
The 2.5 mile paved / unpaved section is flat as a pancake and offers a great opportunity for some fast paced running for the experienced runner or a very easy route for the novice. This trail has been a great addition to the Shenango Valley and offers a great alternative location for road runners and trail runners alike. Not an especially pleasant walk, strong smell of creosote from RR Ties on a hot day, rough gravel to walk on, and a little too isolated to feel entirely safe - though the surrounding area is residential, single family homes, and small-town USA - nothing to worry about along the trail. If you venture further north past the 'End of the Line' - marked with a sign and yellow posts, you will soon come to the railroad bridges that cross over Shenango River Lake - one of which is still working - these parallel the Hwy18 Bridge from Clark to Shenango. Drive carefully on Thomason Road as folks tend to hurry between Hwy18 and Lamor Road (the Road by D'Nafrio's that intersects Hwy18) - and there is no center line or 'lifeline' paint.

Downhill from Sharpsville to the Dam, the trail flattens and straightens out from there. Easy walk, plenty of sun and shade, variety of scenery includes farm fields, a marsh, a working railroad track, and Shenango Dam - built by the Army Corps of Engineers to end flooding downstream in Sharon. Close to all services in Hermitage - parking in Sharpsville or in the small paved parking area (equipped with Port-A-Potty), just off of Thomason Road between Hwy18 and Lamor Road (Hwy518).
