Ghost Town, Hoodlebug & West Penn Trails Regional Trail System Highlights Basic Trail Safety Our regional trail system continues to grow to Whether you are biking, walking or running meet the needs of our residents and an increasing on the trails there are several safety tips all users number of visitors from outside our area. Since should follow: the first 16 miles of the Ghost Town Trail were opened in 1994 the regional system has grown to • Do not use trails after dark or before dawn. include nearly 65 miles of trails. Efforts are well underway to link the trail system to other trails • Wear brightly colored clothing to improve within the region. visibility. During hunting season wear safety orange to be easily seen. Some portions of the trails pass through State Game Lands. Our trails pass through scenic • Take along a water bottle to avoid dehydration. areas, historic sites, state gamelands, • Carry a cell phone, but remember that cell phone recreation areas, coverage is limited in some areas of the trails. and other natural attractions. • If biking, always wear a helmet. The trails link neighborhoods, • Keep your bike well maintained. communities, schools, parks and • Keep to the right and pass on the left. businesses in an easily Provide a verbal signal or use a bell to alert others when passing. accessible route. We encourage you to support • Wearing headsets while using the trail is the many local businesses that provide services not recommended. which can help make your visit an enjoyable one. • Carry identification with you. Let About the Regional Trail Guide others know where you are going The regional system contained in this guide before heading out on the trail. includes trails in Indiana, Cambria and Westmoreland Counties. Through partnerships • In the event of an emergency with other trail organizations the goal of a call 911. fully connected regional trail system is moving closer to reality. • To report non-emergencies or trail conditions requiring The Regional Trail Map shows the location of the attention please call (724) 463-8636 in Indiana three trails divided into six sections. Each Section County or (814) 472-2110 Map shows major roads, public lands, parks, in Cambria County. historic sites, and other features of interest.

See a Map of the Trail System Hoodlebug Trail Hoodlebug Trail Indiana to Black Lick Section Black Lick to Blairsville Section Distance: 10 miles Distance: 8 miles Surface: Asphalt, tar and chip Trail Surface: Mainly Township Roads, some off-road segments Designated Access Areas: • IUP South Campus – parking is permitted at ballfield Designated Trail Access Areas: parking lots, use Rose Street bike lane to access trail. • Saylor Park, Black Lick • Floodway Park – in the Borough of Homer City. • Various locations within Blairsville Borough and • Red Barn Access Area – south of Homer City at the WyoTech Park Homer Center Athletic Booster Complex. • Saylor Park, Black Lick, PA. Trail/Bike Route Highlights

Trail Highlights From Black Lick to Blairsville the Hoodlebug Trail is a designated bike route (not a rail-trail) which follows The Hoodlebug Trail is a various township roads. Caution: The bike route contains ten-mile recreation and steep stretches and portions of the township roads are commuter trail located heavily traveled at certain times of the day, particularly in the central portion of Cornell Road in the area of the Blairsville High School Indiana County, Pennsylva- and the WyoTech School. This trail section should be nia. The trail passes through attempted only if you are a seasoned rider, comfortable residential, commercial and riding in traffic, and are willing to exercise caution. natural settings, providing direct trail access to many local residents and employees of Leaving Saylor Park and heading south the trail enters schools, industries and small businesses. Park Drive near the Burrell Township Municipal building. Turn left onto and cross Old Indiana Road onto Blaire The trail follows the abandoned Indiana Branch of the Road. Follow Blaire Road until coming to Claire Road Pennsylvania Railroad between Indiana and Black Lick. Built (with a ‘C’). At Claire Road the trail parallels Route in the 1850’s, the Indiana Branch was the first railroad to be 119 for a short stretch before entering the box culvert constructed in Indiana County. ‘Hoodlebug’ was the local underneath Route 119. You will leave the box culvert and nickname for the self-propelled passenger coach that ran follow Route 119 on a separate, narrow bike path up the on the line until 1940 (see photo above). The corridor was hill along Route 119 to Cornell Road. Follow Cornell also part of the Catawba Path, a Native American trail that Road until coming to Country Lane. Country Lane is extended from the Carolinas to upstate New York. a very steep climb. At the intersection of Country Lane you will turn left (south) onto Lear Road into Blairsville Borough. In Blairsville Borough follow Hodge Street, cross Market Street (the main street in the borough) and onto Morewood Avenue to its end at WyoTech Park.

At WyoTech Park the trail will enter U. S. Army Corps of Engineers property along the Conemaugh River. This scenic section of trail, when constructed, will make a 2 mile loop around the southern portion of Blairsville. Before being purchased by the Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, this section of Blairsville was known as ‘Tin Town’.

Just beyond Market Street, near the Bairdstown Bridge, the Hoodlebug Trail will eventually link to the West Penn Trail (operated by the Conemaugh Valley Conservancy). Cambria & Indiana County Hoodlebug Train, ca. 1925 This Hoodlebug operated on the Rexis Branch of the Ghost Town Trail.

See a Map of the See a Map of the Indiana – Black Lick Section Black Lick – Blairsville Section West Penn Trail Ghost Town Trail Blairsville to Saltsburg Black Lick to Ebensburg Distance: 16 miles Distance: 37 miles Surface: Asphalt, tar and chip - Hard-packed limestone dust Surface: Hard-packed limestone dust

Designated Access Areas Designated Access Areas • Saltsburg • Saylor Park - Black Lick, PA • Conemaugh Dam • Heshbon • Livermore • Dilltown • Westinghouse Trailhead (near Blairsville) • Wehrum • Rexis Trail Highlights • Twin Rocks • Nanty Glo The West Penn Trail is a 16-mile rail-trail between Avonmore • Ebensburg and the Westinghouse trailhead near Blairsville. The trail uses the grade of the 1883-1907 railroad line and currently consists of two Trail Highlights sections: the Conemaugh River Lake and the Saltsburg sections. The Conemaugh River Lake section includes four spectacular The Ghost Town Trail totals 36 miles in Indiana and Cambria Coun- stone arch bridges built in 1907 which offer incredible vistas of ties, Pennsylvania. The trail was established in 1991 when the Kovalchick the serpentine Conemaugh River. From this section, you will Salvage Company donated 16 miles of the former Ebensburg & Blacklick catch glimpses of the old canal and railroad grades. Conemaugh Railroad. In 1993 the Cambria & Indiana Railroad donated an additional Dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is within 4 miles from Rexis to White Mill Station known as the Rexis Branch. this section in addition to the Tunnelview Historic Site, operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails. The Saltsburg section passes In 2005 an additional 20 miles were added to the trail - 12 miles in Indi- through beautiful ana County and 8 miles in Cambria County. The U.S. Department of the backwoods, containing Interior has designated the trail as a National Recreation Trail. The trail is canal and railroad open year-round for hiking, bicycling, and cross-country skiing. remnants along the Conemaugh River. The Ghost Town Trail derives its name from numerous mining towns that once existed along the railroad corridor. Wehrum, the largest of the former The West Penn Trail towns, once had 230 houses, a hotel, company store, jail and bank. Warren is built through an Delano, uncle of President Franklin Roosevelt, developed the town. Other historic section of the Conemaugh River Valley. Bow Ridge is ghost towns include Bracken, Armerford, the site of the third tunnel constructed in the United States, a Lackawanna #3, Scott Glenn, Webster, canal tunnel opened in 1829. Two more railroad tunnels were Beula, and Claghorn. dug through the same ridge - all are now closed. A fourth tunnel was constructed for a hydroelectric plant, which still operates The Eliza Furnace, on the National Register downstream of the Conemaugh Dam. of Historic Places, is one of Pennsylvania’s best preserved iron furnaces. The furnace Following the disastrous St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936, operated from 1846 to 1849 and is a Congress authorized a series of flood control dams to protect unique relic of the Blacklick Valley’s early Pittsburgh. The Conemaugh Dam, completed in 1953, industrial era. The Buena Vista Furnace, was one of them. The river valley behind the dam became a near the trail crossing at PA Route 56, virtually untouched wilderness in the ensuing half century. The is also located along the trail. Historical abandoned canal and railroad corridors were almost forgotten. markers throughout the trail provide inter- Small communities like Livermore, Fillmore, and Social Hall pretive information about Blacklick Valley’s intriguing history. grew around the canal and railroad and vanished with the construction of the dam. The West Penn Trail offers exciting opportunities to relearn the history of this beautiful corridor. Historical markers along the trail feature snapshots of this See a Map of the previously hidden valley. Dilltown – Nanty Glo Section See a Map of the Black Lick – Dilltown Section See a Map of the West Penn Trail See a Map of the Nanty Glo – Ebensburg Section The Great Map. The mosaic map replicates the 1923 Sanborn Insurance Map of the Vinton Colliery. Standing on the map, visitors can locate and compare the present landscape and buildings with those of earlier mining times.

Vinton Colliery’s “Dinkey” Transported Mine Supplies

AMD & Art Park Vintondale

Vinton Colliery’s For More Information “Beehive” Coke Ovens, 1906

Ghost Town Trail, Indiana County Hoodlebug Trail Indiana County Parks & Trails 1128 Blue Spruce Road The Mine No. 6 Portal. This Miners’ Memorial Indiana, PA 15701 is an opportunity to acknowledge and reflect on the 724/463-8636 hard lives of those who worked underground. The website: www.indianacountyparks.org reconstructed six-by-twelve-foot mine portal entrance stands exactly where the once-bustling Mine No. 6 Portal entrance was located. The life-sized image of men in the • Other Regional Trail Contacts middle of a shift-change is etched in black polished stone. Ghost Town Trail, Cambria County Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority 401 Candlelight Drive, Suite 234 Ebensburg, PA 15931 814/472-2110 website: www.co.cambria.pa.us – (follow links) West Penn Trail Conemaugh Valley Conservancy PO Box 502 Hollsopple, PA 15935 814/479-7162 website: www.conemaughvalleyconservancy.org Roaring Run Watershed Association Trail Roaring Run Watershed Association Box 333 Apollo, PA 15613 724/478-3366 website: www.roaringrun.org Westmoreland Heritage Trail RR#12, Box 203, Greensburg, PA 15601 website: www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/parks – (follow links) Ghost Town Trail - Mileage Chart (approximate distances)

Distance Distance Travel Location 1-Way Round-Trip Direction

Saylor Park (Black Lick, PA) 0 0 Heshbon ( PA Rt. 259) 6.5 13 East PA Route 56 Bridge 10 20 East Dilltown 13 26 East

Dilltown 0 0 Wehrum 3 6 East Rexis/Vintondale/Eliza Furnace 6 12 East Twin Rocks 9 18 East Nanty Glo 12 24 East Ebensburg 20 40 East

Rexis Branch is 4 miles in length and ends at Route 422 just west of Belsano, PA. Total Ghost Town Trail Mileage is 37 miles.

Starting in Ebensburg and heading west: Distance Distance Travel Location 1-Way Round-Trip Direction Ebensburg 0 0 West Nanty Glo 8 16 West Twin Rocks 11 22 West Rexis/Vintondale/Eliza Furnace 14 28 West Wehrum 17 34 West Dilltown 20 40 West Buena Vista Furnace, 1971

Ebensburg & Yellow Creek Railroad

Henry Wehrum

Eliza Furnace, ca. 1910

Adventure And History On Every Trail…

Vintondale Passenger Station, ca. 1912 Indiana County 119 Active Hiking and/or Biking Trails 422 Indiana Regional Trail Network Trails Planned or Under Construction

Indiana County Parks

State-Owned Public Lands

0 1 2 3 4 5 Miles 954 422 286

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R B Vintondale d 22 lac Glo B k Creek klick lacklic C Blacklick Heshbon re Hoodlebug ek Tunnelton Extension Blacklick Ghost Town Valley Armagh Natural Trail 219 Westmoreland 22 Area Heritage Pine Ridge Trail 981 Park 56 403 22 L 271 o y a l Blairsville h a C n o n 119 n 259 Buttermilk a 22 em Indiana augh Falls C R Seward re New i County e ve 22 k Alexandria r Parks & Trails www.indianacountyparks.org Robinson 119 724-463-8636 1128 Blue Spruce Road Indiana, PA 15701 updated 4/15/08

To create this publication Indiana County Parks & Trails received support from these businesses and organizations.

Allegheny Ridge Corp Blairsville Downtown Group Cambria & Indiana Trail Council CamTran Canal Cupboard City Cycle Dillweed Bed & Breakfast Homer City Generating Indiana County Tourist Bureau Indiana Cycling and Fitness Center Indiana First Bank Reliant Energy Saltsburg River & Trail S&T Bank Sheetz Ski Den Sports Spokes n Skis