A cycling day in Indiana County forks at a park that most riders pass through without realizing what just happened. The Hoodlebug Trail runs ten miles from IUP’s south campus down to Saylor Park in Black Lick — resurfaced, mostly flat, shaded stretches along Two Lick Creek where families ride side by side and the brewery at Indian Springs Road pours a brown ale named after the trail itself. Then the trail ends at a junction in a small township park, and unless you know to look left, you’d think the ride was over. But left at Saylor Park puts you on the Ghost Town Trail — thirty-two miles of crushed limestone threading through the Blacklick Creek watershed, past iron furnaces on the National Register, through the foundations of coal towns that housed hundreds of families a century ago and house no one now. The same parking spot, the same morning, two entirely different rides.

The Hoodlebug gets its name from the self-propelled passenger coach that ran this line on the Indiana Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad until 1940. The railroad ceased operations in 1977. The first section of trail opened in 2000, and a resurfacing project in 2020 replaced the old tar-and-chip with a finer surface that rides close to asphalt in most sections.

Start near IUP’s south campus — 135 University Drive has parking at the sports complex — and you’re on the trail within half a mile. The quieter stretches come once the trail clears town. Count on at least five or six bridge crossings over the full ten miles. Near the south end, between Cornell Road and Saylor Park, the route leaves the rail corridor for about three miles of streets with some moderate grades, so plan for traffic and a few climbs there.

What the Hoodlebug does well is accessibility. The grades top out around one to two percent. Strollers work on most sections. Road bikes handle the surface without complaint. A Sheetz near Homer City is the only real supply stop, so bring water — but the distance is manageable enough that most riders don’t need to resupply.

The trail-adjacent detail worth knowing: Levity Brewing sits right at the Indian Springs Road intersection, directly on the trail. They pour a Hoodlebug Brown Ale, and a portion of the proceeds goes back to trail maintenance. It’s the kind of stop where a two-hour ride turns into a four-hour afternoon without anyone minding.

One honest caveat: portions of the Hoodlebug parallel US Route 119, and the highway noise is real. A noise barrier wall near Graceton helps for a stretch, but riders who expect deep-woods silence should know that the Hoodlebug earns its quiet in sections, not continuously.

Saylor Park sits in Black Lick at the bottom of the Hoodlebug. John P. Saylor Memorial Park — 1284 Old Indiana Road, Blairsville — has parking, seasonal restrooms, and picnic facilities. Signs point you toward the Ghost Town Trail, but the junction itself is unremarkable. No gateway arch. No visitor center. Just a park where two trails happen to converge and forty-plus miles of connected riding open up in front of you.

Discarded rail cars rust in the trees near the junction — remnants of the Kovalchick Salvage Company, which donated the original railroad corridor to Indiana County in 1991 and made the Ghost Town Trail possible. Most riders glance at them and keep pedaling. The ones who stop and read the interpretive signs realize they just crossed from recreation into industrial archaeology.

The Ghost Town Trail runs east from Saylor Park to Ebensburg across thirty-two miles of crushed limestone in Indiana and Cambria Counties. It’s a designated National Recreation Trail, part of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition’s developing network across four states. In April 2026, Cambria County finished the C&I Extension, which branches off the main trail near Vintondale. It closed a 32-mile rail-trail loop, reported to be the second-longest in the country, and brought the full Ghost Town system to 54 miles.

The name isn’t marketing. The trail passes through the sites of actual abandoned coal-mining towns — Wehrum, Bracken, Armerford, Claghorn, Scott Glenn, Webster, Beulah — communities that thrived when the mines were open and emptied when they closed in the 1930s. Wehrum was the largest: 230 houses, a hotel, company store, jail, and bank. It was developed by Warren Delano, uncle of President Franklin Roosevelt. Today one house remains standing. A Russian Orthodox cemetery sits in the woods above the trail, its last burial recorded in 1927.

The surface is finely packed limestone dust on the old railroad grade. Grades are generally flat, reaching up to three percent in the steeper sections between Vintondale and Nanty Glo and again approaching Ebensburg. Mile markers and interpretive signs mark the route.

At roughly the midpoint, near Vintondale, the trail reaches Eliza Furnace — a hot blast iron furnace built in 1846, operational for only three years, and now one of the best-preserved furnaces of its kind in Pennsylvania. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places and still retains its original heat exchanger piping. Ninety workers and forty-five mules once produced over a thousand tons of iron per year here. The iron was hauled by wagon to the Pennsylvania Canal, then shipped west to Pittsburgh. The furnace failed because the railroad chose a different valley, the local ore was poor, and the cost of overland hauling was brutal. The economics of the 1840s are written into the stonework.

Services on the Ghost Town Trail are sparse. Dilltown — about twelve and a half miles from the western end — has restrooms, a drinking fountain, and a trailside shop attached to a bed and breakfast. Beyond Dilltown, you’re on your own until Vintondale or the small communities further east. Pack water. Pack food. Pack a tube kit. The trail passes through State Game Lands — during hunting season, wear blaze orange.

The Hoodlebug is a ride you do with the family after breakfast. The Ghost Town Trail is a ride you plan around. That distinction matters when you’re standing at Saylor Park looking at the signs.

The combined network — Hoodlebug plus the Ghost Town main stem — covers over forty miles of connected trail from Indiana to Ebensburg. Riders who tackle the full distance in a day should know the Ghost Town Trail climbs gradually heading east. The return ride west is the reward: a gentle downhill grade that stretches for miles without a single demanding hill.

Hoodlebug Trailhead: IUP South Campus, 135 University Drive, Indiana, PA 15701. Parking at the sports complex. Additional access at Floodway Park in Homer City (35 Kirk Avenue, Homer City, PA 15748 — parking, pavilion, seasonal restrooms).

Ghost Town Trailhead (western end): Saylor Park, 1284 Old Indiana Road, Blairsville, PA 15717. Parking, seasonal restrooms, picnic facilities.

C&I Extension loop: The 32-mile loop completed in 2026 connects to the main trail near Vintondale (1069 Main Street, Vintondale, PA 15961). Check current maps and segment conditions with the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority: cambriaconservationrecreation.com.

Trail conditions: Both trails are open year-round. The Hoodlebug’s resurfaced tread handles most conditions. The Ghost Town Trail’s limestone can soften after rain and becomes icy December through March. Check current conditions with Indiana County Parks & Trails: indianacountyparks.org.

Hunting season: Portions of the Ghost Town Trail pass through State Game Lands. Blaze orange is essential during fall hunting seasons. Check Pennsylvania Game Commission schedules before planning a fall ride.

Bike rental: No dedicated bike rental shop operates trailside in Indiana as of this writing. Bring your own or verify current rental availability with Indiana County Parks.

The trail network draws riders from Pittsburgh and beyond — roughly sixty miles west. Weekend demand along the corridor increases during peak cycling season, particularly when fall foliage and trail conditions align in mid-October. Booking lodging in advance opens up quieter, more spacious options in surrounding communities where the drive to the trailhead is short and the morning starts without competition for parking.