Mon River Rail Trail - Mon River Trails Conservancy
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 39.62081, -79.96660
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| Parking just north of the 11 mile marker in Morgantown. |
TRAIL MAP:
MRTC Brochure - Mon River Trails Conservancy
BIKE DISTANCE: 37.8 miles
THE BIKE:
Heading back to St. Louis, Missouri to see my mother and for an upcoming 200-mile bike trip across Missouri. Since I had my bike with me, I made it a two-day drive to get in some biking along the way. I was leaving NJ at 5:30 AM as the Nor'easter was underway. It was a bit challenging to get to the interstate with road closures due to downed trees. Around Hamburg, PA, I could see clearing up ahead and once out of the cloud cover, it turned out to be a gorgeous weekend for driving and biking.
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| Heading south on the Mon River Rail Trail. |
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| The trail is paved for a while leaving Morgantown but it's also very busy with foot traffic. |
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| Once the trail becomes crushed stone, there is virtually nobody else around except for an occasional jogger or cyclist. |
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| A couple of small waterfalls along the way. |
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| This entire stretch of trail follows along the Monongahela River so there are river views throughout. |
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| Another parking lot but then there are no more for quite a while, hence the low traffic and lots of solitude. |
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| At this bend... |
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| ... the Marion County Trail into Pricketts Fort State Park begins. |
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| It's a paved trail that goes steeply uphill to a shady break spot under the pines at the top. |
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| Pricketts Fort |
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| Heading back. |
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| I loved the road crossings on this trail. There aren't many and they are all very quiet country roads leading to the river with no traffic. Also, the barrier posts are low so you don't have to worry about smashing your hands as is the case with most that are much taller. (I know someone this happened to so I am always holding my breath when I ride through the taller ones.) |
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| Going under I-79. You can't appreciate the enormity of these structures spanning across rivers until you go under one. |
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| Back on pavement coming into Morgantown. |
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| A short distance beyond mile 11 ... |
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| ...back at the parking lot. |
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