Pine Creek Trail

JERSEY SHORE, PENNSYLVANIA

I was here once before, back in 2020, and the opportunity to ride with friends presented itself. The stars sort of aligned in that it was my grandson’s only week this fall without high school football. So when the Prince William Cycling Club posted this road trip, I signed on.

When I rode five years ago, I rode the trail over two days. I parked in Jersey Shore, rode 30 miles until I found a parking area, then turned around and rode back. The next day, I went to the parking area and then rode to Wellsboro before heading back to my car, via the road on the return trip.

For this trip, we met in Jersey Shore and took a pre-arranged shuttle from Pine Creek Outfitters. Unlike my disaster shuttle experience in Jim Thorpe, Pa., in May, this one arrived on time and loaded our eight bikes on the trailer. We boarded a 15-passenger van for the hour drive to Wellsboro. And I got to ride shotgun.

I tried to remember this route since it was my return ride on Day 2 five years ago. But except for the one small town of Morris, it was as though I had never been here. But I was following my map on RideWithGPS as we drove, and it was exactly the route I took. Sometimes, when you ride in the opposite direction, it really is a brand new ride.

The driver was very nice, but I may have been the only one to notice since I was riding shotgun. When we unloaded, I think I was the only one to tip him. It was a fair tip if everyone tipped him. And if I saw that no one else tipped, I would have given him more. Sorry dude.

At the trailhead, I briefly rode off towards Wellsboro on a yet-to-be-opened section that will go into town. I was also adding an extra kilometer in case the route would be 99 km. It was chilly, 50/10 degrees, and overcast, although not as cold as the start to the New River Trail last week in Galax, Va. (Michele says it is pronounced GAY-lax).

The trail has a crushed limestone surface, which is only “gravel” in the smallest sense. It is very fine and easily rideable with 32 mm tires, which many road bikes have. The downside is that there is always dust, and there was some, but not nearly as bad as on the GAP and sections of the C&O Canal Towpath.

Swinging bridge over Pine Creek (No trespassing)

We had a few stops. I like to take photos and didn’t want the group to feel like they had to stop for me. They did a couple of times, but in other places I rode ahead or simply caught up.

I rode ahead to position myself for this photo.

Within the first 10 km we passed a couple of riders who were stopped admiring something. That something turned out to be a bald eagle. We would see a second one later.

The trail itself follows the Pine Creek. It is situated IN the gorge called the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. So, views you may normally get from heights you do not get on this trail. You are on a valley floor, which brings its own beauty.

There are just four trestles on this trail. When we came to the one at Glade Run, about halfway on the trail, it seemed unusually busy with small children. As we exited, we saw why: there is a campground here which looks very nice. The Pettecote Junction Campground offers traditional tent and RV camping as well as cabins and glamping options. It would be a perfect spot for two days on the trail – ride one direction and back to Jersey Shore or Wellsboro on one day, and ride the other on the second day.

Store at Glade Run. Closed for the season. The Moose should have told you.

We stopped at Wolfes General Store in Slate Run. The deli offered sandwiches that were too large for me. However, I did have a small backpack (mesh), and I should have eaten half and taken half with me.

Wolfes General Store (the trail is on the other side)

About 3/4 of the way, I started to get lightheaded. I stopped and got my gels from my backpack, and ate those. One was my in-case-of-emergency-break-glass one – a Danish gel from Cycelnerven last year in France. It was my last Danish gel and I really liked those. But I needed nutrition because I only bought a Snickers Ice Cream bar at Wolfes.

It’s always amazing when you get a pick-me-up from nutrition. Once I took on that gel, actually two, I felt good to the end.

I was displaying kilometers, and we had a couple of discussions about how far this ride would be. I thought I had read 62 miles, which is right at 100 km (62.14 to be exact). In fact, as we returned to the parking lot, one rider asked me how many miles were in 100 km. I told her 62.14, and she went to the end of the parking lot and back to make sure she had 100 km. My head unit was already displaying 101 km so I had nothing more to ride for.

Signage at a restroom (pit) on the trail

It was a great day. A light rain during the night kept the dust on the trail to a minimum. The temperature did warm up to 70 – perfect for a fall bike ride. My legs were trashed because yesterday I hiked the mountain in Duncannon – a very bad idea. My Whoop band agreed – my recovery was just 26% going into the ride.

This is a destination trail. I encourage everyone to ride it once. This was my second time, and with the campground option, I’m not ruling out a third ride – next year.

Barry on the trail. Already working on my winter weight. Photo Credit: Sunny Phuong

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LODGING – Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown, Williamsport
SHUTTLE: $60

JERSEY SHORE, PENNSYLVANIA

I read about this “destination” trail in Pennsylvania called the Pine Creek Trail. It is a 62-mile rail trail that runs between Wellsboro and Jersey Shore.

Start in Jersey Shore – An access trail to the rail trail

I love the open road. I don’t like traffic. There must be a happy balance between the two. Rail trails are especially nice if they are paved. Most are not. And this trail had a crushed limestone surface.

Caboose in Jersey Shore – probably the true start/finish

Most riders choose a hybrid bike to ride this trail. I chose my Trek Checkpoint, a gravel bike. I used road tires, 32 cc width. I think 25 cc would be ok too although 28 cc would be better. I do have 40 cc gravel tires with small knobby tread but decided that would be overkill for this trail. The 32s were fine.

Some of the scenery on the Pine Creek Trail

And I was right. Especially near the Wellsboro and Jersey Shore trailheads, the path is packed down pretty solid. In the middle, I found a bit more loose gravel but it was no problem for my road tires.

The literature often suggests that the trail runs downhill from Wellsboro to Jersey Shore. I’ve seen estimates as much as a 2% grade. I call nonsense. Let’s resort for a minute to facts.

Wellsboro	Jersey Shore	Difference (feet)
1,306′ elevation	604′ elev.	702′
Distance (mi.)	Elevation Change (feet)	Grade
62	702	0.21%

Elevation Chart (If you can’t do the calculation yourself check out this elevation grade calculator by Kenneth Alambra.)

The elevation change over 62 miles is only 702 feet. That computes to 0.2% grade. Or for those who claim it’s one percent downhill, they have overstated the grade by fivefold. For this cyclist this trail is flat. But I didn’t know that before riding.

I wanted to ride the entire trail. Ideally, I could ride 62 miles and meet my ride. That wasn’t an option because I was riding solo. Actually, it could have been an option had I researched this because there is an outfitter in Wellsboro that will drive your car to Jersey Shore for $120.

My options for riding the entire length would be: (1) ride 128 miles in one day; (2) Ride from one city to the other, overnight, then ride back the next day; or (3) ride out and back on two days to cover the distance.

I thought I might not have enough daylight or energy for the first option. In retrospect, I would have. I did not like the lodging choices for the second option plus I did not want to carry extra gear with me to overnight. So that left me with the third option.

End or start of the trail – Jersey Shore

I decided on staying in Williamsport as they had many good lodging options. I left home early yesterday morning and arrived in Jersey Shore at 1:00 p.m. I would ride half the trail today and half tomorrow.

Based on the erroneous claims that the trail is uphill to Wellsboro, I wanted to start in Jersey Shore and ride uphill so I would have the downhill on my return. Of course, I would soon learn that the trail is flat.

I decided to ride for two hours then turn around. I would return around 5:00 p.m. which was a good day.

Turnaround point for Day 1 and start/finish for Day 1

I parked next to a trailhead in Jersey Shore although I don’t think this is part of the trail. I think it is a one-mile access trail to reach the actual trailhead.

Once on the gravel trail, I had gone seven miles just south of Waterville. I came upon a woman on her bike and her adult son running. Except they were stopped and pointing in the woods. And there was a black bear. My day was made. My ride was made.

There are a lot of at grade road crossings. Although most are small roads that lead to cottages the trail does cross Pa. Rte 44 and 414 a few times as well. At each of these crossings, there were usually two gates to navigate. I soon discovered that rather than try to see how to get around the gates it was easier to see where the worn trail led. I thought that getting through these gates would slow my average more than riding on gravel.

There were three trestles in this section and I rode to the Black Walnut Bottom parking area (MP 37). I chose to ride for two hours then find the next or closest parking area where I would start today. So this was perfect. It looked like I had ridden 25 miles and averaged 12.5 mph – which is what I planned for a gravel trail.

I had stopped a lot for photos. And bears. So my moving average was certainly faster. When I turned around I felt dirty. Grit all over. The bike was dirty. I was dirty. And I saw the road beside the trail. I hadn’t studied the route ahead of time but felt the road would take me back to Jersey Shore.

I could not check my phone for a map. The Pine Creek Trail is in the Pine Creek Gorge which is more commonly known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. There is no cell service deep in this canyon. So I jumped on the road to see where it would take me.

Start of the trail near Wellsboro – a bridge to grass

Some of the time the road was pancake flat and stayed next to the trail. Other times it climbed high. It gave me views high above the trail that I would not otherwise see. But I was still in the canyon. I did not climb out of the canyon. To see the canyon from the top I would have to leave and go to one of the vantage points. That would not happen on this trip.

One lane bridge at Slate Run – MP 4. This can be seen from the PCT or ridden on Rte 414

My return trip went much faster. Part of it was because I didn’t stop as much for photos. But part was because I was on the road. When I checked my data at the end of the ride I had averaged 15.5 mph. I was shocked because I expected 12-13 mph since I was on a gravel trail, at least for half the time.

Today’s ride would be a little more complicated. I did not want to simply do an out and back starting at MP 37 (Black Walnut Bottom) which is where I stopped yesterday. I had studied one alternative route back by road.

Marsh Creek – Around MP 8. About one-half mile south of here the Marsh Creek flows into Pine Creek and begins the gorge, or Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

It was 50° when I rolled out at 9:30 a.m. Deep in the canyon the sunshine doesn’t reach some of the deeper parts until later. It would be one hour until I saw anyone on the trail. They were all keeping warm.

Swinging Bridge (Private Property) – Crosses Pine Creek to four cottages

I just rode. At Blackwell, a group of eight cyclists was just ahead. I recognized the 2016 Ride the Rockies jersey on one of them. Another referred to me as a serious cyclist. I guess I was because I would pass them and they would be out of sight 30 seconds later.

I’ve read other accounts about this trail and how to get to the nearby waterfalls. I just rode. My road cycling shoes are not that good for hiking and I don’t really see me switching pedals and shoes for this bike. It’s a gravel bike but it’s primarily my second road bike. I’ll probably never have cycling/hiking shoes unless I put platform pedals on this bike.

I reached the end of the trail near Wellsboro (three miles away) and decided to execute my road plan of returning. I knew I would be riding more than 70 miles and only had two bottles with me, one banana, and one pack of Skratch energy chews. I should have stopped in Wellsboro for something to eat.

One reason I did not was because of restrictions in place due to COVID-19. I didn’t go for a bike ride with a mask. Maybe a store or restaurant would have had a mask for me or wouldn’t care, but I just didn’t want the hassle.

And I really wanted to keep riding. And so I did. This little city is quite beautiful. I had a 2.5-mile climb leaving Wellsboro and then a sweet 10-mile descent to Morris. There I picked up Rte 414 and had another five miles before meeting up with the Pine Creek Trail again. Although when I did I would stay on the road.

The Road Less Traveled – Rte 414 high above the trail

I arrived back to the car having ridden 71 miles (the road loop was shorter). My average, like yesterday, was 15.5 mph. The surface is generally pretty hard. Having ridden it once I now know I could have averaged 15 mph and done an out and back for the entire length in 9-10 hours. But for that, I would stop for lunch.

Distance: 123.7 miles
Average Speed: 15.5 mph
Weight: 178

Tag: Pine Creek Trail

The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania