Sandy Creek Trail – Rockland Road Trailhead
Trail Info:
The Sandy Creek Trail is a paved trail running from the mouth of the Sandy Creek (#1 on map), along the Allegheny River, then follows Turkey Run to the town of Van (#4 on map), just off 322 in Venango County.
Directions on PCs: Locate the Google map below the search box on the right-hand side of this webpage. Click “Get Directions” on the map pin details.
Directions on Tablets and Mobile Phones: Locate the Google map near the bottom of this page, just below the search box. Click “Get Directions” on the map pin details.
Location: Off Cranberry Rockland Rd, Kennerdell, PA 16374. See location #3 on the map above.
Directions on PCs: Locate the Google map below the search box on the right-hand side of this webpage. Click “Get Directions” on the map pin details.
Directions on Tablets and Mobile Phones: Locate the Google map near the bottom of this page, just below the search box. Click “Get Directions” on the map pin details.
Parking: There are two parking areas for this trailhead: an upper and lower lot, with a single lane dirt road connecting them.
Trail Length: 12 miles from end to end.
If your looking for a paved trail without a lot of traffic in a rural setting, you have found it. From the Rockland Road trailhead, you have two options, travel east or west, with the west having two tunnels, and multiple bridges, while the east has bridges and long forested stretches. The west seems to be the more popular leg, and I must admit I go that direction 9 times out of 10. Below, are photos from the East leg on the way to the Van trailhead, and the end of the trail.
The trail goes beneath Rockland Road almost at the start, and then over an old railroad era bridge.
From the bridge, you can see Rockland road, and a sparsely used swimming hole off in the distance.
After the bridge, the trail slowly meanders toward the Van trailhead, with forests on either side. The trail is very quiet without many houses or other roads even visible.
