Cambria County officials (from left) Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority Executive Director Cliff Kitner, Northern Cambria Community Development Corp. Executive Director Matt Barczak, Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky and Cambria Heights school board member Jerry Brant walk the Firefighter’s Memorial Trail at the county’s fire school training site in East Carroll Township. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

PATTON — Though the Firefighter’s Memorial Trail isn’t fully constructed, a portion of the trail from the Cambria County Fire School training site in East Carroll Township to Patton Borough is open and already used by several people, according to local and county officials.

Once the other portion is built this summer, the trail will connect the fire school to Sunset Road, near the Dollar General store in Carrolltown Borough, said Matt Barczak, executive director of the Northern Cambria Community Development Corp. — the organization responsible for building the trail.

“The project has been doing well. We’re on time and on budget,” Barczak said, noting the project, so far, has gone better than officials anticipated.

The Cambria County Regional Firefighters Association moved their entrance gate back so a trail parking area could be built, and a pavilion that will be accessible to trail users and firefighters alike is being constructed at the training site as part of the project, he said.

The trail’s full length between Carrolltown and Patton will be slightly over three miles long, Barczak said, adding it will be the only known trail in Pennsylvania that’s attached to a fire school training site.

Barczak, who is also a volunteer firefighter with the Hope Fire Company of Northern Cambria, said that’s a positive statistic because the trail draws attention to the association’s training site, which is used by 81 fire departments throughout nine counties.

Observing firefighters train at the site may increase interest in becoming a firefighter and leverage recruiting, Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said, noting people are already using the trail, leaning on the nearby wooden fence and watching the firefighters train.

“This is huge for Cambria County and the entire region because we know when people recreate, there’s no boundaries,” Chernisky said.

The portion of trail connecting to Patton was built December 2025, Chernisky said.

It follows a path along Little Chest Creek and ends at Ashcroft Road, just outside of the borough’s jurisdiction. People can then walk, hike or bike to Patton Park and connect to the Highlander Trail, which connects to Cambria Heights High School, Chernisky said.

Jerry Brant, a Cambria Heights school board member and the Patton Fire Company No. 1’s first assistant chief, said he’s excited about the trail’s development, noting it will connect the district’s middle and high school campus with the elementary school building in Carrolltown.

“We’re really happy to see this,” Brant said. “We’re happy to have been a partner in it, and I really want to see it get to Prince Gallitzin State Park.”

Officials have had meetings at Prince Gallitzin and are hoping to make that dream a reality one day, should the funding for it become available, said Cliff Kitner, executive director of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority.

Once the Firefighter’s Memorial Trail is fully built, Barczak said the Northern Cambria Community Development Corp. will transfer its ownership over to the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority to maintain the trail.

Chernisky said Kitner and his team “have been hitting home runs day in and day out” with the county’s trails.

“This is just another piece of the pie,” Chernisky said. “Our trails are destination points.”

According to Chernisky, county officials have wanted to build the Firefighter’s Memorial Trail for several years.

In September 2022, the board of commissioners — then Chernisky, William “B.J.” Smith and Scott Hunt — unanimously voted to award the Northern Cambria Community Development Corp. with $850,000 to build the trail, he said.

“It was something we wanted to do beforehand, but our county’s finances were in order and our financial ratings were in order. So, at that time, we knew if we didn’t give them those dollars, this trail may have never been built,” Chernisky said, adding the trail has many benefits.

Brant said the northern part of the county has a large elderly population who like to walk. Since some small communities don’t have a sidewalk system, the Firefighter’s Memorial Trail gives them a safe place to exercise, he said.

“The same thing for the younger children; it’s a safe place for them to walk or bike,” Brant said. “It’s a win-win-win for everybody, and we just hope to make this happen.”

Kitner said trails are enjoyable to walk on because they’re great for a person’s physical and mental wellness.

“I have never been on a trail with anybody and they say, ‘Boy, this sucks,'” Kitner said. “It’s awesome for everybody to be able to use it.”

Kitner said he used to listen to music when he would go out for runs. But now he enjoys listening to birds chirping in the air or the sound of rain hitting leaves.

“I listen to nature’s music now,” he said.

Brant and Chernisky said they have already walked the portion of trail leading into Patton.

Chernisky said he encourages people to take part in the Cambria Regional Chamber’s CR Adventures, a series of guided walks and hikes across the county’s best trails.

This year’s adventure kicks off Wednesday, May 20, with a walk at the Firefighter’s Memorial Trail at the fire school trailhead, 292 Ott Road, Patton.

“It’s exciting to walk something that’s been a vision for years that couldn’t get done,” Chernisky said. “Part of that trail is open, and we’re going to walk it. It’s an exciting start to our trail series.”

Most adventures in the series begin about 6:05 p.m. Each one is hosted by Chernisky, the chamber of commerce and the conservation and recreation authority.

Other adventures planned include a June 15 walk on the Ghost Town Trail near the North Street trailhead, 152 North St., Nanty Glo; a July 15 walk at the Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail’s riverside trailhead, 301 Michigan Ave., Johnstown; and an Aug. 12 walk near the Ghost Town Trail’s Ebensburg trailhead, 424 Prave St., Ebensburg.

An Aug. 26 sunset hike is planned at the Lorain/Stonycreek Hiking Trails, 507 Green Valley St.,

Johnstown, with a time to be determined.

The series will end Sept. 9 with a Path of the Flood Trail walk at the Franklin trailhead,

507 Green Valley St., Johnstown. That walk is scheduled to begin about 5:35 p.m.

For weather updates or more information about the CR Adventures, visit the chamber’s website, www.crchamber.com.

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