The Pennsylvania Railroad originally built the Chautauqua Line as part of a network of rail lines that linked Corry, Titusville, Oil City, Franklin and Meadville during the boom days of the oil industry in Northwest Pennsylvania. Spartansburg, Glynden and Centerville were important depots in the network. Heading south out of Spartansburg, the rail corridor parallels the East Branch of Oil Creek, hence the trail name.
After its establishment in 1988, the Clear Lake Authority purchased the 15.4-mile disused rail corridor to provide public access to Clear Lake in Spartansburg. As of June 2011, only 3.1 miles of the old rail bed is opened from just north of Spartansburg to just south of the town. The trail is used by hikers, hunters, cyclists and horse-drawn Amish wagons. The flat East Branch is mostly ballast with some dirt. A small borough with a population of fewer than 300, Spartansburg is a commerce center to a sizable Amish community. Horse-drawn buggies and wagons are a regular site in town and occasionally on the trail, when the Amish use it as an alternative transportation corridor, deemed safer than the main highways.
The trail skirts wooded hillsides, Amish homesteads, farms and fields of brush to Clear Lake and wetlands. Preservation of this corridor connects to Chautauqua County rail-trails in New York state and with Oil City, Pennsylvania, both areas that are filled with 19th- and 20th-century history and charm. Over the past decade Spartansburg has become a tourist destination for those in search of Amish furniture, antiques, country crafts and fresh maple syrup. Two B&Bs are located in town, the Dutch Inn B&B and the Three Gable B&B, plus other accommodations to choose from. Clear Lake, which is actually a reservoir, offers canoeing and fishing. If you are interesting in fishing, consult local guides and resources.
The East Branch Trail is a key link in a system of trails that will eventually connect Lake Erie to the Chesapeake Bay via the
Great Allegheny Passage and Erie to Harrisburg via the Mainline Canal Greenway. For more information about the East Branch Trail, please contact the Clear Lake Authority in Spartansburg.
The trail can be accessed in downtown Spartansburg at the parking area at the southern tip of Clear Lake, off Route 77 (Main Street). If you are heading east on Route 77, the parking area will be on your left.
Sixty years ago, my dad rode the "night train" from Pittsburgh to Buffalo to attend Bell Aircraft's Mechanical Training School over this route, and I deemed it quite appropriate to be following his path on the 21st anniversary of his passing yesterday. ...
This morning we took our recumbent trikes over (we live in Tidioute, PA, 22 miles from Spartansburg) to ride the trail for the first time. Although the paved section is short, I still enjoyed the ride. I do advise riding it in the morning or evening on ...
Went to Sparty 6/20/10 What a suprise! the parkibg lot is a bit of a trick to get around in during construction, But what a nice trail. Now paved north and south of town, and all the junk is gone. This is a trail that fits in great in this area.There ...