Trail Definitions
Difficulty Ratings
Easiest -- For beginner trail users. Grade is gentle with few obstacles.
More Difficult -- For the majority of trail users. Grade is steeper and trails narrower with embedded rocks or roots on the trail surface.
Most Difficult -- For trail users with advanced skills. Grade is steep and provides a definite physical challenge. Routes may not be well marked. Elevation gain or loss is severe.
Trail Route Type
Loop -- Start and end at the same location and follow a single trail to form a loop.
Out-and-back -- Start and end at a trailhead and follow a single trail to an endpoint or specific point of interest, then return along the same route.
Point-to-point -- Trails are generally longer in distance and parks may often contain only a portion of the trail within their boundary. Hiker starts and ends in different locations, often requiring a shuttle.
Connector -- Begin and end in connection with another trail or trails but do not terminate at a trailhead.
A-Trail
0.2 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: picnic tables
This short trail connects Pine Tree Picnic Area to Dead Pond Trail. The trail passes through natural sand ridges. Some low areas of the trail are consistently covered in water due to flooding.
B-Trail
0.25 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none
This short trail connects Pine Tree Road to Dead Pond Trail and passes through a stand of pines.
Canoe Portage Trail
0.25 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This short walk between sand dunes and forest connects Pettinato Beach (Beach 8) to Marina Lake.
Dead Pond Trail
2.0 miles | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This trail leads over several former dunes and through several distinct ecological zones. Hikers will pass through oak-maple forest, pines, and sand plains.
Duck Pond Trail
0.5 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: benches
This trail begins at Duck Pond and intersects the Canoe Portage Trail and connects with the Old Gas Well Trail. The northern section of the trail may be muddy.
Fox Trail
0.5 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, biking, cross-country skiing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This trail winds through wooded swamps and oak-maple forests proving a forested byway between Sidewalk Trail and a portion of the Multi-purpose Trail. It is maintained as a cross-country ski trail in the winter.
Graveyard Pond Trail
0.75 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: modern restrooms. potable water, picnic tables, benches
This trail follows the shoreline along Graveyard Pond, which legend says was the final resting place for many of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s men during the winter of 1812-1814. Two boat landings along the trail offer scenic views of the lagoons and Big Pond.
Gull Point Trail
1.5 miles | Most difficult hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended
Trailhead amenities: modern restrooms, potable water, picnic tables
This trail winds itself through Gull Point natural area. Hikers usually see all phases of succession in this constantly evolving area. From April 1 to October 31, access is only permitted on the trail surface due to nesting birds. Much of the trail is sandy, but portions are consistently becoming more wet or water covered due to changing lake elevations.
Before hiking Gull Point Trail, visitors are encouraged to stop at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center to find out about trail conditions.
Karl Boyes Multi-Purpose National Recreation Trail
13.5 miles | Easiest hiking | Loop trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, biking, cross-country skiing
Trailhead amenities: modern restrooms. potable water, picnic tables, benches
This activity or structure is ADA accessible.
The Multi-Purpose Trail and extension makes a 13.5-mile circuit in the park. This paved trail is designated as a National Recreation Trail. This ADA accessible trail is popular with bicyclists, in-line skaters, and joggers.
During the winter, the trail is plowed from the entrance to the Public Safety Building for hikers. For cross-country skiers, the trail is left snow covered from the Public Safety Building to Perry Monument.
Long Pond Trail
1.0 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: benches
This trail follows the shoreline of Long Pond, one of the ponds within the lagoon. About halfway along this trail is a boat landing, which is a popular fishing spot and offers a scenic view of the lagoon. The trail is usually wet and has active beaver activity including a channel the beavers have cut through the trail near the eastern trailhead.
Marsh Trail
0.25 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This trail bisects Cranberry Pond, one of the many ponds on Presque Isle and connects to several other trails. Songbirds move throughout the brush bordering both sides of the path.
North Pier Trail
0.7 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: modern restrooms. potable water, benches
This trail follows the shoreline between North Pier and Beach 11, along one of the sand ridges. An old firing range used for training during World War II may be seen along this trail.
Old Gas Well Trail
0.5 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: modern restrooms. potable water, picnic tables, benches
This trail follows a ridge between Beach 7 and the Marina. The trail passes a gas well that produces gas used at Presque Isle State Park.
Pine Tree Trail
0.7 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This trail follows the edge of a sand plain community and a stand of pines. Along this trail are the remains of the biology field lab that was used by Dr. O.E. Jennings to study plant succession on Presque Isle.
Ridge Trail
0.5 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended, snowshoeing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This trail follows the edge of Cranberry Pond along a portion of ridge that was a beach dune 300 years ago. Hike out-and-back or connect into several other trailheads for a longer hike.
Sidewalk Trail
1.25 miles | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | No blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking, cross-country skiing recommended
Trailhead amenities: none
This historic trail was constructed by the U.S. Lighthouse Service as a path from the Presque Isle Lighthouse to the U.S. Lighthouse Service boathouse in Misery Bay. The trail was once a wooden boardwalk and was resurfaced with concrete in 1925.
PA Seaway Trail
The Seaway Trail, which follows the Lake Erie Shoreline through Erie County from New York to Ohio and includes the Karl Boyes Multi-purpose Trail, is designated as a Pennsylvania Scenic Byway.