Find Your Connection–Pennsylvania
Pedaling the September 11th National Memorial Trail across Pennsylvania is a journey that combines the quiet beauty of the state’s trails with the deep meaning of remembrance. For a first-time rider, the adventure is both physical and emotional, carrying one across varied landscapes, through welcoming towns, and past historic and sacred places.
The ride begins in the rugged hills of Somerset County, where a short connector trail links the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) to the Flight 93 National Memorial. The first miles are a mix of rail-trail riding and rural backroads, where traffic is light and shoulders are narrow but generally manageable. The experience of reaching the Flight 93 Memorial is humbling: a sweeping landscape of quiet fields and the wall of names etched in stone remind you why this trail exists.
From there, the route threads eastward across Pennsylvania. You pass through Johnstown, where steel heritage and river valleys mark the landscape, and then onward through Blair and Huntingdon Counties into the Juniata River valley. Here, the trail often follows low-speed country roads and riverside paths, offering wide-open scenery of farmland, forest, and old canal remnants.
Approaching Harrisburg, the state capital, the 9/11 Trail links with established greenways like the Capital Area Greenbelt, a 20-mile loop encircling the city. Riding through Harrisburg gives you a different perspective — city streets with moderate traffic, buffered by bike lanes and riverside shoulders, alongside the broad sweep of the Susquehanna River.
From central Pennsylvania, the trail leads into the rolling hills of Adams County and the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park. Riding through Gettysburg is an experience in itself: quiet park roads, gentle grades, and interpretive markers tell the story of another defining moment in American history. Here, the 9/11 Trail becomes a symbolic bridge between the sacrifices of the past and those remembered from September 11, 2001.
Further east, you roll into Lancaster County, with its mix of covered bridges, Amish farmland, and the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. The surface is smooth and the setting scenic, following the Susquehanna once again. You pass small towns like Marietta, Columbia, and Mount Joy, where local diners and bike-friendly shops welcome travelers.
In York County, segments of the Heritage Rail Trail offer shaded, gravel riding through woodlands and old railroad corridors, before connecting you back toward the Susquehanna and the historic river towns along its banks.
The journey continues into Berks, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties, where canal towpaths become your guide. Flat, tree-lined trails along the Delaware Canal State Park Trail carry you past quiet water, stone locks, and 19th-century villages. Small towns like New Hope and Washington Crossing blend scenic charm with deep history, and you pass near the Garden of Reflection, Pennsylvania’s official 9/11 memorial.
Road sections here are typically lower-speed local roads, with moderate shoulders that allow steady progress. Traffic picks up near suburbs, but the route planners have aligned the trail to favor quieter connections whenever possible.
Finally, nearing the eastern edge of Pennsylvania, the journey typically treks on toward New Jersey and New York, where the 9/11 Trail links onward to the World Trade Center site.
The journey across Pennsylvania leaves a lasting impression. It carries you through 25 counties, along some of the state’s most celebrated trails, through its capital city, across Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields, and into quiet memorial spaces that invite reflection. The September 11th National Memorial Trail is more than just a ride. Across Pennsylvania, it weaves together rail-trails, greenways, and roadways to form a living corridor of memory. Walking, running or cycling it is an act of honoring, remembering, and connecting — with the land, with history, and with the resilience of the human spirit.
The ride begins in the rugged hills of Somerset County, where a short connector trail links the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) to the Flight 93 National Memorial. The first miles are a mix of rail-trail riding and rural backroads, where traffic is light and shoulders are narrow but generally manageable. The experience of reaching the Flight 93 Memorial is humbling: a sweeping landscape of quiet fields and the wall of names etched in stone remind you why this trail exists.
From there, the route threads eastward across Pennsylvania. You pass through Johnstown, where steel heritage and river valleys mark the landscape, and then onward through Blair and Huntingdon Counties into the Juniata River valley. Here, the trail often follows low-speed country roads and riverside paths, offering wide-open scenery of farmland, forest, and old canal remnants.
Approaching Harrisburg, the state capital, the 9/11 Trail links with established greenways like the Capital Area Greenbelt, a 20-mile loop encircling the city. Riding through Harrisburg gives you a different perspective — city streets with moderate traffic, buffered by bike lanes and riverside shoulders, alongside the broad sweep of the Susquehanna River.
From central Pennsylvania, the trail leads into the rolling hills of Adams County and the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park. Riding through Gettysburg is an experience in itself: quiet park roads, gentle grades, and interpretive markers tell the story of another defining moment in American history. Here, the 9/11 Trail becomes a symbolic bridge between the sacrifices of the past and those remembered from September 11, 2001.
Further east, you roll into Lancaster County, with its mix of covered bridges, Amish farmland, and the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. The surface is smooth and the setting scenic, following the Susquehanna once again. You pass small towns like Marietta, Columbia, and Mount Joy, where local diners and bike-friendly shops welcome travelers.
In York County, segments of the Heritage Rail Trail offer shaded, gravel riding through woodlands and old railroad corridors, before connecting you back toward the Susquehanna and the historic river towns along its banks.
The journey continues into Berks, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties, where canal towpaths become your guide. Flat, tree-lined trails along the Delaware Canal State Park Trail carry you past quiet water, stone locks, and 19th-century villages. Small towns like New Hope and Washington Crossing blend scenic charm with deep history, and you pass near the Garden of Reflection, Pennsylvania’s official 9/11 memorial.
Road sections here are typically lower-speed local roads, with moderate shoulders that allow steady progress. Traffic picks up near suburbs, but the route planners have aligned the trail to favor quieter connections whenever possible.
Finally, nearing the eastern edge of Pennsylvania, the journey typically treks on toward New Jersey and New York, where the 9/11 Trail links onward to the World Trade Center site.
The journey across Pennsylvania leaves a lasting impression. It carries you through 25 counties, along some of the state’s most celebrated trails, through its capital city, across Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields, and into quiet memorial spaces that invite reflection. The September 11th National Memorial Trail is more than just a ride. Across Pennsylvania, it weaves together rail-trails, greenways, and roadways to form a living corridor of memory. Walking, running or cycling it is an act of honoring, remembering, and connecting — with the land, with history, and with the resilience of the human spirit.