Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Pennsylvania
Tonight
🌗 46% moon
6.3 h fully dark
Hikes
Easy–Strenuous
🟢 🔴
Crowds
low
Entrance
Free entry
Staple Bend Tunnel Closure
Due to a rockfall, the interior of the Staple Bend Tunnel is closed. The trail is still open. From the Mineral Point Trailhead, visitors can bypass the tunnel, via a path around the right side of the tunnel structure.
The first railroad to cross the Allegheny Mountains, the Allegheny Portage Railroad was the final piece of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal. "The Portage" opened in 1834, marking the first time that there was one, direct route between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. All things to all people, it served merchants, passengers, slaves in pursuit of freedom, and soldiers from the Mexican War.
Activities
Topics
No entrance fee.
Hours & seasons
The Visitor Center, Engine House No. 6 Exhibit Shelter and the Lemon House are closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Buildings are open Fridays through Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Park grounds and trails are open daily from sunrise to sunset, weather permitting. Park buildings are closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Times listed in "All Park Hours" reflect building operations.
⚠ Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: closed Nov 26 – Nov 26; Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: closed Dec 25 – Dec 25; Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: closed Jan 1 – Jan 1
Hours are reported by the park — verify before you go.
📞 8148866150
✉ alpo_interpretation@nps.govConditions
Quietest months (fewer crowds): Jan, Dec
Typical crowds: low
Weather now: ☁️ Overcast, 72°F
🌦️ 76°/64°
🌦️ 78°/67°
⛈️ 80°/64°
Typical monthly recreation visits · NPS avg 2023–2025 — orange months are the quietest by crowds.
Quietest months
Relative crowds by month — lighter is quieter; ringed months are the calmest by crowds.
Jan
25%
Feb
51%
Mar
62%
Apr
87%
May
85%
Jun
95%
Jul
100%
Aug
91%
Sep
86%
Oct
77%
Nov
60%
Dec
41%
Log a sky reading
Measured the sky with an SQM meter or app? Add your reading (16 = city glow … 22 = pristine). Opt in under “Travelers like you” to share it on the community leaderboard.
Things to do
Allegheny Portage Railroad Van Tours
Summer Programs
Evening on the Summit
Guided Hikes · 3 mi
Living History Day
Engine House 6 Exhibit Shelter
Lemon House
Explore the Summit Level Visitor Center
Visitor centers
Summit Level Visitor Center
Accessibility
15 audio-described place(s)
Reported by the park — verify before you go.
Not an official safety source — always defer to NPS.gov and rangers for life-safety decisions.
By the numbers
A visual read on Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site — its character, trails, sky, and weather.
Park fingerprint
How this park scores across the dimensions travelers care about.
Trail difficulty
Difficulty mix across this park's trails.
3-day forecast
Daily high and low temperatures (°F).
People & stories
Figures tied to Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site — each spans a cross-park journey.
Absalom Osman
— 19th Century, 19th Century Transportation, Allegheny Portage RailroadBurdine Estep
— 19th Century, 19th Century Transportation, Allegheny Portage RailroadCharles Dickens
— British, Novels, TravelerCharles O'Hagan
— 19th Century, 19th Century Transportation, Allegheny Portage RailroadCyrus Pershing
— 19th Century, 19th Century Transportation, Allegheny Portage RailroadDavid Humphreys
— Railroad, Railroad Workers, EngineerDavid Murray
— Railroad, Railroad Workers, Allegheny Portage RailroadDavid R. Bryan
— 19th Century, 19th Century Transportation, Allegheny Portage RailroadPassport stamps
Mark the stamps you've collected — they show in your memory and along your routes.
🎫 Summit Level Visitor Center
🎫 Summit Level Visitor Center
Places to see
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Flag Pole
Allegheny Portage Railroad Picnic Area
audio
Engine House No. 6 Exhibit Shelter
audio
Incline #6 Overlook
audio
Lemon House
audio
Lemon House Bar-room
audio
Lemon House Dining Room
audio
Lemon House Fancy Parlor
audio
Skew Arch Bridge
audio
Staple Bend Tunnel
audio
Staple Bend Tunnel Culverts
audio
Staple Bend Tunnel Trail, Stone Sleepers
audioAudio & media
🎧
🎬
🖼
Learn more
In 2019, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site received 5 inches more precipitation than normal making it the 22nd wettest year since 1895. The year was also the 19th warmest on record.
In all, 2020 was a very warm year at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Even so, the year had near-normal precipitation . The year ended as the 4th warmest and 61st driest on record.
In all, 2021 was a very warm year at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. The year also had above-average total precipitation. The year ended as the 4th warmest and 27th wettest on record.
It was an above average year for both temperature and precipitation at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. The year ended as the 39th warmest and 32nd wettest on record.
The year 2023 was very warm at Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, but total annual precipitation was near normal. The year ended as the 4th warmest and 62nd driest on record.
Managing invasive plant species can seem like an endless and insurmountable challenge, but parks are using a new strategic collaborative tool to protect their most valuable resources.
White-nose syndrome has decimated the populations of several bat species across the Northeast and research indicates that bat populations in western Pennsylvania national parks have been affected by the disease. Many species that were once common, are now rare. In order to better protect bats, the National Park Service continues to study how bat populations are changing.
Read the abstract and get the link to a published paper on how dragonfly mercury studies uncover unexpected atmospheric delivery pathways: Janssen, S.E., C.J. Kotalik, J.J. Willacker, M.T. Tate, C. Flanagan Pritz, S.J. Nelson, D.P. Krabbenhoft, D. Walters, and C. Eagles-Smith. 2024. Geographic Drivers of Mercury Entry into Aquatic Foods Webs Revealed by Mercury Stable Isotopes in Dragonfly Larvae. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02436
How Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site connects
This park's activities, topics, location, and on-the-ground places — one hop in the graph. Drag to explore; click an activity, topic, or related park to follow it.
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