May 23, 2016

Standing Stone Trail named Pa.'s 'trail of the year'




Editor's note: This story appeared in the April 25 edition of the Altoona Mirror.

By Brian Yermal Jr.


A trail that follows mountain ridges through portions of central and southern Pennsylvania has been named Pennsylvania’s “Trail of the Year.”


The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee designated the honor in March to the Standing Stone Trail – an 84-mile footpath that ranges from Cowans Gap State Park in Fulton County to the Detweiler Run Natural Area in Rothrock State Forest in Huntingdon County.


A portion of the trail includes the Thousand Steps, the stone staircase created by Harbison-Walker workers in 1936 as an easier way to climb Jacks Mountain to reach ganister quarries between Mapleton and Mount Union boroughs in Huntingdon County. Today, the steps serve as a local attraction for hiking enthusiasts and tourists.



“We know that there’s thousands of people that go up and down the Thousand Steps,” said Standing Stone Trail Club Vice President George Conrad.


For winning the award, the Standing Stone Trail will be featured on DCNR promotional posters statewide, according to a DCNR press release. In addition, the Standing Stone Trail Club will receive a grant “for educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection along the trail,” Conrad said. The trail club and DCNR are working on planning a ceremony in the future to commemorate the trail’s award, he said.


The Trail of the Year title for the Standing Stone Trail means a lot to its club, Conrad said.


“It’s a huge honor for our club because our club motto is to be the premier footpath of Pennsylvania,” he said, adding that the award will help promote the trail to more people across the state.


This is the third year DCNR and the committee honored a state trail. They awarded the title to the Heritage Rail Trail in York County in 2015 and to the Redbank Valley Trails in Armstrong, Clarion and Jefferson counties in 2014, according to DCNR’s website.


This year, the Standing Stone Trail beat almost two dozen other trails for the honor, said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn in a press release.


“Standing Stone was singled out for 2016 because of its quality, benefits to the region, tremendous dedicated volunteer network and a multitude of strong partnerships,” Dunn said.


The trail also offers many scenic vistas and opportunities for trail runners, hikers and rock climbers, Conrad said.


“It gives you a lot of time to reflect,” he said. “Our goal is to bring people out into nature to experience it,” he added.


The Standing Stone Trail acts as a link to other major trails in the area, as well.


One of them is the Mid State Trail, which starts at the Pennsylvania-Maryland border and ends at the New York border for a distance of more than 300 miles, according to the trail’s website. The Tuscarora Trail – another large footpath spanning nearly 250 miles – connects to the Standing Stone Trail, too, according to DCNR.


The Standing Stone Trail is also part of the 1,800-mile Great Eastern Trail, which spans from Alabama to the Finger Lakes Trail in New York, according to the Great Eastern Trail website.


Although the Standing Stone Trail might not be as large as some of its neighboring footpaths, it still requires many volunteers to keep it maintained, Conrad said.


The trail’s club consists of more than 100 volunteer members who assist in various ways, including cleaning the trail of debris; performing trail maintenance like building bridges and repainting trail markers; writing and designing brochures and newsletters; and assisting hikers’ questions on the club’s Facebook page, Conrad said. The group also hosts events where people can help clean the trail, including the upcoming “5-day Trail Care Event” being held May 17-22, according to the club’s Facebook page.


The organization continues to accept new volunteers. People interested in joining or supporting the Standing Stone Trail Club can fill out an application on its website.


For more information about the Standing Stone Trail, visit http://www.standingstonetrail.org/ or the club’s Facebook page: “Standing Stone Trail and the Thousand Steps.”


Mirror Staff Writer Brian Yermal Jr. can be reached at 946-7445.