Still blazing a trail: Ghost Town Trail is 30 years old and still going strong, attracting nearly 200,000 visitors every year | News, sports, work

The nearly 50-mile-long trail connects Cambria and Indiana counties and draws nearly 200,000 visitors to the area each year, said Cliff Kitner, executive director of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority.

Kitner expects visitor numbers to increase after the final 2.5-kilometer section of the 17-kilometer C&I expansion is completed.

Cottles Asphalt Maintenance contractors were hard at work on Friday constructing a pedestrian culvert at the North Street trailhead near Nanty Glo. Kitner said construction of the culvert will be completed by the end of the month, noting that he hopes the tender for the remaining stages will be awarded this year.

The plan is to begin construction of the final trail surface in the spring, Kitner said.

Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority Executive Director Cliff Kitner (left) walks with Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky on Friday near the Ghost Town Trail trailhead in Ebensburg. The Ghost Town Trail recently celebrated its 30th anniversary and attracts nearly 200,000 visitors to the area each year. Mirror image: Matt Churella

When the C&I expansion is completed, Cambria County will be the second continuous rail loop in the nation and the only continuous rail loop east of Oregon, Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said.

“It’s good for our local economy,” Chernisky said, noting that Cambria County is “Pennsylvania’s leader” in outdoor recreation.

“Outdoor recreation is a $17 billion industry in Pennsylvania, and Cambria County gets its piece of the pie,” Chernisky said, adding that outdoor recreation benefits people’s mental and physical health.

Czerniski said he has met people from several states and other countries who say they are visiting the county to use the Ghost Towns Trail.

The main core of the trail leading west from Ebensburg to Black Lick in Indiana County is approximately 52 miles long. In Cambria County, the trail connects communities such as Revloc, Nanty Glo and Vintondale and is used by both tourists and local residents, Chernisky said.

The Ghost Town Trail has access points (from left on the map) in Saylor Park, Heshbon, Dilltown, Wehrum, Vintondale, Twin Rocks, Nanty Glo and Ebensburg. Each of them offers different accommodation. Saylor Park – 1284 Old Indiana Road, Blairsville – Parking lot, seasonal restroom, picnic facilities, nearby walking trail and soccer fields, park managed by Burrell Township. Heshbon – 10485 Route 259, Blairsville – parking lot, portable restroom in season. Dilltown – 7452 Route 403, Dilltown – Parking lot, restrooms, picnic facilities, nearby trail store and guesthouse, water. The Dilltown access area for the Ghost Town Trail is on Route 403, one mile north of Route 22. Google Map directions are incorrect. Wehrum – 2415 Wehrum Road, Vintondale – parking lot. Vintondale, Rexis – 1069 Main St., Vintondale – Parking lot, Eliza Station restroom, picnic area, water. Twin Rocks – 1397 Plank Road, Nanty Glo – parking lot. Nanty Glo – 1097 First St., Nanty Glo – parking lot, restroom at the soccer field during the season, local restaurants. Ebensburg – 424 Prave St., Ebensburg – parking, local restaurants. – Information from Indiana County Parks & Trails

Revloc resident Kaley Kozian, owner of the Bohemian Bean Cafe in Ebensburg, said she often bikes this route to work.

“What’s not to like about riding a bike instead of spending money on gas,” Kozian asked rhetorically, noting that several travelers from different states patronized her company after biking the trail.

At the coffee shop, Kozian has maps of the United States and the world with pins to mark the different locations where customers have traveled from. Many of the pins are on East Coast states, but there are a few pins indicating that people traveled from places like California, Nevada, Texas, North Dakota, and Colorado.

She said many of them ride their bikes from the trail to the cafe, which is located along West High Street. Others park in her parking lot and ride their bikes onto the trail, she added.

“Every time someone asks me if there’s anything to do here, I send them on the trail,” Kozian said.

Barr Township resident Deanna Sherry said she regularly runs the Ghost Town Trail, but also enjoys biking and walking the trail. She said she has been running the entire main trunk of the trail for nine consecutive years.

“There are a lot of landmarks along the way, and there are a lot of interesting things along the Ghost Town Trail,” Sherry said. “I’m just enjoying the scenery.”

Ebensburg resident Heath Long said he has used the trail at least three times a week since it was created.

Long said the Pour On Center pub-restaurant in Ebensburg annually sponsors a “fat bike race” on the Ghost Town Trail during the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership’s Dickens of a Christmas holiday event.

“It’s become a favorite drink for bikers,” Long said, adding that after a race, several riders like to taste test the beer on the gastropub’s patio.

Dean Baker, former environmental program manager for the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Cambria County Abandon Mine Reclamation Office, helped provide resources and programs to clear lands in the county for outdoor recreation.

“I think (the Ghost Town Trail) has a positive impact on the community because they are looking for the recreational aspect and bringing people in,” Baker said. “It was positive for the region.”

It started with a vision

In the late 1980s, with many rail corridors abandoned, Laurie Lafontaine began a grassroots effort to create a rail trail in Indiana County.

Lafontaine met with officials from Kovalchick Salvage Co. from the state of Indiana who were interested in donating an abandoned corridor for outdoor recreation. She contacted Ed Patterson, Indiana County parks and trails director, who partnered with her to designate the trail.

Lafontaine said because part of the corridor is in Cambria County, they needed someone from the county to join their partnership. She said the county commissioners at the time were not interested in developing the trail, so they teamed up with the North Cambria Community Development Corporation to build the trail.

Jerry Brant, a former corporate executive, previously told the Mirror that watching the Ghost Town Trail grow and develop over the past 30 years “is like watching your grandchildren from the moment they are born until they start their lives and become successful.” “

Lafontaine said she agreed with Brant’s opinion.

When the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority was created, it took over ownership and maintenance of the trail, Lafontaine said, adding that Indiana County Parks & Trails still owns and maintains portions of the trail in Indiana County.

Although the main core of the trail ends at Black Lick, the trail connects to the Hoodlebug Trail, which extends north toward Indiana for about 18 miles, she added.

According to Lafontaine, the Ghost Towns Trail “will continue to grow and become more important to our region.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella can be reached at 814-946-7520.