About the Trail
Background
The East Branch Trail was originally a railway line built in the 1860s to connect nearby cities of Titusville and Corry and their burgeoning populations, spurred by the discovery of oil outside of Titusville. Trains of various owners ran on the line until 1978.
Ten years later, the Clear Lake Authority in Spartansburg purchased the defunct rail corridor and helped shape it into the 17-mile multi-use trail it is today. The trail has paved and crushed limestone sections, as well as share the road portions on low-volume roads.
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The EBT features picturesque views of the rural, Northwestern Pennsylvania countryside. Located 35 miles southeast of Erie, the Spartansburg community features small businesses and restaurants, Clear Lake Park, and a large population of Amish families.
Clear Lake Kim Harris Photo.
Amish Parking Clear Lake Carol Fielding Photo
East Branch Trail Ron Steffey Photo
Clear Lake Kim Harris Photo.
Photos by Kim Harris, Carol Fielding, & Ron Steffey.
EBT Goals & Expansion
The current path of the EBT is a developed, dual-use trail in Spartansburg, PA. However, a larger goal is to expand and connect it to larger portions of the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail (EPT) to create a continuous 270-mile corridor between the two major Western Pennsylvania cities. A current undeveloped path of the trail is marked on the map in green dotted lines. Additionally, the brown dotted line indicates where the additional trail will be built to connect the portions in Spartansburg and Hydetown.
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The EBT's nearest neighbors include the Queen City Trail, Oil Creek State Park Bike Trail, and McClintock Trail. More about these nearby trails can be explored on
the EPT website.
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Use the button below to download a printable PDF version of the EBT map on the right.
