Trails are fairly easy to travel on but some get muddy or swampy though there are planks in most of these areas.
Along the trails you can see Wenonah Lake, Comey's Lake, Dilk's Pond, Monongahela Brook, Mantua Creek and a Tea House.
There are small loops of 1 mile or less around certain areas such as the lakes and Monongahela Brook but the longer trails of Break Back Run Trail, Mantua Creek Trail and Glen Trail are straight through trails. By combining a few of the trails, in addition to some street walking, I was able to make a nice loop that began and ended at the parking lot for Wenonah Lake.
Wenonah Lake
Before I get to the trail it's worth to point out that Wenonah Lake is a swimming lake that allows non-residents to purchase day passes. If you're visiting for the hike you might want to consider stopping for a dip either before or after your hike. At the time I wrote this day passes were only $10 per person. You can view updated information at the Wenonah Lake site.
There were a couple of docs, one with a diving board, a lifeguard, kayaks and canoes, a picnic pavilion that can be rented and I'm assuming restrooms. I didn't actually stop into the lake but it looked okay. The water was a bit murky but about what you might expect for a small lake like this. There were a few people swimming and diving at the time.
Woods of Wenonah Trail Loop
At the back of Wenonah Lake's parking lot you'll fine a Kiosk with a Map and the entrance to the trail on the left. There weren't many good maps available online so I took a picture. If you plan ahead you can obtain a Woods of Wenonah Trail Map from the Wenonah Environmental Commission for a small fee.
I decided to go unexpectedly on a weekend and just took a picture of the map. Unfortunately the app I was using to track my hike quit tracking about halfway through the hike so I don't have exact stats but my route took me a little over 2 hours and was maybe about 4 miles or a little more. I highlighted my route in yellow on the picture of the map I took with my cellphone. I basically took the loop around Wenonah Lake and followed the trails to Comey's Lake then took local streets back to the parking lot to make a loop. The town is nice and I don't like going back the same way I just came.
The trails aren't very well marked but they're still fairly easy to follow. There are some stump markers such as the first one you come across in the picture above that let's you know to make a left to continue on the trail around Wenonah Lake.
Along the way there are also some other markers on trees but they are few and far between. It would have been nice if there were standard trail blazes along the route. With GPS apps on smart phones it's not a huge deal but it would have been nice if there were better markings. Some of the markings didn't correspond with trail names that were on the map which was a bit confusing.
There are plenty of spots to get close up views of the lake as you loop around. Whenever I came across a fork in the trail I stayed to the left to work my way around the lake. This are was pretty well marked.
The trail will eventually lead to the road. Cross over the damn then across East Maple Street to continue on Break Back Run.
There are some hilly areas along Break Back Run Trail as well as some tight spots that fall off slightly to one side but they're not very difficult. I saw a mountain biker exiting this part of the trail.
Much of the trail system has views of water but even when you can't see the water the views on the trail are quite beautiful. I couldn't hear much car traffic either.
The trails are in generally good shape and wide enough in most parts for two people to walk side by side. For the most part just dirt but there are spots with gravel as well as planks and little foot bridges.
Shortly after this bent over tree though things got a little more wet. I remember this tree because I read something about bent trees like this being used as trail markers by Indians. Not sure if that's what the deal with this tree but I couldn't see what might have caused it to bend like that.
The planks weren't in great shape at this point. They were floating and in some areas were submerged. As you can see there are some timbers on the side and it looks like they're working on it but this section soon becomes impassable.
Shortly after this picture I realized it only got worse so decided to double back to take the fork towards West Cedar Street follow that and make a right on South West Ave to pick up the trail again.
I normally hate having to go back over an area I already passed but there were some pretty nice views of Mantua Creek so I didn't mind.
Back on the trail it's fairly level. The trail runs along the train tracks but it's up a steep hill to the left and out of sight.
These passages (aquaducts?) allow I think Monongahela Brook to pass under the train tracks and continue into Mantua Creek.
Things got a little confusing again and it didn't look like the trail was passable or I wasn't following the right trail. There was a little bridge over Monongahela Brook that lead to East Pine Street. Following East Pine lead to a trail that went around Comey Lake.
If you get confused there is a trail map on the sign that will tell you where you are. We went left to around Comey Lake. For most of this part of the hike the lake was pretty far away. There's a small trail near the top of the lake that looks like it goes into someone's backyard but it leads to East Willow Street. From here we took the streets back to the Wenonah Lake parking lot.
The walk back is through a nice neighborhood with some interesting homes. This was the largest one we passed on East Mantua Ave.
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