Hoodlebug Trail

The Hoodlebug Trail is an approximately 10 mile long trail connecting Indiana, PA with Black Lick. It’s gotta be the one trail with the cutest name out there! If you’re wondering where the name «Hoodlebug» comes from, well this is a rails-​to-​trails conversion. It’s built on the roadbed of the Pennsylvania Railroad Indiana Branch and «Hoodlebug» was the nickname of the self-​propelled passenger railway car that traveled the line. «Hoodlebug» is a local variant on the therm «Doodlebug», which was the official nickname railfans gave these kinds of cars.
I’m married to a railfan, can’t you tell?
So this is primarily a suburban trail that apparently is still being developed. It doesn’t quite go thru the rural isolation that the Ghost Town Trail does. It’s a fairly easy ride and the scenery is fairly pleasant. The trail goes through Homer City and there you’ll have to detour on the city streets. There is a BiLo store on the corner of Railroad Avenue at Elm Street; handy if you need to stop for some provisions.
Eventually the trail winds its way down to Black Lick and as I mentioned above, there you can connect to the Ghost Town Trail. Looking at a Google Map, it appears that eventually the Hoodlebug and Ghost Town Trails will connect with the Westmoreland and West Penn Trails in Blairsville. A great regional ride will then be possible.
Please note that the address of the trailhead above is the address of the Indiana County Parks Dept. The trail begins behind Hoss’s Steak House and parking directions are here
and here
My husband Rick and I are avid cyclists and it’s our goal to ride as many trails in SW Pennsylvania as possible. Our goal this year is to eventually build up to a McKeesport-​Cumberland ride on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail.