FreeWheeling Easy Supplement

The Allegheny Highlands Trail is now open from Meyersdale to Confluence, thereby completing the 100-mile section of the Great Allegheny Passage.

Near Garrett, Green Mountain Energy has installed a "wind farm" of eight windmills. You can see these from the trail – we think the best view is from the Salisbury viaduct.

From the Pinkerton High Bridge, the trail has been open for a year or so for another 2.2 miles to Ft Hill, where there is a small parking lot. This updates the map on p. 92.

In August 2001, the final section from Ft Hill to Confluence opened. The first 4.7 miles go through a pleasant wooded area with occasional views of streams and waterfalls. The open area a mile south of Ft Hill is an old tornado track. The land adjacent to the trail is private property, so please remain on the trail. When the trail crosses the Casselman River again (for the fourth time since Meyersdale) the trail leaves the woods and enters a cut through a residential area of Harnedsville. The remaining 3.1 miles into Confluence are more developed. If you want to go into Harnedsville, leave the trail at this road crossing, because the trail goes under PA523 in a new box culvert with no road access. The trail then parallels PA 523 for a few blocks and swings away across a cut to make its fifth and final crossing of the Casselman River. After this river crossing, the trail descends to PA281, passes the Confluence trailhead, and crosses the Youghiogheny River to join the Yough River Trail South. This updates the maps on pp. 82 and 92. (Good news: the trail will soon have new mileposts, all counting from a zero milepost in Cumberland. The numbers will all run the same direction, so the maps can be laid out more conveniently.)

New access point: Confluence trailhead: From the Somerset Turnpike exit, go south on PA281 for about 26 miles. You’ll turn right to cross the Casselman River when PA523 goes straight. Just after crossing the Casselman, look for trailhead parking.

New services and amenities: Bike rentals in Rockwood. New campsite to be shared by hikers and bikers, no reservations needed, at Corps of Engineers campground at Yough Dam near Confluence. B&Bs in Meyersdale (soon, we hope), Rockwood, Harnedsville, Confluence.