington, D.C, making it a favorite among runners and bicyclists looking for some long-haul action.
The Panhandle Trail is beloved by locals and visitors for its paved surface and direct route to Oakdale in Allegheny County or Colliers in West Virginia. Once a railroad line providing routes to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis, the 29-mile trail is a pathway through the history of areas like Cecil and McDonald, where evidence of the oil boom of the 1800s can be seen by trail users.
Washington County is also home to the Monongahela River Trail, the newly opened National Pike Trail in Claysville, and several other trails at parks like Hillman State Park, Mingo Creek County Park and Cross Creek County Park.
In addition, the county boasts plenty of community parks that have their own walking or hiking trails, playgrounds, picnic areas, basketball and pickleball courts, disc golf courses and even a bicycle skills park.
These trails are not just well-loved by bikers, walkers, runners and joggers, either: they are destinations for photographers, nature lovers, cross-country skiiers and more. Historians will also find delight on the county’s trails; trails like the National Pike Trail are converted from railroad lines that date back to pre-Civil War times.
Washington County’s parks and trails, in addition to highlighting the county’s green spaces and natural beauty, are significant economic contributors when considering the locally-owned businesses that thrive from trail traffic. Notable trailside businesses include family-owned bicycle shop Tandem Connection on the Montour Trail, small-batch distillery Heist Spirits off the Panhandle Trail, or the Monongahela Aquatorium, one of the nation’s only outdoor waterside aquatoriums, located along the Monongahela River Trail.
The trails also inspire farmers markets, community events and fundraisers, and even a pancake breakfast celebrating National Trail Day at the McDonald Trail Station just off the Panhandle Trail in McDonald.
With so much to explore, those looking to get some fresh air and celebrate National Trail Day in southwestern Pennsylvania should consider Washington County their destination for anything and everything outdoors.
