PA Grand Canyon

[kissell59]

I wouldn't recommend that. The elevation change is over 700 feet.

You can drive to the Darling Run access, not very far away, and get on the bike trail there.

I'll have to check it out. It appears to have alot of switch backs to take out the decline. I do mtn bike occasionally on some decent declines. Blue Knob/Jtown Incline. I appreciate the input though!

 

[Swattie87]

Check to make sure you can take a bicycle down the Turkey Path legally. You may be able to, but some trails are marked no bicycles.

If allowed, it’s still not a great plan. The trail is steep, narrow, and full of switchbacks. Unless you’re a very accomplished mountain biker, you’re gonna be walking that bike down, and probably wishing you just biked the rail trail in from Blackwell or Darling Run. If you have a good 4WD, and I mean a good one…Legit real 4WD with a transfer case or a Subaru, Tiadaghton becomes a viable option, and even though I swore I’d never go down that road again (I have a 4Runner and a Tacoma) I’d do that before trying to take a bike down the Turkey Path.

Look up some hiking trip reports on the Turkey Path. That should paint the picture for you. The rail trail is a superhighway of a trail. From Darling Run or Blackwell, you can be in the middle of the Gorge, roughly Tiadaghton, in under an hour, easy. There’s really no reason to access the canyon that way (via the Turkey Path) unless you want to include the hike (or bike if legal) as part of the adventure.

 

[kissell59]

Check to make sure you can take a bicycle down the Turkey Path legally. You may be able to, but some trails are marked no bicycles.

If allowed, it’s still not a great plan. The trail is steep, narrow, and full of switchbacks. Unless you’re a very accomplished mountain biker, you’re gonna be walking that bike down, and probably wishing you just biked the rail trail in from Blackwell or Darling Run. If you have a good 4WD, and I mean a good one…Legit 4WD or a Subaru, Tiadaghton becomes a viable option, and even though I swore I’d never go down that road again (I have a 4Runner and a Tacoma) I’d do that before trying to take a bike down the Turkey Path.

Look up some hiking trip reports on the Turkey Path. That should paint the picture for you.

I'll check them out, darling run probably will be the move. There will be a few other people in my group with less time on mtn bikes. Appreciate the information!

 

[Cznymph]

Turkey Path

You can’t take a bike on the path the the best of my knowledge.

Even if they were allowed, there’s a few hundred steps you’d have to negotiate.

 

[dryflyguy]

Last time I biked the canyon, was with my wife
We couldn’t do the whole thing- 18 miles - in one day
So we biked the upper half to, Darling Run to Tiadaghton, and back
Next day, did lower canyon
Blackwell to Tiadaghton, and back
Lot more manageable for us

 

[Paul Barci]

How hard is the walk into the canyon. Ill be in area last week in May THANKS

You can actually drive into the canyon and park right next to the stream. Go in at Ansonia on the road to Colton Point. Look out for a left turn down a steep road and you are in the canyon. The road dead ends about a mile in. Tiadaghton Hill Rd is another way in but best to have 4 wheel drive.

 

[Paul Barci]

I remember "back in the day" you had to halfway "earn" those fish 3 miles up from Blackwell. Hike up with your gear in a backpack or try to keep a crappy mountain bike in the tiny single track in the jackstone. LOL Which was darn near impossible on a ride out in the dark. 😆
Now you're just as likely to see a little girl on a pink bicycle rolling by while you're fishing. Not that it's worse now....just "different"
Some years the lower canyon was dynamite.....if you managed to luck into a couple successive years of cool wet summers that lead to some very impressive holdovers. Some of the best fighting fish I've caught anywhere.

I've fished the canyon since the mid 70's
My last time in was this past October cold early morning. No a soul in sight and fishing was slow until the sun hit the water. The water was shallow for lack of rain so it was the usual hunt looking for fish in their deep cover. You can find a big brown sometimes in 8" of water under branches or bushes hanging close to the water within a foot of the bank. I've watched fish bump branches trying to knock food into the water. Getting a drift on them can be tricky but if you know what you're it's not too difficult. Just be ready to pull them out of the cover when they hit. That's easier said then done with 20" fish.

 

[Sharknado5]

I mean a good one…Legit real 4WD with a transfer case or a Subaru,

member with a new Forester Wilderness, smiling 🙂

 

[Swattie87]

member with a new Forester Wilderness, smiling 🙂

Had two. They’re good cars. They beat the pants off of everyone else’s small AWD crossovers, if you want actual AWD performance. And more than just shifting a little bit of power to the rear axle, but only after the front slips.

I always thought ground clearance would be their Achilles heel. But it was actually suspension travel. They lift wheels super easily. But if they keep the wheels on the ground, and with decent tires, they’ll do basically anything 4Hi with open diffs will. Possibly more with traction aids.