I suppose I’ve been to Smethport but I don’t remember it. But I do know it’s the wax-making capital of Pennsylvania!
I stumbled upon a network on trails which the community and Potato Creek Trails Association have developed, most of which are open to horseback use. Since this is rather rare for a small, rural community in Pennsylvania, I thought I’d do my part and contribute a page with a map combining all the trails they show open for horseback riding.
It would be fantastic if Smethport could add further trails and perhaps even connect them into town. Perhaps a restaurant would want to provide a hitching post for horseback riders. Wouldn’t that be progressive?
Perhaps the area could work towards eventually joining up these trails with the Knox & Kane Trail to the west at Mount Jewett?
Mapbox Map
We have a slippy map where we added the Pennsy Grade Equestrian Trail to the Wolfinger Trails network.
Notes:
We don’t know details of the Pennsy Grade Trail fording of Potato Creek, and its location is only approximately shown. Apparently it can be done.
There is a direct route north from the fairgrounds which is marked “Sundays only” on their map, with no further explanation. We assume whatever industrial property you cut through there operates Mon-Sat. It looks like the longer route near Potato Creek would be more attractive!
It looks like there is a reasonable amount of parking space at the main parking area marked on our map. The fairgrounds looks to be fenced, but it looks like you can park outside the fence.
Other Trails
There are a couple other trails in the network to the southwest of town, but it’s not clear if they allow horses:
- Shawmut RR Grade Trail
- Bradford Bordell & Kinzua Railroad Grade Trail
They do show up on the Mapbox view as trails, so at least you can see where they are.
Details
That’s really all we know. Since the trails are close to town, it should be no problem finding snacks or a cold drink. There probably are no facilities at the locations of the trails, however.
If you need to buy many tons of wax, the factory is a few miles north of town at Farmer’s Valley.
Please let us know if you have additional information to share.