Burns: Popular Ghost Town Trail awarded $249,000 state grant for expansion
Funding will assist with expansion loop in Ebensburg, Blacklick
Rep. Frank Burns April 21, 2021 | 12:58 PM
EBENSBURG, April 21 – Building on the success of the popular Ghost Town Trail, state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, said the trail has been awarded a $249,000 state grant to help it to continue to expand and attract more visitors to Cambria County.
“As a strong supporter of the outdoors, I’ve helped secure funding for this project before and I’m happy to do so again,” Burns said. “This trail and our other outdoor recreation opportunities draw thousands of visitors to our communities, helping the local economy while providing families and folks access to the outdoors.”
The grant, awarded through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, an independent agency of the Department of Community and Economic Development focused on fostering economic growth, will assist with an expansion loop of the trail in Ebensburg and Blacklick Township.
Cooperatively managed by the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority and Indiana County Parks and Trails, the 46-mile-long trail is named for long-gone coal-mining communities once dotting the railroad corridor, and last year was named DCNR’s Trail of the Year.
It regularly ranks on ‘best-hiking trail lists’ in state and national publications, and draws thousands of bicyclists, hikers, runners, walkers, birders and, in winter, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and fat-tire biking enthusiasts.