My wife & I rode the section between Dilltown & Nanty Glo as well as the Rexis Branch August 14th & August 16th. Even though it rained quite a bit on Monday, there was no standing water Tuesday. The trail was only a bit damp. We especially enjoyed the furnace and mining exibits at Vintondale. We put the uphill at the beginning of our rides. It's not too steep, but it is a constant uphill grade. The ride down was a great relief. We stayed at the Dillweed B & B in Dilltown. This is probably the finest, cleanest place we've stayed at. The trail is next to their trailside store. We expect to go back next year to ride the rest of the trail.

This is an amazing trail. Like many trails in Pennsylvania and Maryland, it is rich with history. I would like to explain our previous experience for the sake of understanding how it fits in.

We have been on the Great Allegheny Passage from the continental divide to Cumberland. For me, the unforgettable highlight was the the Big Savage tunnel, with its unending interior and its magnificent ending view. We have been on the York Trail, and I will not forget standing on the train platform where Abraham Lincoln awaited the train to Gettysburg. We have been to the Lehigh Gorge, where the trail is pure rich scenery, but the terminal town of Jim Thorpe is pure rich history. Unforgettable highlight?--the gallows where the Molly Maguires were hung, and the jail that contained them.

These are all trips taken since my daughter was old enough to ride a trail-a-bike, in December 2009. Needless to say, I am just so happy that Rail-Trails exist, and create such great experiences.

So what about our experience on this trail.

We rode the trail from Ebensburg to Saylor Park/Blacklick in the course of two July days of 16 miles each. The midway point is Wehrum. We were two families, with two five year olds tagging along, and so we could self shuttle, and make the trip entirely "downhill."

I am very haunted by the things I saw, and think this trail must be extremely unique in the rail trail system. Just for example, one vivid memory is the sign that says that there are 300 different sources of coal mining pollution that are dumping into Blacklick Creek and its drainage. A biker will see plenty of slag heaps that leach poison into the stream. And will also see orange creek beds, with water coming from slag heaps out of sight.

What is most stunning to me is that this damage is 100 years old, or so. The damage is not going away soon, folks. The whole trip could be a reminder to the consequences of not thinking about the world our children and grandchildren live in.

Near the middle of the trail is Vintondale. This is a place where humanity and hope breathed deep and said, "We can start to undo this damage." There is a park there that is also an attempt to mitigate Acid Mine Drainage (it is referred to as AMD repeatedly, so remember this acronym). There are settling ponds, to get the iron red and the toxic aluminum out of the water. There are community fields for sport, and a pavilion. And a very quiet, very elegant memorial. The first part of the memorial that you see is next to the trail. It is a large mosaic map showing how the scene before you looked in coal mining days. A busy place, with hundreds of workers instead of settling ponds.

And then the most ghostly experience. There is a mural, etched in black granite, of nine coal miners emerging from the mine shaft, placed against the canyon wall.

We continued downstream. Right after Vintondale, Blacklick Creek turned a dark orange, and the clarity of the stream was lost for a while. I suspect that a major, polluted tributary had entered there.

Beyond these stark reminders of our history, I think the highlights were the two iron furnaces along the way. I particularly liked the explanation of the furnace workings at Eliza Furnace. These from an earlier era than the coal mines, and the damage to the earth is less obvious.

I hope I am not scaring people away from a truly outstanding rail-trail. For me, the big story were the lessons about the relation of man to the world. On the other hand, if you are not interested in this, the trail is very well maintained, and a joy unto itself. Other than the human scars, the stream is beautiful as it wends its way down into Blacklick.

Rode this trail last weekend in two days. First day was from Heshbon to Vintondale the grade is almost flat and the scenery is awesome seen many deer and other small animals. The history along this trail is also great. The second day we rode from Vintondale to about 2 miles past Nanty Glo at the bridge of the south fork of the Black lick creek. The second days ride was an up hill climb for 3.6 miles out of Vintondale to Twin Rocks then it seem to become more flat. The best part of the second day was the ride back down the mountain to Vintondale. This Trail has ample bathroom along it at trail heads and has alot of benches everywhere. I would have to place this trail at the top of my to do list for a fall ride, but make sure you wear bright colors as it does go thru some PA state game lands. On last thing is don't forget your bug spray and camera.

My wife and I rode a portion of the Ghost Town Trail (starting in Dilltown, going several miles in each direction) on May 13, 2011. The trail is in excellent condition, and we both had a great time. The Dillweed B&B has a cafe where we enjoyed a light lunch, as well. We look forward to returning to ride the entire trail!

Just got done with the Rexis Branch today, very nice ride but a little chilly. The scenery more than made up for it as my wife and I saw deer, geese and chipmunks all along the trail. When we got to the trail end at ST RT 422 we discovered that the underpass to the proposed extension had been washed out by flooding of the Blacklick Creek. It looked as if you could still make it through the underpass but your feet might get wet. Thought this might be helpful information as this is on the Soujorn's planned route for this July

My husband and I rode this from Vintondale to Nanty-GLo Oct. 17th. The trail was great. We found the ride to be so peaceful and relaxing. Highly recommend this trail. The weather was perfect and the colors were gorgous. We plan to ride more along the Ghost Town Trail in the future.

My friend and I left his home in Ebensburg and rode to Vintondale over the weekend. We enjoyed the downhill grade pretty much the whole way to Vintondale. Very nicely constructed. Everything was well thought out. We stopped by the AMD & ART park and enjoyed what they have done so far. We also stopped by the Eliza Furnace which was very neat to see. We plan on starting in Vintondale next time and checking out more of the trail. I highly recommend this trail to anyone! The climb back to Ebensburg was a good workout but not that bad.

As of September 2009, the bridges have been installed in the Dilltown area which makes the trail complete between Ebensburg and Blacklick. This is a beautiful trail with everything one could want in a trail, including some rest area, restaurants in Nanty Glo, not to mention beautiful scenery. You'll pass all types of scenery and probably see some wildlife at some point. Pretty flat with some section of incline, most notably from Vintondale to Nanty Glo.

Project Summary

The project involved the installation of two pre-fabricated bridges at the Ghost Town Trail in Indiana County, PA.

Amerford Bridge is 224 feet in length and the Scott Glen Bridge is 125 feet in length. The bridges are named for two former mining towns once located along the trail. With the completion of the bridges and the construction of 6,000 feet of trail connecting them, trail users now have a continuous trail from Saylor Park (Black Lick, PA) to Ebensburg, a distance of 34 miles.

For more information about the Ghost Town Trail, visit Indiana County Parks & Trails (http://www.indianacountyparks.org/trails/gtt/gtt.html).


Funding Sources

Funding for this project came from the PA DCNR, PennDOT, and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

---
Indiana County Parks & Trails
1128 Blue Spruce Rd.
Indiana, PA 15701

http://www.indianacountyparks.org/

Work on completion of the Ghost Town Trail missing link is nearing completion. Two bridges have recently been erected. Remaining work on the project includes construction of the bridge approaches, fencing and installation of 6,000 feet of trail surface. The expected project completion date is September 11, 2009. With the completion of this missing link the Ghost Town Trail will extend continuously for 34 miles from Black Lick (Saylor Park) to Ebensburg, PA.

Indiana County Parks & Trails
www.indianacountyparks.org

Woohoo! The bridges west of Dilltown were just installed last week August 19-20. Indiana County Parks will be completing the work to refine the trail tread going up to the bridges. There is now completed trail the whole way from Saylor Park in Black Lick, PA 36 miles to Ebensburg. Way to go Indian County Parks!

We are currently waiting for Echo Bridge Company to complete the manufacture of two pre-fabricated bridges for the Ghost Town Trail.

At this time we do not have a definite delivery date for the bridges. Shawrose Construction will install the bridges once they are delivered to Dilltown.

After the bridges are installed the trail surface to connect the two bridges will be completed by the Indiana County Parks & Trails maintenance staff.

We appreciated your patience and support of this project.


Indiana County Parks & Trails

(724) 463-8636
www.indianacountyparks.org/

Shawrose Construction has completed all concrete work for the Ghost Town Trail Bridge Project located near Dilltown.

We are now waiting for the two pre-fabricated pedestrian bridges to be manufactured. Delivery of the bridges is not expected until the end of the year.

The completion of the bridge project will depend on the delivery of the bridges, weather conditions and the contractor's work schedule.

A spring 2009 completion is anticipated.

Sincerely,

Indiana County Parks & Trails

(724) 463-8636
www.indianacountyparks.org

"Excellent trail conditions. Crushed stone was smooth and hard packed making it easy to ride. Stayed at the Dillweed B&B in Dilltown. This was the perfect place to stay and the owner Cindy was a wealth of information. The first day I rode from Dilltown to Ebensburg and on the return also covered the Rexis branch. It ends abruptly near Hwy 422. Hope they take it farther. Had lunch while on the ride at the Niner Diner in Nanty Glo. Dinner later that night was at the Griffith Tavern as nearest town is 10 miles away. Lots of riders on the trail. Mile markers were in placeand at several places there were nice bathroom facilities. Slight incline going toward Ebensburg made the return trip quicker. The next day had some rain forecast so I decided to drive to the Heshbon access and ride a figure eight. Brige connecting the trail at Dilltown still not done. This part of the trail lacked mile markers. Condition was excellent though. Few riders on this section. At Sawyer Park in Blacklick I came across another rider who was heading toward Heshbon so I rode with him and discovered that he rides the 24 miles almost daily. He recommended Al's Pizza in Nanty Glo for dinner and said to not miss the Coconut cream homemade pie. Those are the tips that make a ride extra special. He was right on as dinner was great The owner came out and talked with my wife and I too. Brought us some pegash (perogi's) to sample. We enjoyed our stay so much that we're planning a return trip some day. This is in the top 5 Rail Trails I've ever ridden taking into account trail condition, scenery, lodging, and facilities."

"Did a Labor Day weekend trip on the Ghost Town Trail yesterday, and it was a very nice ride. We parked at the Dilltown parking lot, which was nice with a big field for the kids to run around in, covered picnic pavillion, and public bathrooms. We went East from there to the Rexis/Vintonville Split at around 5 miles. There's a parking lot at the split. This first part of the trail was very flat and follows the Black Lick Creek, and there were some nice historical markers and a few places where the trees were cut back to provide a view of the creek. The piles of mine waste along the North side of the trail, while historically significant, were sort of ugly, if you ask me.

The section from the split northward to Red Mill (2.4 miles according to the sign at the split) was gently uphill the whole way. Probably a 1-2% grade. It was mostly through wooded areas, but passed a few homes to the West. We arrived at Red Mill, which had a nice historical marker about the grist mill that is no longer there. There's an old bridge that's worth seeing there, and a rental cabin about 500m from the trail that looked like it's be a nice place to spend the weekend with friends. The trail continued on Northward from Red Mill, but there was a pile of crushed limestone in the middle of the trail and it looked like that part wasn't as well maintained. We had left a car at the small parking lot in Red Mill (no facilities) and headed back to Dilltown. The whole ride took about an hour and a half.

To end the day on a high note, we drove 15 minutes south on 403 into Johnstown, took the inclined plane up the mountain and had a nice dinner overlooking the city at City View Bar and Grill. It was good- we sat outside on the balcony."

Funding for the installation of two major bridges has been approved. Once completed the two bridges will provide the final missing link in the GT Trail regional trail system. Engineering of the bridges has begun and pending the receipt of suitable bids construction of the bridges will occur in the summer or fall of 2007. Your patience is appreciated.

Vist our website www.indianacountyparks.org for additional trail updates.

"As metioned in previous reviews, the Ghost Town Trail has been extended from Nanty Glo to Ebensburg in Cambria County and from Saylor Park near Blacklick to within 2 miles of Dilltown in Indiana County.
On the Ebensburg to Nanty Glo section, historical markers are located at Ebensburg, Beula and Nanty Glo. The grade from Nanty Glo to Ebensburg is .7%. Several benches are located along the new section, with construction of small pavilions still waiting for sponsors.

For the new colored brochure of the entire trail plus the Hoodlebug and West Penn Trails please call the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority at 814-472-2110 or email at jbartock@co.cambria.pa.us "

I highly recommend this trail. It is well kept and very informative. I found the Rexis Branch the most scenic.

"The new section of the trail from Ebensburg to Nanty Glo was opened in the Fall of 2005, along with the section from Black Lick heading East towards Dilltown. Both new sections are very nicely done, especially the section between Ebensburg and Nanty Glo...they put up mileage markers on this section along with an historical sign about the town of Beulah at the Beulah Road bridge about 3 miles West of Ebensburg. These new sections are slightly different from the ""older"" section between Nanty Glo and Dilltown, in that the trailbed is slightly higher than the ground around it due to it's resting on the elevated railroad bed. This gives more of a feel of riding on a railroad line than just a path through the woods. The trail now is a total of 19.5 miles from It's Easternmost end in Ebensburg to the Dilltown trailhead.

The trail from Ebensburg West to Nanty Glo passes the Ebensburg ballfields, goes under a road bridge in Ebensburg, and under the Route 219 bridge at the ""Y"" junction where the CandI trail intersection is, also over bridges at Beulah Road and Blacklick Creek, and finally past a swampy area just East of Nanty Glo. Just across this swamp/wetlands is where the CandI trail will come into Nanty Glo from the East. This section of the trail between Ebensburg and Nanty Glo is very popular on weekends, and and also with people out biking, walking, and jogging after work in the evenings.

The new section from Black Lick heading East towards Dilltown gets used less than the rest of the Ghost Town Trail due partly to it's remoteness, but that will probably change once they finish it with the bridges to link it with Dilltown. This section of the trail has a more rugged feel to the countryside with the trail passing old mining sites, going through several rock cuts the railroad made between the hillside and the river, and through remote wooded areas. Things to see on this section of the trail are mining sites both East and West of Heshbon, a large silo-type building near the Route 56 bridge, the Buena Vista Furnace just off the trail,""the bridge to nowhere"" an old concrete 3-span bridge that crosses the river about 2 miles East of Heshbon, several small bridges crossing the streams under the trail including one just West of Heshbon with acid mine drainage running in the stream, lots of views of the acid mine polluted orange colored Blacklick Creek with some nice overlook-type views, and an old concrete bridge pier in the middle of the creek just East of Black Lick.

The trail ends at it's Western end at the community park in the town of Black Lick. Here there is a park restroom facility, picnic pavillion and basketball court. Also, there is a view of the smokestacks and nuclear-style cooling towers of the nearby Homer City Generating Station. From this park they will be linking the Ghost Town with the Hoodlebug trail; as of now (July 2006) the link isn't finished.

The Ghost Town Trail rises in elevation going from West to East, so Ebensburg is the highest point on the trail. The section between Vintondale to Nanty Glo is the steepest with the grade being probably around 1 1/2-2%, and the rest of the trail being either nearly level to 1% grade. The most used sections of the trail are Dilltown to Vintondale, and Nanty Glo to Ebensburg. There are ""No horses allowed"" signs up along the entire trail, as of 2006."

"For updated information on the Ghost Town Trail visit our website:
www.indianacountyparks.org

Also a new full-color guide to the Ghost Town, Hoodlebug and West Penn Trails has recently been published.

Send e-mail with your mailing address to indparks@earthlink.net to obtain a guide via regular mail. The guide will also be posted on our website in the near future: www.indianacountyparks.org"

"The trail has been enhanced to include the AMD & Art project in Vintondale, the Rexis section toward Rt 422 (Candi Trail) has been restored to full width again and the sandstone quarry building has had another room added for the public to view."

"We did the complete trail up and back in 1 1/2 days. Vintondale to Nanty Glo was quite a workout, but refreshments at the end of the line was great. Dilltown was having their herb festival, lots of people and crafts. The trail is great; we only wish the trees between the trail and the creek were trimmed in some places to get a better view. Don't miss the cutoff to Rexis, to the end past Red Mill Bridge."

"While riding the Ghost Town Trail last week on June 25, 2003, I was pleasantly suprised at the beauty of the trail and Blacklick Creek, and I was very impressed with the trailhead in Dilltown. Here there was a large parking lot, picnic pavilion and rest rooms.

Along the beautiful trail there are many educational signs explaining the history of the trail and how the DNR is cleaning up the wetland area around the mines and protecting the enviroment from acid mine drainage into the streams.

The climb from Vintondale to Nanty Glo is a good workout."

"Ghost Town Trail is one that I've ridden many times and as a Rail trail it's really nice, the local scenery makes it very unusual though. The trail itself is in very nice condition, with trailhead parking in Nanty Glo and Dilltown, and restroom facilities in Vintondale. There is a nice picnic pavillion and a trailside store in Dilltown that sells refreshments and other merchandise (got myself a ""Ghost Town Trail"" T-shirt there with a ghost riding a bike on it!). The trail has an uphill grade to it between Vintondale and Nanty Glo which is a little more than most of the rail trails I've been on.

The most unusual thing about the Ghost Town Trail is the type of scenery it passes through. There are many areas along the trail where they mine for coal and left behind reminders of this regions ""Coal Country"" history. There are several large areas of mine tailings dumps along the trail where there is no vegetation, just black mounds of mine waste.

Nanty Glo has two large areas of coal mine waste dumps around the town, and the one looks like the aftermath of the Mount Saint Helens explosions with everything black, and the trees dead and pale grey. I took photos of this area for a college photography class, and one of the other students thought my photos were of the volcanic national parks in Hawaii because they both look similar. There is also a large mine tailings dump in Vintondale that looks like the Black Hills region in the Dakotas, because it is a large black sweeping hill with colored striations running though it. There is also a smaller dump just west of Vintondale that is also black, but it has yellow and white crusty streaks coming out of it and smells of sulphur in the summertime (smells like Hell ?). The stream along the trail is unusual too because the stream has been polluted by acid mine drainage and all the streambed and rocks around it are orange, instead of their ""normal"" color. The view of the orange stream and black hill from the bridge just east of Vintondale is interesting. Climb to the top of the mound of tailings in Vintondale and you'll have a good view of the town and the trail going through the valley. Near Twin Rocks there is a cut in the hill that the trail goes through that exposes a coal seam on both sides of the trail, with lumps of coal laying around the trailsides. It's perfect for picking out Christmas presents for those kids on Santa's ""naughty"" list."

The trail has been great this year for cross country skiing. The snow has remained constant and the ski traffic is light. You can see conditions on the following site: www.skisite.com

"Parking also available in Twin Rocks, Red Mill, & White Mill areas. Historical sites also include sandstone quarry remains from 1923, millrace from Red Mill grist mill built in 1828 and a still operational trestle bridge built in 1890."

"This trail is great for solo riders or whole families. It passes historical sites and thru PA gamelands with some great trout streams. Only two places to overnight-Dillweed B&B and Red Mill Cottage. Overnight camping is only allowed in the Rexis Area at the House of the Rising Sun hospitality house, free of charge."