Sheepskin Rail-Trail, Pennsylvania

Developing a rail-trail can take patience. In 1994, a group of citizens in Fayette County, Pennsylvania formed an advocacy group to support the creation of a rail-trail along a 33-mile corridor. Over the years, the National Park Service has helped their organization grow, guided the Feasibility Study, and planted the seeds of a community volunteer program to serve the trail once it is operating. The first two miles of trail opened just over a year ago, after the County's Office of Planning and Development led the complex negotiations and project planning. Now, the trail links people in Dunbar to the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal National Historic Park. The project also includes a trailhead, parking, and restrooms at Dunbar's community park. When complete, the trail will link the 50-mile Monongahela River Rail-Trail system in West Virginia with the 333-mile system of rail-trails connecting Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.