37.5 Miles of New Mountain Bike Trails Coming to Ohiopyle State Park
A $4 million, three-phase trail expansion will add 37.5 miles of purpose-built mountain bike singletrack to Ohiopyle State Park over the next three years - potentially making it one of the largest MTB trail systems in Pennsylvania. Phase one breaks ground in September 2026.
If you ride a mountain bike – or know someone who does – pay attention. Something significant is coming to Ohiopyle State Park, and it is going to change what this corner of southwestern Pennsylvania looks like on the trail map.
A $4 million, three-phase trail expansion is in the works that will add 37.5 miles of purpose-built mountain bike singletrack to the park over the next three years. When complete, Ohiopyle could be home to more than 50 miles of dedicated mountain biking trails – making it one of the largest trail systems in all of Pennsylvania.
The project is being led by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) in partnership with the Pennsylvania DCNR. The trail design was done by Kay-Linn Enterprises – the same team behind the Jakes Rocks trail system, which won Pennsylvania’s Trail of the Year award in 2024. These are not amateurs. This is a serious build.
The Ohiopyle Biking Club (OBC), founded by Scott Bortree around 2012, spent years hand-building and maintaining 25 miles of singletrack on Sugarloaf Mountain. Those trails are the backbone of what already exists. The new expansion builds on that foundation in a big way.
Phase One – This year. The first phase adds 2.35 miles around the recently built Clay Mines trails, improving connectivity and creating a new loop with the existing Rock City Trail. PEC and DCNR are targeting a September 2026 groundbreaking with completion by November. It starts this fall.
Phase Two – 2027. The most anticipated phase: 16.4 miles of new trail connecting the borough of Ohiopyle all the way up to the Sugarloaf Recreation Area. Lower loops will be beginner- and family-friendly – including access for adaptive mountain bikes – while upper loops get progressively steeper and more technical. The crown jewel is a route that lets riders shuttle to the top and ride nearly all the way down into Ohiopyle itself. “The woods are deep and dark, and it’s got nice rock formations,” said Bortree. That is a description that tends to make trail riders very happy.
Phase Three – 2028. The biggest phase at 18.75 miles, centered on the Pressley Ridge area – a 2,350-acre tract on the western end of the park. Five progressive loops, expert-level terrain on the eastern side, and a traverse that connects back into the Sugarloaf network and ties the entire 37.5-mile system together.
Ohiopyle State Park already draws visitors from across the region for the Great Allegheny Passage, the whitewater on the Youghiogheny, and the existing trail network. Add a world-class mountain bike system to that list and you have something genuinely special – and it is happening twelve miles up the river from Confluence.
For trail riders in this valley, the next three years are worth watching closely.