Ghost Town Trail

Facilities | FAQs | Directions | Trail Map | User Survey | Contacts | ADA Guidelines

Ghost Town Trail Guidebook Available for purchase NOW!

The Ghost Town Trail Guidebook is available for purchase through the use of our order form or using secure on-line payment. This wonderful resource will help you get the very most from your experience riding on the historic Ghost Town Trail.

The guidebook is also available from the following local retailers:

• Dillweed Bed & Breakfast
• Indiana County Tourist Bureau (Indiana Mall)
• Indiana Schwinn Cycle & Fitness

Ghost Town was selected as the Trail of the Month by the Rails to Trails Conservancy in June 2011.

The Ghost Town Trail Bridge Project has been completed. The trail connecting the two bridges has been surfaced and trail users now have a continuous trail from Black Lick (Saylor Park) to Ebensburg, a distance of 32 miles. The Rexis Branch is 4 miles in length, making the entire trail a total of 36 miles.

The Ghost Town Trail now has its OWN Facebook page!

In addition to our Facebook page for Indiana County Parks & Trails we also have a separate Facebook page for the Ghost Town Trail.

History

The Ghost Town Trail totals 36 miles in Indiana and Cambria Counties, Pennsylvania. The trail was originally established in 1991 when the Kovalchick Salvage Company donated 16 miles of the former Ebensburg & Black Lick Railroad to Indiana County. In 1993 the Cambria & Indiana Railroad donated an additional 4 miles from Rexis to White Mill Station known as the Rexis Branch. In 2005 an additional 20 miles were added to the trail - 12 miles in Indiana County and 8 miles in Cambria County. The trail is designated as a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The Ghost Town Trail derives its name from numerous mining towns that once existed along the railroad corridor. Wehrum, the largest of the former towns, once had 230 houses, a hotel, company store, jail, and bank. Warren Delano, uncle of President Franklin Roosevelt, developed the town. Other ghost towns include Bracken, Armerford, Lackawanna #3, Scott Glenn, Webster, Beulah, and Claghorn. Learn more about the former town of Claghorn. There are few remnants of these former towns and most of the ghost towns are located on private property not open to the general public. A detailed history of the area can be found in Delano’s Domain: A History of the Mining Towns of Vintondale, Wehrum, and Claghorn by Denise Dusza Webster.

The Eliza Furnace, in Vintondale, is one of Pennsylvania’s best preserved iron furnaces. An interpretive exhibit is located at the site. The furnace operated from 1846 to 1849 and is a unique relic of the Black Lick Valley’s early industrial era. The furnace is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historical markers along the trail provide interpretive information about the Black Lick Valley’s intriguing history.

The Ghost Town Trail is designated by the U.S. National Park Service as a National Recreation Trail. More info about the national recreation trails program can be found at: www.americantrails.org

Facilities

The trail totals 36 miles and is open to hiking, bicycling, and cross-country skiing. The trail is open year-round and the packed limestone surface is ideal for non-motorized activities. Portions of the trail in both Indiana and Cambria County are located adjacent to PA State Gamelands. Trail users are strongly advised to wear safety orange if using the trail during hunting seasons.

Access areas with the following services are available:

In Dilltown the Dillweed Bed & Breakfast and trail shop provides overnight accommodations and trail related items for sale. The Red Mill Resort on the Rexis Branch also offers overnight accommodations. Motels, hotels and bed & breakfasts are located in Ebensburg, Johnstown, Indiana, and Blairsville. Camping is not permitted on the trail. Learn more about local camping options.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are new to the Ghost Town Trail you may want to look at our list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Directions

The Ghost Town Trail is easily accessed via Routes 119, 22, 403, 271, and 422. Saylor Park, one-mile off Route 119 serves as the western terminus. Ebensburg, located along Routes 422 and 22 serves as the eastern terminus. A directional map with wrtitten directions to the various trail access areas is available.. Other directions are available by contacting the park office.

Trail Map

Detailed trail maps in PDF format are available for all three connnected trail sections. (Blacklick to Dilltown. Dilltown to Nanty Glo. Nanty Glo to Ebensburg.) These are large files which may take several moments to download. A regional trail map is also available. A handy Ghost Town Trail Mileage chart is also available.

For those with an interest in a historical perspective of the trail, we have compliled a group of USGS topographic maps (LARGE FILE!) from the early 1900s that present a look at how the Blacklick Valley looked about 100 years ago.

User Survey (2009)

In 2009 the Rails to Trails Conservancy conducted a survey of the users of the Ghost Town Trail. The results of this survey can be found here in two forms: The Complete User Survey Report (VERY large (5 MB) PDF file) and the Executive Summary of the report.

Contacts

Americans with Disabilites Act Guidelines

If you are mobility disabled and would like to use an electric mobility device on our trails please read our mobility device guidelines before you visit.

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