These descriptions are based on a visit in late October 2025.
The Armstrong Trail The current beginning of the Armstrong Trail, or at least the longest side branch along the Kiskimenitas River, is at the fork where two branches of Silicon Drive Meet between the towns of Schenley and Leechburg, PA. (40.64563107062955, -79.618880211536). There is no parking here, but it’s a good spot to be dropped off, and there is continuous trail from here to the northern terminus. It is also possible to ride to this trailhead on mostly quieter roads from Leechburg, where parking options and some other trail segments also exist. There is a bridge across the “Kiski” River at its confluence with the Allegheny that is part of the future Erie to Pittsburgh trail, and this will eventually link the Armstrong Trail with the Tredway Riverfront Trail. It currently dead-ends at the south side of the river pending the future construction of a bridge over a busy railroad corridor in that area.
The Armstrong Trail is generally well-maintained crushed stone. It is paved in a few areas where it passes through the towns of Rosston, Ford City and Kittanning (pronounced kitten-ang). The asphalt is not in great shape in some of these areas, with lots of major root heaves in Kittanning.
Starting from the above drop-off point east of Schenley, the trail initially passes through quiet areas, then along a series of RV camps (the permanent holiday variety), the old industrial area of Schenley, and riverside cottages of all types. The route becomes scenic again as you approach and pass Allegheny River Dam and Lock #6 (the first of 3 you will encounter). Between Rosston and the north side of Kittanning you will ride through riverside towns where industry persists or is a memory. Once you are north of the McMillan Rd Trailhead (also a trailhead for the short Cowanshannock Trail) the scenery becomes wilder again. After you cross Redbank Creek, you enter a railroad heritage area where you can ride under a giant coaling station tower. The nearby Brady Tunnel recently opened and creates a shortcut bypassing Brady’s Bend and the town of East Brady. The tunnel is lit by motion actived lights, but you'll need to ride about 5 mph to benefit from them. Bring a light. NE Ohio residents will be surprised to learn that the area is named after the same individual associated with Brady’s Leap in Kent. The last parking area on the trail is at Sarah Furnace where I arranged pickup. I didn’t explore the last 3.5 miles north of here. My route was 42 miles, so the total length is about 45-46 miles. https://armstrongtrails.org/
The Redbank Valley Trail This trail stretches from the confluence of Redbank Creek with the Allegheny River, to Brookville. I had planned to ride down-river from Brookville to the Redbank Creek Parking Area for the Armstrong Trail. As temperatures were in the 40s and hard rain was expected later in the day, I began at Yount Rd just south of Summerville (not a parking option; I was dropped off). This shortened my ride from 44 to 34 miles. The first 9 miles were scenic, while the next 4 miles were through the towns of Hawthorn, Fairmount City, and New Bethlehem. The remainder of the trail was mostly very scenic with lots of hemlock, white pine and rhododendron mixed with deciduous forest. There are two tunnels without lighting and no winter doors, and a campsite is provided near the upstream entrance of the second one. The trail surface is crushed stone in mostly good condition with bits of roadbed gravel exposed in places. The trail is often crowned in the middle, there are sharp drop-offs at the trail edge to river valley below, and the trail is mostly well above the valley. Don’t get distracted. A side spur heads north from Lawsonham towards Sligo. An excellent trail map with amenities and points of interest can be found at https://www.redbankvalleytrails.org/ Note that there are several maps shown and button links to others, including some for kayakers. You want this file : “RVTA-Map-2025Ed-Final-Web”