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Moraine Full Meal Deal

RECOMMENDED ROUTE
Difficult Difficult
 4.5 (18)
  1. Areas
  2. PA
  3. …Western PA
  4. Moraine State Park
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“This is every trail that Moraine State Park has to offer - not for the faint of heart! ”

Scott Danish
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Map Key

12.5

Miles

20.1

KM

95%

Singletrack

1,520' 463 m

High

1,203' 367 m

Low

1,513' 461 m

Up

1,512' 461 m

Down

5%

Avg Grade (3°)

19%

Max Grade (11°)

Dogs Leashed

E-Bikes Allowed

Overview

It is said that 1 mile at Moraine feels like 2 miles everywhere else, and this Full Meal Deal is everything Moraine has to offer including lots of climbing, lots of technical obstacles, and lots of miles. This ride hits the harder trails first and eases up as the miles continue until right at the end with the last technical loop right near the Mount Union Parking lot.

Description

The ride starts at the Mount Union parking lot and hits the following trails in the following order:

Lower Rock Garden is the first trail you'll encounter when riding out from the Mt Union parking area. This meandering singletrack features many log overs and is pretty much all technical rock the entire time, although it is at a fairly steady elevation.

Top of the Ridge picks up where Lower Rock Garden leaves off as you proceed east. This section begins with a climb to the top part of a knoll. You'll reach the top with a nice break from the rock garden section below, where the singletrack calms and your speed begins to greatly increase! Expect only a few log overs and optional log rides while weaving and winding yourself through the trail.

Next up is the Valley Trail. This is a decently technical descent off the first ridge and a somewhat technical climb to the second ridge. It's not terribly steep, but a good amount of technical rock features. From there, head onto Powerline Parallel Trail which is a short connecting trail that parallels the Powerline Trail, and will connect you to the Freeride Loop.

Get ready as Freeride Loop is the most technical trail in the Moraine State Park Trail System. Taking the trail in the southbound direction has a lot of technical climbing with brief descents. Ridden this direction, the trail is relentless. Be prepared, because it's nearly impossible to catch your breath unless you stop. For all of its difficulty, the trails is a techy riders dream.

Next up is Downhill Trail which begins where the Freeride Loop ends, about halfway between the northern Powerline Trail and the lake. Keep an eye out since the entrance is a little hard to locate, especially in the fall. This is a uni-directional trail, with traffic permitted southbound ONLY (...and you really wouldn't want to try to ride it opposite anyways). The grade is over 15% downhill at times.

After Downhill Trail, head out onto Old Moraine St Park Road which is a doubletrack that can get pretty steep at times and is made of loose gravel to fist sized rocks. Use this doubletrack to connect to Eastern Powerline to Lake which is one of the best technical climbs. Do not let the profile of this trail fool you, the trail has a lot of technical climbing heading north with seemingly no descents. So, even though it looks rolling, this trail is relentless. You won't be catching your breath until you stop.

Once you catch your breath, head out on Powerline to Alexander Ridge Rd. This trail is somewhat flat and less technical, which you probably will enjoy after the punishing climb on Eastern Powerline.

This will connect to Powerline Parallel Trail, a short connecting trail to Western Powerline to Lake where you'll get to enjoy the best descent at Moraine. Western Powerline to Lake is a a super fast and fun downhill that brings you to many developed natural rock features. Expect aggressive terrain and well placed natural rock features. The latter part of the trail is a significant climb through and around more rocks to end up around the center of the marina doubletrack, directly across from Southern Peninsula.

Southern Peninsula is the flattest, and least technical singletrack at Moraine. This is as easy as the trails get at Moraine State Park, and there are still some pretty steep climbs/descents. From here, you'll connect to the Switchback Climb to Powerline so enjoy the break while you can!

Next, hop back on the Powerline Parallel Trail to connect back to the Valley Trail. This is a decently technical descent off the first ridge and a somewhat technical climb to the second ridge, and will connect you back to Top of the Ridge. If you are feeling up for a challenge, finish your ride on Lower Rock Garden or bypass it by staying on the powerline trail back to the parking lot.

Contacts

Local Club: Trail Pittsburgh

Land Manager: PA DCNR - Moraine State Park

Shared By:

Scott Danish
Full Details

Trail Ratings

  4.5 from 18 votes

#1

in Moraine State Park

#900

Overall
  4.5 from 18 votes
5 Star
61%
4 Star
28%
3 Star
11%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Recommended Route Rankings

#1

in Moraine State Park

#18

in Pennsylvania

#900

Overall
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9,002 Since Dec 18, 2015
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Photos

Looking uphill (reverse direction of travel). Large car-sized boulder with armored entry and exit ramps. Can be easily rolled. Sometimes ramp rocks are a little loose. Border Collie shown for scaling purposes.
Oct 19, 2015 near Prospect, PA
Freeride Trail Entrance
Oct 30, 2015 near Prospect, PA
Downhill Trail Entrance: Brown Stake with Two Black Diamonds Scratched into it denotes the beginning of the trail. Trail goes just to the right of the large tree with the red paint mark.
Oct 19, 2015 near Prospect, PA
A nice set of boulders, one of the most fun downhill trails, not as technical.
Jul 19, 2020 near Prospect, PA
Nice rock section before the rocky switchbacks.
Jul 19, 2020 near Prospect, PA
A set of boulders and log bridges between them.
Jul 19, 2020 near Prospect, PA

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Check-Ins

Jul 12, 2024
Eric Dittmer
ebike. Ridgeback. rock garden, fire road . new trail fireroad.rockgarden. fireorad to top amd back 4mi
Mar 4, 2024
Eric Dittmer
Ridgeback. stumpy. cutoff old new. fireraod
Feb 5, 2024
Eric Dittmer
trek evike, Kathleen fade 4mi
Feb 3, 2024
Eric Dittmer
original,point, fireroad roxgeback, trek ebike 5mi
Sep 15, 2023
Eric Dittmer
original, cutoff. newold. Kaylee, ebike 5mi
Sep 13, 2023
Eric Dittmer
jeckal and Hyde, kahle fade 6mi
Aug 26, 2023
Eric Dittmer
jeckall and Hyde. kahlefade. and ebike 4.8mi
Jul 30, 2023
Eric Dittmer
cutoff, fire road . arktos , ex-e 3.5mi

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