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). In addition, Coastal Living Magazine ranked Erie’s Presque Isle State Park’s 13.5 mile multi-purpose trail fourth on its list of the 18 best bike rides at beaches.
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 Trail, a 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
and 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
- Presque Isle State Park’s 13.5 mile multi-purpose trail as well as on-road riding for people who are biking at faster than a leisurely pace.
- Asbury Woods trails – about 10 miles of single track
- The Corry Junction Greenway Trail is a 7.5-mile trail that runs through the beautiful Brokenstraw Valley crossing the state line into New York.
- Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail
- The Crooked Creek Trail AKA Thornton Junction Trail is a seven mile section acquired for public use by the Northwest Pennsylvania Trail Association. The corridor begins immediately south of south of Route 5 at Girard Junction and follows the former Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad (B&LE) to Albion, Pa.
- BicyclePA State Routes: A, Y and Z
- Erie Trails has information about trails in the Erie area, some of which are suited to bicycling and mountain biking.
- The national routes mentioned above
Regional Routes, Trails & Paths
- Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail
- Read about 20 great hiking and biking trails in western Pennsylvania.
- Industrial Heartland Trail
- Bike to Cleveland or in western OH? Check out the NOACA maps for helping identify the best route to bike based on skill level.
- Western Reserve Greenway from Ashtabula, OH to Warren, OH.
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