2-state trail

Panhandle Trail

across 2 states · centroid 19 mi from Pittsburgh

Panhandle Trail is hiking trail crossing Pennsylvania, West Virginia. This page summarises what we have from public sources (OpenStreetMap and trail-association data); always verify current conditions and trail status with the maintaining organisation before heading out.

States: Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Network: Regional (rwn)
Centroid nearest city: Pittsburgh, PA · 19 mi · ~35 min drive
Centroid coords: 40.3836°, -80.3567°
OSM relation: 9084386

From Wikipedia: The Panhandle Trail is a rail trail in southern Pennsylvania and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. It occupies an abandoned Conrail railroad corridor that had been known as the Panhandle route which has been converted to a bicycle and walking trail. The line between Walkers Mill and Weirton was closed in 1995, and the tracks were removed the following year in 1996. The original section of the trail is the West Virginia section, where the trail was called the Harmon Creek Trail, for the adjacent Harmon Creek. When Pennsylvania built its section, both states agreed to call it the Panhandle Trail. Although the Panhandle Trail occupies 29 miles of the Panhandle Route, the remaining portion of the route is owned by the Pittsburgh and Ohio Central Railroad, but it is no longer used. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Panhandle Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Panhandle Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed

Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Pittsburgh, PA — 19 miles away (~35 min drive). See accommodation in Pittsburgh on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

10 nearby

Pennsylvania

Montour - Panhandle Connector Trail

6 miles from this trail's centroid

Pennsylvania

Montour Trail

14 miles from this trail's centroid

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Area Hiking Network

19 miles from this trail's centroid

Pennsylvania

Rachel Carson Trail

29 miles from this trail's centroid

Pennsylvania

Norwin Area Hiking Networks

34 miles from this trail's centroid

Pennsylvania

West. Heritage Trail

35 miles from this trail's centroid

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.