Erie to Pittsburgh – Samuel Justus Trail

Trail Info:

Location:

• Just past the Oil City Waste Water Treatment Facility off West First Street in Oil City.

Trail Characteristics:

• Paved, flat, dry trail.
• Great for biking or walking. I’ve even seen kids ride their electric scooters down the path, which looks pretty awesome!

Parking:

• Plenty of parking at the head of the trail by the Oil City Waste Water Treatment Facility.

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.

This leg of the Erie to Pittsburgh trail is like most of the others in the area, almost purely flat, with slow meandering bends originally designed for locomotives. The terrain usually consists of a river on one end, and a steep slope on the other, as those conditions were once ideal for trains. This trail is no exception. The Allegheny River flows downstream towards Franklin on the right, and steep hills rise off the path on the left.

This particular leg of the trail has a maintenance road right next to the trail, though I should mention there is a gate keeping regular traffic off the road and trail.

On the right, there is a cluster of islands in the river, three large, and quite a few smaller ones.

Also like many of the other trails in the area, you can spot abandoned oil well equipment from the oil boom days. Some of it is clearly visible from the edge of the trail.

Side Trail with Abandoned Oil Equipment:

Some of the more interesting things I saw were off the edge of the paved trail. I found a deer path on the right-hand side of the trail not more than 1000 feet from the red gates. I had seen the path on my way down the trail, and on the way back curiosity got the best of me, so I had a look.

At worst I thought I might run into a snake or get my feet wet, but the trail was dry, and when I didn’t hear any rattling sounds I thought I might be ok to look around. That’s when I saw the first large iron pump? I honestly have no idea what purpose this serves. I can only guess it’s an oil or gas pump of some sort.

While I was looking for a good place to stand to get a photo of the whole rusted device, I spotted another similar-looking contraption.

After poking around the rusted remains, I looked towards the river and found a thinner path to the edge. The scene is beautiful with the high hills hemming the cool waters that flow gently through the valley.

I’m not sure who the side trail belongs to, but I didn’t see any warnings to keep out, and there were signs that others had visited too. If you walk by, maybe have a peek around!