montour trail questions
07-08-21, 09:33 AM
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montour trail questions
Hello All! What is the condition of the Montour Trail from Gilmore Station to Clairton? I know this section has been pieced together for some time and was hoping someone can shed some light on if it is fully completed? Thanks and happy riding!-Jill
04-01-22, 11:16 AM
#2
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I'm not native to the area so I don't know which part would be considered Gilmore Station but live off the Bethel Park spur and my wife and I have many sections of the Montour/Panhandle/GAP trails, including a couple rides to Clairton from our house a few times. The Piney Fork and Gill Hall sections have had a few additions made in the past few years. There are really only three significant gaps between the Bethel Park spur and Clairton Park, and two are not impacted by traffic as they do not cross major thoroughfares:
Here's a link to the map, but as of April 2022 it's still about a year out of date:
https://montourtrail.org/plan-a-visit/map/
1: Wood Street to Stewart Road in Library. It is not listed on the official map but appears as a dotted black line that extends from Pleasant Street to Wood Street in Library. This is a partial limestone/coarse gravel trail that was put in along with a bridge over newly constructed Summit Drive by Ryan Homes. The coarse gravel is a bit jarring if you riding anything but a mountain bike with a plush suspension. At Wood Street you are supposed to turn left on to Brownsville Road and riding on the shoulder is not an option. There is a business there with no trespassing signs that draw attention to themselves with adversarial language. An option is to just cross Wood street and riding through a vacant lot between a storage facility and Piney Fork Creek but again that's best for a mountain bike - and even then you'll have to dismount and walk/carry your bike along a narrow path over a drainage cauldron. I did this and lost a water bottle in the process.
2: Triphammer Road. You have to ride up a pretty steep hill and turn left to ride about 40 yards down Triphammer Road before resuming on the Montour Trail. At the former end of that section they build a crossing over Piney Fork Road and built a new bridge and section of trail that runs parallel only to stop just before the gate to the Green Man Tunnel (the one up above that is filled with rock salt.)
3: Green Man/Corvette Tunnels. It's actually not as treacherous on a bike as it is in a vehicle but drivers are overly aggressive nonetheless. You will need to run a couple hundred yards on Piney Fork Road and through the Corvette Tunnel. After that you have to ride Piney Fork Road until the intersection of Snowden Road where Piney Fork Road becomes Peter's Creek Road. From then on you can ride on the trail up to and beyond the crossing of Gill Hall Road all the way to the village of Large just prior to crossing #4
4: Rt. 51 (Clairton Blvd): this is the big one and there's no messing around. Don't even attempt to ride on the shoulder of 51; it's 4 lane divided highway and I'm pretty sure it's marked "Motor Vehicles Only." Cross at the light at Oak Road and walk your bike along 51 until you come to the next light where Peters Creek Road resumes and leads you to the PAT Transit Park and Ride bus lot. From there on
That's as far as I have gone, except for a single excursion on the main street through downtown Clairton and across the Clairton/Glassport Bridge. The signage says that you have to share the road all through Glassport until you come to the Yough river and join up with the GAP trail.
Here's a link to the map, but as of April 2022 it's still about a year out of date:
https://montourtrail.org/plan-a-visit/map/
1: Wood Street to Stewart Road in Library. It is not listed on the official map but appears as a dotted black line that extends from Pleasant Street to Wood Street in Library. This is a partial limestone/coarse gravel trail that was put in along with a bridge over newly constructed Summit Drive by Ryan Homes. The coarse gravel is a bit jarring if you riding anything but a mountain bike with a plush suspension. At Wood Street you are supposed to turn left on to Brownsville Road and riding on the shoulder is not an option. There is a business there with no trespassing signs that draw attention to themselves with adversarial language. An option is to just cross Wood street and riding through a vacant lot between a storage facility and Piney Fork Creek but again that's best for a mountain bike - and even then you'll have to dismount and walk/carry your bike along a narrow path over a drainage cauldron. I did this and lost a water bottle in the process.
2: Triphammer Road. You have to ride up a pretty steep hill and turn left to ride about 40 yards down Triphammer Road before resuming on the Montour Trail. At the former end of that section they build a crossing over Piney Fork Road and built a new bridge and section of trail that runs parallel only to stop just before the gate to the Green Man Tunnel (the one up above that is filled with rock salt.)
3: Green Man/Corvette Tunnels. It's actually not as treacherous on a bike as it is in a vehicle but drivers are overly aggressive nonetheless. You will need to run a couple hundred yards on Piney Fork Road and through the Corvette Tunnel. After that you have to ride Piney Fork Road until the intersection of Snowden Road where Piney Fork Road becomes Peter's Creek Road. From then on you can ride on the trail up to and beyond the crossing of Gill Hall Road all the way to the village of Large just prior to crossing #4
4: Rt. 51 (Clairton Blvd): this is the big one and there's no messing around. Don't even attempt to ride on the shoulder of 51; it's 4 lane divided highway and I'm pretty sure it's marked "Motor Vehicles Only." Cross at the light at Oak Road and walk your bike along 51 until you come to the next light where Peters Creek Road resumes and leads you to the PAT Transit Park and Ride bus lot. From there on
That's as far as I have gone, except for a single excursion on the main street through downtown Clairton and across the Clairton/Glassport Bridge. The signage says that you have to share the road all through Glassport until you come to the Yough river and join up with the GAP trail.
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