Lower Trail (Pennsylvania)

Lower Trail
Length	16.5 mi (26.6 km)
Location	Blair County, Pennsylvania
Designation	National Recreation Trail
Trailheads	Flowing Springs Alfarata
Use	Bicycling, Hiking, Bird-watching, Cross-Country Skiing, and Horseback Riding
Elevation
Grade	0.2%
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	Easy, ADA accessible
Season	Year-round
Surface	Smooth crushed stone
Right of way	Pennsylvania Railroad

The Lower Trail (pronounced like "flower") is a 16.5-mile (26.6 km) rail trail that follows the Juniata River in West-Central Pennsylvania from Flowing Springs to Alfarata. The Lower Trail is owned and maintained by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy of Central Pennsylvania (RTTCPA) and follows the roadbed of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Petersburg Branch along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River between the small town of Alfarata, Huntingdon County, to Flowing Spring, Blair County.

The Lower Trail is the only privately owned and maintained rail trail in the U.S. It is free of charge to the public. The portion of the Lower Trail from Alfarata to Williamsburg is part of the Pennsylvania Mid State Trail and Great Eastern Trail. The site was identified Important Bird Area by the Ornithological Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey in October 2001. In 2009, the trail was also designated as a National Recreation Trail by the United States Department of the Interior.

Historical development

Historical significance

Much of the trail was the original towpath for the Pennsylvania Canal that operated in the early 1800s and was known as the "continuous waterways" which linked Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. By the 1850s, most of the canals became obsolete because the railroad industry became more powerful. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) had taken over the business and the land, in which the Lower Trail lays. Surrounding towns began to flourish and grow with the existence of the railroad in central Pennsylvania.

Trail's history and evolution

The development of the Lower Trail was made possible through the combination of private and public funding. In 1992, Penn Central Inc. decided to sell 11 miles (18 km) of the corridor, from Alfarata to Williamsburg, and was purchased because of a donation from Hollidaysburg attorney, T. Dean Lower, by the Rails to Trails-of-Central Pennsylvania. The trail was named in honor of Lower's late wife and son, Jane Y. and Rodger D. Lower. The trail extension, from Williamsburg to Canoe Creek, was purchased by an anonymous donation for the land in 1994. State and federal funding assisted in the construction of the trail.

Trail maintenance

The Lower Trail is a privately owned trail that depends upon the generosity of the members of Rails-to-Trails of Central Pennsylvania, volunteers, trail users, businesses, and memorial gifts. These funds are necessary to maintain and improve the trail. Members of RTTCPA volunteer their time on projects such as the up keeping of the trail, building amenities, and fund raising. Rails-to-Trails of Central Pennsylvania is a non-profit, charitable organization as qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Trail access points

The Lower Trail has six primary trailheads. All trailheads have abundant parking, and pavilions/picnic tables available.

Trailhead	Coordinates	Elevation (ft / m)
Flowing Springs Station	N 40° 28.371' W 078° 16.050'	880 / 270
Ganister Station	N 40° 33.995' W 078° 07.282'	728 / 222
Williamsburg Station	N 40° 31.234' W 078° 10.304'	798 / 243
Cove Dale Station	N 40° 29.228' W 078° 10.188'	830 / 250
Mt. Etna Station	N 40° 27.713' W 078° 11.908'	844 / 257
Alfarata Station	N 40° 28.426' W 078° 13.614'	865 / 264

References

"National Recreation Trails". Trails nominated for NRT designation in 2009. National Recreation Trails. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
"THE LOWER TRAIL: Where history and wildlife abound". THE LOWER TRAIL: Where history and wildlife abound. Sierra Club. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
"Mid State Trail Guide and Maps". Mid State Trail Guide and Maps. Mid-State Trail Association, Inc. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
"The Lower Trail". The Lower Trail. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
"Lower Trail". The Lower Trail. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. Retrieved October 16, 2009.

External links

Hiking trails in Pennsylvania

Allegheny Front Appalachian Baker Black Forest Brandywine Bucktail Path Chester Valley Chuck Keiper Conestoga Cresheim Cross County Darlington Donut Hole Evansburg Forbes Road GAP GET Glacier Ridge Golden Eagle Horse-Shoe John P. Saylor Laurel Highlands Liberty Bell Lost Turkey Lower Loyalsock Mason-Dixon Mid State Mill Creek Montour North Country Old Loggers Path Panhandle Pennypack Perkiomen Pinchot Pine Creek Potomac Heritage Power Line Quebec Run Quehanna Rachel Carson Rock Run Schuylkill East Schuylkill River Standing Stone Struble Susquehannock Tanbark Terrace Mountain Thunder Swamp Tuscarora US 202 Parkway Valley Forge Warrior West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails in Pennsylvania

Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River Chester Valley Conewago Recreation Trail Cumberland Valley D&L Trail East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lackawanna River Heritage Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Valley Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage Westmoreland Heritage York County Heritage Youghiogheny River

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Lackawanna Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

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