The trail spans nearly 50 miles, connecting Cambria and Indiana counties, and attracts nearly 200,000 visitors to the area each year, said Cliff Kitner, executive director of the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority.

Kitner expects the number of visitors will grow once the final 1.5-mile section of the 17-mile C&I Extension is completed.

Cottles Asphalt Maintenance contractors were hard at work Friday building a pedestrian box culvert at the North Street trailhead near Nanty Glo. Construction on the culvert will be complete by the end of the month, Kitner said, noting he hopes to get the remaining phases out to bid this year.

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

Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority Executive Director Cliff Kitner (left) walks with Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky Friday near the Ghost Town Trail’s Ebensburg trailhead. The Ghost Town Trail recently marked its 30th anniversary and attracts nearly 200,000 visitors to the area every year. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

When the C&I Extension is complete, Cambria County will be home to the second continuous rail loop trail in the country and the only continuous rail loop trail east of Oregon, cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said.

“This is good for our local economy,” Chernisky said, noting Cambria County is “the leader in the state of Pennsylvania” in outdoor recreation.

“Outdoor recreation is a $17 billion industry in the state of Pennsylvania, and Cambria County is getting their slice of the pie,” Chernisky said, adding outdoor recreation is good for people’s mental and physical health.

Chernisky said he’s met people from several states and other countries, who said they visit the county to use the Ghost Town Trail.

The main stem of the trail heading west from Ebensburg to Black Lick in Indiana County is about 32 miles long. In Cambria County, the trail connects to communities like Revloc, Nanty Glo and Vintondale and is used by tourists and local residents alike, Chernisky said.

The Ghost Town Trail has access points (from left on map) at Saylor Park, Heshbon, Dilltown, Wehrum, Vintondale, Twin Rocks, Nanty Glo and Ebensburg. Each features different accommodations. Saylor Park – 1284 Old Indiana Road, Blairsville – parking, restroom in season, picnic facilities, nearby walking path and ballfields, park is operated by Burrell Township. Heshbon – 10485 Route 259, Blairsville – parking, portable restroom in season. Dilltown – 7452 Route 403, Dilltown – parking, restrooms, picnic facilities, nearby trail shop and bed & breakfast, water. The Dilltown Access Area of the Ghost Town Trail is located on Route 403 one mile north of Route 22. Google map directions are incorrect. Wehrum – 2415 Wehrum Road, Vintondale – parking. Vintondale, Rexis – 1069 Main St., Vintondale – parking, restroom at Eliza Station, picnic area, water. Twin Rocks – 1397 Plank Road, Nanty Glo – parking. Nanty Glo – 1097 First St., Nanty Glo – parking, restroom in season at football field, local restaurants. Ebensburg – 424 Prave St., Ebensburg – parking, local restaurants. — Information from Parks & Trails, Indiana County

Revloc resident Kaley Kozian, owner of the Bohemian Bean coffee shop in Ebensburg, said she often uses the trail to bike to work.

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

In the coffee shop, Kozian has United States and global maps with pins to mark the various locations customers have traveled from. Many of the pins are placed on states from the East Coast, but there are several pins indicating people have traveled from destinations like California, Nevada, Texas, North Dakota and Colorado.

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

“Anytime someone asks me if there’s something to do around here, I send them to the trail,” Kozian said.

Barr Township resident Deanna Sherry said she regularly runs on the Ghost Town Trail but also enjoys riding her bike and walking on the trail. She’s run the trail’s entire main stem for nine consecutive years, she said.

“There’s a lot of landmarks along the way and different things to see along the Ghost Town Trail,” Sherry said. “I just enjoy the scenery.”

Ebensburg resident Heath Long said he’s been using the trail at least three times a week since its inception.

Long said Pour On Center, a gastropub in Ebensburg, sponsors a “fat bike race” on the Ghost Town Trail every year during the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership’s Dickens of a Christmas event.

“That has turned into somewhat of a favorite of bikers,” Long said, adding that several bikers enjoy taste-testing beers on the gastropub’s patio once the race is over.

Dean Baker, a former environmental program manager for the Cambria County office of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation, helped with resources and programs to clean up sites in the county for outdoor recreation opportunities.

“I think (the Ghost Town Trail) reflects positively on the community since they’re looking for the recreational aspect and they draw in people,” Baker said. “It’s been positive for the area.”

Started with a vision

In the late 1980s, when many railroad corridors were being abandoned, Laurie Lafontaine started a grassroots effort to establish a rail-trail in Indiana County.

Lafontaine met with officials from the Kovalchick Salvage Co. of Indiana, who were interested in donating an abandoned corridor for outdoor recreation. She contacted Ed Patterson, the director of Indiana County Parks & Trails, who partnered with her to establish a trail.

Lafontaine said, since part of the corridor is situated in Cambria County, they needed someone from the county to join their partnership. The county’s commissioners at the time had no interest in developing a trail, she said, so they joined with the Northern Cambria Community Development Corp. to build the trail.

Jerry Brant, the corporation’s former executive director, previously told the Mirror that seeing the Ghost Town Trail grow and expand throughout the past 30 years is “like watching your grandchildren from the time they’re born until they go and start their life and become successful.”

Lafontaine said she agrees with Brant’s sentiment.

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

Although the trail’s main stem ends in Black Lick, the trail connects with the Hoodlebug Trail, which extends north toward Indiana for about 11 miles, she said.

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

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.