Standout, Heavy-Lifting Trailheads

And telling more complete stories along our trails

The view from the staircase in Frostburg

First, WELCOME! We have some new readers following ARC’s Appalachian Places conference and the PA Greenways & Trails Summit this fall (and the TrailNation Summit, which is currently underway). I’m glad you’re here!

My time in Frostburg, Maryland for the Appalachian Places conference provided the inspiration for this post. If you’ve ever sat in on one of my talks about how trails benefit communities, you may have heard me say any one of the following things:

• Communities are ever-changing and constantly evolving. If you haven’t been to a place in a few years, you are likely to encounter a new community upon your return. This is generally a good thing! I say “generally” because we must take care not to lose the soul of our places when we embark on change.

• Our stories of place (and of trails) are often incomplete. The ways in which we present everything from the benefits of trails to what’s unique about our place alongside them are sometimes lacking. Incomplete stories can lack in nuance, details, and varied perspectives.

• Finally, you’ve probably heard me use Frostburg as an example of a community that’s done nearly everything it can to draw visiting trail users into its downtown area.

This is all to say I recently returned to Frostburg and discovered that my telling has been incomplete. This is not an inherently bad thing. I simply haven’t been there lately and was unaware of some recent improvements. With this context, let’s have a closer look at Frostburg:

Switchbacks from the Frostburg trailhead toward town

Nicknamed “the Mountain City,” Frostburg is located at Mile 15.5 along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). I use Frostburg as a case study in Deciding on Trails to demonstrate how community champions have done the work of drawing people from the GAP up into town. And believe me, it’s a climb!

They have a quality trail access with shelter, benches, information kiosks, landscaping, and more. They’ve installed switchbacks from the trail to the train depot (which get you only part of the way into town). Interpretive panels and directional signs are interspersed, providing confidence markers and helpful information. And my absolute favorite is the sculpture garden with the showstopper “Climb” and “Glide” sculptures by Scott Cawood. If climbing up toward town, you’ll encounter the grimacing “Climb” sculpture. Conversely, if you’re cruising back down to the trail, you’ll see “Glide’s” upturned smile. I appreciate the sense of whimsy. The sculptures delight me every time I see them. (Read a brief post about delight along trails here.)

Many of you have used Trail Town assessment checklists to gauge how well communities are integrating with their trails. I went through the checklist last week and am happy to say that (no surprise) the Frostburg trailhead checks most of the boxes.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s going well:

Make no mistake: e-bikes might be a gamechanger for Frostburg, making it possible for more cyclists to move between trail and town. And no matter how one travels the GAP, charming downtown Frostburg is worth the climb. There are stairs that lead up to town if you’d rather lock and walk. And my B&B host reminded me that “We are in the mountains, after all.” So there’s that.

Nevertheless, kudos to Mountain Maryland Trails, the City of Frostburg, Allegany County, and Allegany County Tourism (and certainly others) for their continued efforts to position Frostburg to benefit from the GAP’s $121M in annual economic impact. Honestly, I’d love to take a deep dive and really study what’s going on in the outdoor economy of Mountain Maryland. It’s not a surprise to me that Frostburg State University recently established the Frostburg Outdoor Recreation Economy Institute.

But in the meantime, here’s where my story about Frostburg has been incomplete: In 2024, at the top of the switchback, local placemakers (and place keepers!) installed the Coal Miner Memorial to commemorate over 700 miners who died in the region’s mines between 1838-2007. Walking into the outdoor memorial had the feel (ever so slightly) of walking into a coal mine. I was transfixed by the stories that unfolded as I moved through the space. For a community whose school teams are called “the Miners,” Frostburg did an incredible job in honoring this aspect of their local heritage.

Someone recently asked me how we can put so much emphasis on trails (meaning: What about our heritage…how can we leave the story of our place out?). And he was right. I sometimes reference a riveting TEDTalk: The Danger of a Single Story. Trails can never be the only story we’re telling. But, then again, neither can industrial heritage. We have to weave them together (along with other narratives) to arrive at a more complete story. I won’t be able to share my take on Frostburg’s story again without including the new memorial. My story still won’t be complete, but it’ll be one step closer.

How can YOU tell a more complete story in your trail community, and what are some of the things you can do to better link your trail and town?

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For those who are curious about heritage tourism, here’s a Coal Heritage itinerary offered by Allegany County Tourism. And if you’re visiting by trail, the story of coal can be found all along the GAP: the coke ovens of Fayette County, the Ruins Project, a visible coal seam in Ohiopyle State Park, and so on. See below for some more photos of the Frostburg trailhead and the memorial.

More Trail Access Head Turners

Let’s just go ahead and stick with the theme this week. Here are two other trail accesses we can all take inspiration from:

1. On the Knox & Kane Rail Trail in the PA Wilds, four new wayfinding signs commissioned by the Kane Area Chamber of Commerce were recently installed along the trail. Here’s a post with more info. I love the use of the rail ties, the clever, evergreen design, and the sense of whimsy. And if we’re thinking about story, what I see are the ties as a way of paying homage to the trail’s past, and the total product fitting within the larger PA Wilds aesthetic (here’s the PA Wilds Design Guide for reference)

2. The Trailhead at Sideling Hill Service Plaza was recently installed along the PA Turnpike. This mind-bending investment is actually pretty cool, giving people who are driving “America’s First Superhighway” a chance to take a break and hit the trails without ever exiting. (FYI, the trailhead is not directly on any trail, but provides a way of accessing them from the highway and represents an impressive DOT investment.) Besides this, the amenities are impressive, especially the trompe l’oeil style mural. Here are some photos I took while visiting.