City applies for funding for mountain bike trail

$250K sought for facility near Horseshoe Curve

The city is applying for a $250,000 state grant to improve a mountain bike trail near Horseshoe Curve.

Coupled with a $44,000 match from the city, the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Grant would pay for creation of a 12-car parking lot at the trailhead along Glen White Run Road, as well as trail development and construction, according to Public Works Director Nate Kissell and Rob Crossman of the city engineering office.

The parking lot would replace the current informal pull-off, while trail development would include planning and creation of features like bridges, boardwalks over wet areas and signage -- plus perhaps a skills park with jumps and log rollovers, Crossman said.

The grassroots group of which Crossman is a member went public with their work on the Horseshoe Mountain Bike Trail two years ago. Crossman said they have already constructed a figure-8 main loop of more than five miles, plus an additional two miles of trails.

There are sections for beginners, intermediate riders and advanced riders, Crossman said.

The work so far has been done mostly by hand, with picks, mattocks and rakes -- although some "work was done with an excavator in areas where there is access to create flat paths parallel to sloping ground, he said.

Workers have been using sustainable trail building techniques, with switchbacks, culverts, water outlets and grade reversals designed to release runoff from channels that would otherwise accelerate the speed of water and lead to erosion, Crossman said.

"We're learning as we go," he added.

"They're trying for it to be done the right way," said Steve McKnight, CEO of the Altoona Blair County Development Corp., which supports the project for its potential to draw visitors to the area.

The project has been drawing a lot of attention from the state, due to the approximately 12,000 acres of Altoona Water Authority and city land on which the trail network is situated, said McKnight, who is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Recreation Advisory Board.

The enthusiasts want to create a network similar to the Allegrippis Trails network at Raystown Lake, according to Kissell and Crossman.

The Allegrippis complex comprises 24 single-track, stacked-loop trails with a collective length of 36 miles, according to raystown.org.

Ultimately, trail development at Horseshoe Curve is likely to follow a pattern, Crossman said, although the plan isn't set in stone.

The stacked-loop pattern, with small loops at the trailhead giving way to larger ones farther afield, enables riders to "choose your own distance," he said.

The Horseshoe Curve complex is open also to trail runners and hikers, Crossman said.

The Central Blair Recreation and Park Commission, the Water Authority, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council have been among participating agencies.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.