Staple Bend Tunnel Trail, Stone Sleepers
in Pennsylvania · centroid 60 mi from Pittsburgh
These large stones embedded in the ground were actually the railroad ties of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. They were called sleepers and were hand-cut from local sandstone. These sleepers were used on about 31 of the 36 miles of the Portage Railroad.
Stone sleepers were not used on the inclines of the Portage because the heavy stone blocks would have shifted out of place on the steep slopes. Each sleeper took about 24 hours of total work to create, from the quarry to being ready to place in the railbed. The workers made over 200,000 sleepers for the railroad.
Can you imagine making a 500 pound sleeper with just a hammer and chisel? Hard work indeed! Notice that there are two holes drilled into the top of each sleeper. Wooden plugs were pounded into these holes and then railroad spikes to hold the iron rails had a place to be driven into.
- States
- Pennsylvania
- Trail type
- National Historic Site trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Pittsburgh, PA · 60 mi · ~1.7 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 40.3697°, -78.8546°
About Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
This trail is inside Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, a national historic site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/staple-bend-tunnel-trail-stone-sleepers.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/alpo/index.htm
Plan your hike
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 Staple Bend Tunnel Trail, Stone Sleepers and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
C & I Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Ghost Town Trail
10 miles from this trail's centroid
Hoodlebug Trail
21 miles from this trail's centroid
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail
26 miles from this trail's centroid
West Penn Trail
28 miles from this trail's centroid
Fort Roberdeau - Cross Field Trail
34 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
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.