Western Pennsylvania is being recognized off the beaten path.
During the last three weeks, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has designated the Allegheny River as Pennsylvania’s River of the Year, and the Montour Trail was dubbed the state’s Trail of the Year.
The annual river and trail distinctions are intended to draw public attention to the state’s natural assets. The river honor, specifying the upper and middle Allegheny River, was announced Jan. 9 by DCNR and the Pennsylvania Organization for Waterways and Rivers, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Trail of the Year honors for the 63-mile trail system in Allegheny and Washington Counties were announced Thursday.
Fed by one of the most biologically diverse watersheds in Pennsylvania, the Allegheny River flows more than 315 miles from Potter County to Pittsburgh, where it joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River. In 1992, more than 86 miles, from Kinzua Dam to Emlenton, were designated as a National Wild and Scenic Recreation River. Seven of its islands are protected under America’s National Wilderness Preservation System.
“Pennsylvania is blessed with several large, iconic rivers and the Allegheny’s attributes are many, diverse and known so well to the thousands who fish and paddle its rebounding waters and hike, bike and camp along its banks,” said DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, in a statement. “So rich in scenic beauty and historical significance, the Allegheny River is deservedly one of western Pennsylvania’s natural treasures.”
The 63-mile Montour Trail, one of the nation’s longest non-motorized suburban rails-to-trails pathways, connects with Pittsburgh International Airport, the Panhandle Trail and the Great Allegheny Passage, a 330-mile bicycle and foot route from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. Built over parts of the former Montour Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad, the trail accommodates more than 400,000 users per year.
“Volunteers have worked tirelessly, for many years, to turn this old rail line into the recreational jewel that it is today,” said Ned Williams, council president of the Pennsylvania Trails Advisory Committee, in a statement. “We keep making it better, so that even more people will be drawn outdoors to stroll or travel the trail, and enjoy its striking beauty.”
John Hayes: 412-263-1991, jhayes@post-gazette.com.
First Published: January 26, 2017, 9:53 p.m.