Description

The Hess Loop Trail follows a 3.8-mile wooded path, crossing a beautiful creek that features a covered bridge, and overlapping with the J. Manley Robbins Trail—the very first rail trail in the United States.

The J. Manley Robbins Trail itself is a short trail with a long history, as the oldest documented rail-trail in the country. The trail leads through a beautiful deciduous forest high above the Mahoning Creek. The original trail is barely one mile long, but combined with an old Reading Railroad line, the trail makes the 3.8-mile Hess Loop. The trail is particularly nice for jogging, families, and dogs are welcome. A map of the trail can be found on Trail Link.

For more insights into the unique history of the trail as the first rail trail in the United States, check out the video below.

Parking and Trail Access

To find the trail, which the locals refer to as “the bike path,” travel north on RT 54 from downtown Danville, make the very first left onto Continental (old maps show Rt 54 as Continental but it is now one block west of RT 54. Follow Continental back through a housing development (one more left turn). You can park at the end of the housing development and ride from here into the Hess Recreational Complex or drive on into the complex. The Old Reading RR trail runs parallel to the road.

Map

Map provided by Montour Area Recreation Commission