7 Most Bike-Friendly Towns in Pennsylvania

With its packed cities and pleasant, picturesque countryside, Pennsylvania is a pedaler's paradise. Although biking from biz to biz in big suburbs or seeing nothing but nature on a state park tour is tempting, the best cycling is often in towns (or boroughs) with a mix of commercial and natural attractions. The state is home to many unique small communities with biker-friendly routes, with seven in the limelight. While "bike-friendly" and "towns" are subjective, these seven communities have low populations and high bikeability, as determined by various experts.

Elizabethtown

Elizabethtown is a borough with about 11,000 residents in Lancaster County, known for its large Amish community. Aside from horse-drawn carriages, bicycles dominate the borough's beautiful, versatile trails. In 2016, the League of American Bicyclists presented E-Town (as locals call it) with a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Business award. Some of the sights to see on E-Town's ever-expanding network of bike paths include Poplar Street Park, the Elizabethtown Public Library, and the downtown district. Moreover, Elizabethtown's Star Barn Village is the starting line for Biking for Brittany, an annual 62-mile/34-mile scenic ride and fundraiser. Proceeds go to Brittany’s Hope, a nonprofit organization supporting orphaned and vulnerable children.

Chambersburg

In January 2024, the real estate company Redfin calculated the ten most bikeable cities in Pennsylvania, and one of the smallest communities to make the list was Chambersburg. This Franklin County borough boasts around 22,000 residents and countless bikers of all shapes and styles. BMXers hop and drop in Chambersburg Bike Park. This eccentric park is perfect for people of all ages, whether you want to perform stunts or practice the basics as a biker. Meanwhile, mountain bikers climb the nearby Michaux State Forest, an 85,000-acre expanse of Pennsylvania’s wilderness. For a more relaxing time out, road cyclists breeze along the 1.6-mile Chambersburg Rail Trail. No matter what kind of biking you are into, gear up at bike shops like Quick Release Bicycles and the Family Cycling Center. There is even a MotoMember for motorcyclists.

Carlisle

Similar to Chambersburg, Carlisle was one of Redfin's top PA communities for bikeability. This 20,000ish-person borough earned a "Bike Score" of 63 thanks to its Dickinson College campus and downtown area. The former is served by The Handlebar Bicycle Co-Op, which is an education and repair cooperative in Davidson-Wilson Hall. At the same time, the latter is nurtured by Cole's Bicycles, Inc., which has been family-owned and operated since 1940. They are connected to each other and the rest of Carlisle via the Carlisle Borough Bicycle & Pedestrian Trail Network, a 15-mile collection of on-road and off-road paths. Additionally, Carlisle is the start or end point of the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, a defunct railway that runs (with some gaps) to neighboring Shippensburg.

Hershey

Home to the Hershey Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania, is a network of chocolaty attractions lined with Kiss-shaped streetlights. As is relevant to this article, the Hershey Highway (Route 39) is extremely bikeable. A cyclist can ride from Hershey's Chocolate World to The Hershey Story Museum, Hersheypark to the Hershey Theatre and Hershey Gardens. Afterward, many cyclists prefer to kickstand, kick back, and knock back some drinks at Tröegs Independent Brewing, just a few minutes away.

If visiting in April, register for Bikes & Beers, an annual series of 15-, 30-, and 45-mile rides that begin and end at Tröegs. Participants can admire not just Hershey but also its scenic outskirts, which are set with rest stops, refreshments, and ride marshals. A brewery party featuring live music and complimentary beer awaits bikers at the finish line.

Eagles Mere

Eagles Mere has a mere 150 odd residents, according to the 2020 Census. Yet, as The Keystone discovered based on Center for Rural Pennsylvania data, roughly 15 percent of its population bikes to work. That makes sense when many of the town's hotspots, including Eagles Mere Museum, Eagles Mere Inn, Eagles Mere Country Club, and Eagles Mere Lake, are within biking reach.

Of course, one need not be a local in Eagles Mere to experience its likeability. Visitors can bring their own bikes (or borrow from the Eagles Mere Inn) to take a scenic road ride around the museum and lake, grind gravel paths on the borough's perimeter, or mountain bike through the Loyalsock State Forest. Designated trails include the Tamarack Run Natural Area loop, High Knob & Hunters Lake & Eagles Mere Lake loop, and Coal Mine Road loop.

Mifflinburg

Mifflibnurg, a borough of 3,500 in Union County, ranks 5th in Pennsylvania according to PeopleforBikes City Rankings for bikeability. This is thanks to the overall layout of the borough, which includes many low traffic-stress streets; many roads are just a few blocks long and see very little through vehicular traffic." Many of the town’s important landmarks, establishments, and educational centers are easily accessible via bike, adding to the ease for cyclists in town.

But Mifflinburg's biggest biking boon is the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail, a 10.3-mile former railway that now takes cyclists from Mifflinburg to Lewisburg. It is the shortest ride in the annual Pedals Out Polio fundraiser. The other two are a 22-mile trip along Penns Creek and a 47.5-mile advanced route with lots of elevation change. All start from the Mifflinburg Community Park. Those interested in some leisurely biking can opt to cycle over to hotspots like the Rusty Rail Brewing Company for some snacks or Hassenplug Covered Bridge for some outdoor photography.

Confluence

Have you ever heard of bicycles saving a town? Although it is not the only reason, bikeability helped revive the Pennsylvania borough of Confluence, turning it from a mining days relic to a picturesque pitstop on the Great Allegheny Passage. The GAP is a 150-mile rail trail that began with a nine-mile section near Confluence in 1986. It took until 2013 to complete the GAP, thus connecting it from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, Maryland, and saving the 700ish-person borough with bikers and businesses.

Many of the GAP's million-plus yearly visitors are serviced by the Confluence Cyclery, dubbed "your one-stop shop for all your cycling needs in Confluence, Pennsylvania." Here, one can rent out a range of bikes, such as an Upright Bike, a Recumbent Bike, and even an Electric Bike, at rates by the hour or day, depending on your preference. After getting a bike, pedal to Tissue Farm, an art gallery and espresso shop in a former Chevrolet dealership. Or, enjoy a meal at River's Edge Cafe and Bed & Breakfast, which, built in the 1930s, may be the oldest Confluence business that survived off the biking boom.

Wrapping Up

Pennsylvania's towns offer a unique blend of commercial and natural attractions that make them some of the most bike-friendly locations in the state. Whether you're cycling from Poplar Street Park to downtown Elizabethtown, cruising the Chambersburg Rail Trail, or exploring Hershey's iconic landmarks, these small communities provide diverse and accessible routes for every type of cyclist. From the scenic paths around Eagles Mere Lake to the historic rail trails of Mifflinburg and Confluence, these towns showcase the true bikeable charm that only Pennsylvania's boroughs can deliver.