OHIO RIVER TRAIL COUNCIL

Rail-Trail Hall of Fame

Rail-Trail Hall of Fame Honor Roll 

In 2007, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy began the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame program recognizing exemplary rail-trails around the country as part of the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.

There are currently 1,700 open rail-trails, and approximately 750 more in development. Approximately 20,000 miles of abandoned railroad rights-of-way that have been converted into trails in the United States.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy selects inductees on merits such as scenery, frequency of use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections and geographic distribution.

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) was the first to make the honor roll. There are many reasons why this greenway was an excellent choice for launching the Rail-Trail Honor Roll, not the least of which were the efforts by local organizations to link the disconnected portions of the old railway route between Cumberland, Maryland, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The National Geographic travel editors selected the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) rail-trail for the ten best Fall Trips in 2012. The packed, crushed limestone route is free of motorized vehicles and a 15-mile-an-hour speed limit ensures a leisurely pace for cycling, hiking, strolling, and birding. Spend a weekend, or a full week, exploring part of the route and the historic trail towns along the way.

The GAP is presently the longest rail-trail east of the Mississippi River and the crown jewel of the Mid-Atlantic Rail Trails. The GAP spans two states in its 150-mile course that winds over the scenic rivers and through the woods and across mountain passes of western Maryland and southwestern Pennsylvania. The greenway connects with the 184.5-mile historic Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath at Cumberland, Maryland to create a 334.5-mile route between Pittsburgh and Washington, DC.  The Montour Branch links McKeesport to the Pittsburgh International Airport and Coraopolis, Pa.

The proposed Ohio River Trail beginning at Coraopolis links the Montour Trail to the 110-mile Great Ohio Lake-to-River Greenway in Ohio forming approximately a 500-mile contiguous trail from the Great Lakes Region to our nation’s capitol.