West Penn Trail

Blairsville to Saltsburg

Distance: 16 miles

Surface: Asphalt, tar and chip - Hard-packed limestone dust

Designated Access Areas

• Saltsburg
• Conemaugh Dam
• Livermore
• Westinghouse Trailhead (near Blairsville)

Trail Highlights:

The West Penn Trail is a 16-mile rail-trail between Avonmore and the Westinghouse trailhead near Blairsville. The trail uses the grade of the 1883-1907 railroad lone and currently consists of two sections. The Conemaugh River Lake and the Saltsburg sections. The Conemaugh River Lake section includes four spectacular stone arch bridges built in 1907 which offer incredible vistas of the serpentine Conemaugh River. From this section, you will catch glimpses of the old canal and railroad grades. Conemaugh Dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is within this section in addition to the Tunnelview Historic Site, operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails. The Saltsburg section passes through beautiful backwoods, containing canal and railroad remnants along the Conemaugh River.

The West Penn Trail is built through an historic section of the Conemaugh River Valley. Bow Ridge is the site of the third tunnel constructed in the United States, a canal tunnel opened in 1829. Two more railroad tunnels were dug through the same ridge - all are now closed. A fourth tunnel was constructed for a hydroelectric plant, which still operates downstream of the Conemaugh Dam.

Following the disasterous St. Patrick's Day Flood of 1936, Congress authorized a series of flood control dams to protect Pittsburgh. The Conemaugh Dam, completed in 1953, was one of them. The river valley behind the dam became a virtually untouched wilderness in the ensuing half century. The abandoned canal and railroad corridors were almost forgotten. Small communities like Livermore, Fillmore, and Social Hall 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 previously hidden valley.

Source: Indiana County Parks & Trails