Routes, Trails, Lanes & Paths

Erie is the only county in Pennsylvania with three official BicyclePA State Routes (A, Y and Z) and three national bike routes that run through. National routes inlclude: 1.) the Northern Tier Bicycle Route (4,265 miles), our nation’s longest route 2.) the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route (2,006 miles) 3.) the Underground Railroad Spur (153 miles).

The future of biking in Erie is bright thanks to developments like the Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail, which is slated to be approximately 270 miles long when completed. The trail will connect Erie and parts of New York State to the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) trail in Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh, the GAP trail joins the C&O Canal Towpath, creating a continuous 335 mile long trail experience to Washington, D.C. In total, the three trails will connect to form an approximately 705 mile system from Erie to D.C.

Even bigger and bolder is the envisioned Industrial Heartland Traila 1,600 mile world-class regional trail system (53 percent complete) that will attract visitors from across North America and around the globe.

City of Erie Routes, Trails & Paths

  • The Bayfront Bikeway / multiuse path / Bayfront Connector Trail is approximately 9 miles long and runs from Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park to Penn State Behrend’s campus, which is located just outside the City of Erie.
  • BicyclePA Route Z / Route 5 / the Seaway Trail runs through the City of Erie and along the bayfront and Lake Erie.
  • Bayfront Promenade – a one-mile multi-use path along the bluffs which overlook the bayfront IMG_0382and Lake Erie. It’s one of the best places to watch sunsets and listen to concerts happening at Liberty Park Amphitheater. It starts near State Street and the Bayfront Parkway and ends about a block past Bayview Park. With a new path starting near the end of Front Street and Cascade Park, you’ll be able to ride to the bottom of the bluffs without having to go further out of your way to cross the Bayfront Parkway.
  • The national routes and trails mentioned above.

Erie County Routes, Trails & Paths

Regional Routes, Trails & Paths

Mapping & Directions

  • How to use Google Maps for bike directions.
  • Stava’s heat map is a decent resource to reference for help planning routes while biking in Erie. We’ve used it and have had very good and bad results, so we don’t recommend relying on it.
  • Adventure Cycling National Bike Routes map


View Erie Bike Rack and Bike Shops in a larger map


View Erie Area Mountain Bike Trails in a larger map


View Presque Isle Peninsula Trail in a larger map