Five Star Trail is a 7 mile rail trail that travels from Greensburg, PA to Armbrust, PA. This trail begins at Lynch Field where there is plenty of parking, as well as restrooms. The first few yards of this route are a climb, but rest assured this is the only significant climb. Plus, it's very short and walk-able. Your reward for this climb is an old railroad tunnel painted by local youth. The remainder of the trail is rail grade at less than 3% incline.
ALT ROUTE: To avoid this incline and shorten the overall mileage of this route, you can park at the Five Star Trail Park N Ride on E Pittsburgh St & Highland Ave.
As you continue onto the second portion of this trip, you will come onto Trolley Line Ave. This is a small portion of trail connector that requires riding next to traffic. Fortunately, this stretch of road does have a bike lane in both directions, but beware of large semi-trucks that frequent this industrial road. Overall traffic is calm and there are not many intersections to cross.
Once you've completed the road portion of the ride, you'll continue onto the final segment of the trail to Armbrust. This section of the trail passes through a community college campus and through woods before ending abruptly at two benches. Take a moment to enjoy before making a u-turn and completing the same route back to the start for a total of 14 miles.
For the next few miles you are steadily descending at a casual pace. This trail has a variety of walkers and bikers, so please bring a bell or holler "on the left" if passing folks.
You will pass through a few intersections that require yielding or stopping for car traffic. Keep your eyes peeled for periodic mile markers to track your progress! If you want to shorten the route, make a u-turn at any time. The first few miles of trail will follow an active rail line and pass over a few wooden bridges with small streams below.