McClintock Trail

The McClintock Trail connects Oil Creek State Park to Oil City. The northern half is on a dirt road; the southern half is alongside the tracks of the Oil City and Titusville RR, away from the highway. The trail is named after its most significant feature, McClintock #1, which is the world’s oldest continuously-producing oil well. This trail is part of the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail (page NE-16).

The northern section of the trail shares Waitz Rd in Cornplanter Township with an occasional automobile and snowmobile. The road is largely in the woods. There are only three houses along the road, which is on the opposite side of the creek from Route 8. Starting at the northern end, Waitz Rd crosses Oil Ck less than a quarter-mile west of PA8. At the end of the bridge it becomes a dirt road with potholes for 0.8 miles, including a short uphill and matching downhill sections. Near a house and power lines the surface becomes tar-and-chip for 0.4 miles then reverts to dirt. A quarter-mile just west of the railroad crossing is paved. The interpretive site for McClintock #1 is on the left just before the railroad tracks.

  Location Oil Creek State Park to Oil City, Venango County  
  Trailheads Rynd Farm, McClintock #1  
  Length, Surface 3.4 miles total, (1.7 paved, 1.7 on rough dirt road)  
  Character Little-used with some auto traffic, rural road, shady, some hills,  
  Usage restrictions No motorized vehicles on trail section  
  Amenities None  
  Driving time from Pittsburgh 1 hours 37 minutes  
Paved trail continues south for a mile from McClintock #1 to Oil City, pinched between the active short line railroad and a steep hillside. The trail is close to the tracks and the slow moving trains, with a 4-foot chain link fence between them. Across the rail line are the backsides of businesses facing PA8. At the Quaker Dr road crossing, the trail jogs left and right across the road and the tracks, continuing between the tracks and the highway. Half a mile later, at the northern outskirts of Oil City near the Dollar General, the trail crosses busy route PA8, marked only by signs and with no roadway markings (2025). A short distance later the trail crosses Oil Ck on a railroad bridge. After the bridge, the trail turns right/west to cross the railroad, then continues for about 900 feet on the creek dike, and ends at Seneca St.

McClintock Trail - Oldest segment segment check 2025-Oct         This page brought to you by the book