Biking the Clarion - Little Toby Rail Trail

The Clarion-Little Toby Rail Trail is an 18-mile crushed stone trail that runs from Ridgway to Brockway, Pennsylvania, following the right-of-way of the 1885 Ridgway-Clearfield branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad and later was operated by the Penn Central Railroad. The trail passes through Pennsylvania Game Commission land and is near the Allegheny National Forest. The segment we biked ran alongside the lovely Toby Creek which can be seen sporadically through the generally dense, lush tree and bush cover as in this shot below.



Since the trail is an old railway bed, the grade is very gradual despite the mountains on each side of the river valley you follow. Various sights along the trail speak to the former communities and industries the railroad served, and informational signs mark these locations.

For a bit of excitement, watch for the marked trail that takes you to the swinging bridge and venture across it. We were informed by a local resident that there used to be a railroad spur her that connected the sets of tracks on each side of Toby Creek, and the stonework that supported the tracks now supports the swinging bridge which was last reconstructed in 1986.




You can a real good glimpse of Toby Creek from the center of the bridge.

A map of the trail can be found here and includes all the interesting sights along the trail.

The official trail webpage is here and the trail map is here.

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