great allegheny passage – Jay's Real Estate Blog

$30,000 ARC grant puts Garrett Trails step closer to goal of connecting recreational paths

Megan Miller
Cumberland Times-News

Oakland — OAKLAND — Advocates for construction of a Garrett County trail system have received major funding support in the form of a $30,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The funds will go toward planning efforts for a countywide trail network, approximately 150 miles long, that will connect many of the county’s towns to the Great Allegheny Passage.

“Back in 2002 there was a master recreational trail plan done,” said Paige Teegarden, spokeswoman for the nonprofit volunteer organization Garrett Trails. “Last year we took a look at that plan and said, so how can we tie some of these different ideas together into a whole that takes advantage of the environment today?”

Teegarden said the project, with the working title “Garrett Loop,” will connect to the Passage and create a “spine of good trails” suitable for hybrid bikes to ride throughout the county.

Though the loop’s exact route hasn’t been established, it will run roughly from Meyersdale, Pa., to Grantsville, to Deep Creek Lake, and through Mountain Lake Park, Oakland and Friendsville.

Garrett Trails Vice President Mike Dreisbach said in May that he believes the project could bring a major economic boost to the county.

“It’s an expensive trail … but at the same time, if you look at the impact of the Great Allegheny Passage, this trail could be easily a $75 (million) to $100 million-per-year tourism generator,” he said.

It would also give county residents the option to travel from point to point by trail instead of highway, Teegarden said.

The ARC grant, announced July 6, will fund preliminary planning for trail routes and investigation of property ownership, she said. In addition to ARC funds, Garrett Trails will provide $20,000 and Maryland Program Open Space will provide $10,000.

Teegarden said she hopes grant money will be available for construction to begin on some segments as early as 2011.

The ARC grant award was announced by the offices of U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin.

“Garrett County is one of Maryland’s top tourist destinations and strengthening its trail system will make it even more attractive to visitors,” Cardin said in a prepared statement. “Garrett County has more publicly owned land than any other in the state and this funding will strengthen Mountain Maryland by connecting the Great Allegheny Passage to the growing network of trails in Garrett County.”

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Western Md. Group Aims For Deep Creek Trail Link

CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) ― Some western Maryland tourism promoters says they’re seeking state support for a proposed biking and hiking trail that would link Deep Creek Lake to the Great Allegheny Passage.

Savage River Lodge owner Mike Dreisbach (DRYS’-bahk) is president of Mountain Maryland Trails and vice president of Garrett Trails.

He says the proposed Continental Divide loop would connect to the Great Allegheny Passage at Meyersdale, Pa., and Confluence, Pa.

Dreisbach says the proposal is on the agenda for a western region roundtable that the Department of Natural Resources will hold June 3 at Greenbrier State Park near Boonsboro.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Trail group looking at fundraising options after grant rejected

Celebration set May 1 to kick off spring hiking, cycling season
Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — A local trails organization’s grant request for $2,500 from The Home Depot Inc. has been rejected, leaving members looking for other fundraising options.

The funds would have purchased shovels, rakes, a chain saw and other tools and supplies for use along the 20.47-mile Maryland section of the Great Allegheny Passage. The request was one of many The Home Depot Inc. received, said Bill Atkinson, marketing chairman for Mountain Maryland Trails, and a reason as to why the application was rejected wasn’t given.

Atkinson said the group, which met Monday at the Queen City Creamery in downtown Cumberland, will consider reapplying for the same grant as well as others available, including a corporate grant program available through the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education.

MMT Treasurer Larry Brock suggested the group should focus on childhood obesity and exercise, which would work well with first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” anti-childhood obesity campaign announced one week ago.

In other trail-related news, the group discussed:

• A letter from the Mountain Maryland Trails board of directors will be sent March 1 to the Allegany County commissioners and Cumberland’s mayor and council requesting funding. A specific figure was not disclosed, but members said they plan to show the benefit from trail users doubling as customers for the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and downtown Cumberland businesses.

• The Hyndman Trail, which is envisioned to pass through the Locust Grove area near the Narrows east of state Route 36. It’s unknown how the Great Allegheny Passage could connect to this possible extension but obstacles to overcome include an active CSX railroad line.

Brock said at least one landowner is “anxiously looking at donating the trail” to Allegany County government, which owns and maintains the Great Allegheny Passage from Cumberland to the Pennsylvania state line northwest of Frostburg.

• A Spring Kickoff celebration will be staged May 1 to mark the opening of the hiking and cycling season along the trail and C&O Canal towpath.

• Local businesses that believe they benefit from the trail network are to be invited to the first Trail Town Marketing Summit on March 15 at Windsor Hall in downtown Cumberland. The goal of the conference is to collaborate marketing initiatives and to put the regional Trail Town Program in a position to better respond to new and existing businesses along the trail network.

For more information on any of these issues, visit www.ahtmtrail.org.
If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Mountain Marylanders back governor’s plan for state trail network

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND — The mountain side of Maryland and those living closer to metropolitan centers can at least agree on one thing — there is value when investing in local trail systems.

With many legislative initiatives, there often is a split on what is good for one part of the state and what is good for Mountain Maryland.

This time, “I think the two sides do agree,” said Bill Atkinson on Friday, two days after Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the state’s first Maryland Trails: A Greener Way To Go plan.

The development of the plan was spearheaded by the state Department of Transportation. It focuses on a long-term projection of how a seamless trail network throughout the state can increase commuter options. Atkinson works for the Maryland Department of Planning and is a local representative for the Pennsylvania-based Trail Towns Program. He also is appointed as an advisory member to the Garrett Trails organization by the Garrett County commissioners.

Atkinson said the annual PACE reception in Annapolis about a week ago, where both Garrett Trails and the Allegany County-based Mountain Maryland Trails organization collaborated on a booth to showcase their positive economic impact, was “the first time we really joined forces.”

“We received a lot of interest at PACE with the combined booth,” said Mike Dreisbach, Mountain Maryland Trails president. “It looks like MMT and Garrett Trails can help the governor add about another 200 miles to make it 1,000 miles in Maryland.”

Atkinson, an avid bicyclist, said people already are using portions of the 20.47-mile Great Allegheny Passage in Allegany County as a commuting option on good-weather days. The gradual decline from Frostburg east to Cumberland provides an easy ride to work, he said.

“We found that to be one of those sidebars to the trail experience,” Atkinson said. “It’s easy to get to work that way. It’s recreation, it’s transportation and it’s economic development.”

State officials appear eager to agree.

“Working together, we can create a great transportation trails network that takes residents to where they need to go by bicycle or foot without ever having to get into their cars,” said Transportation Secretary Beverley Swaim-Staley in a news release.

Atkinson said a key goal of local stakeholders is to connect the Great Allegheny Passage to Garrett County — possibly from Penn Alps Restaurant in Grantsville to the GAP in Meyersdale, Pa., by way of the Casselman River railroad. Another top priority is to connect the Great Allegheny Passage to the Georges Creek communities along state Route 36, into West Virginia then back in Maryland in Kitzmiller.

“You know, the longer we can get the person to stay in the area, the better it is for Western Maryland,” Atkinson said. “This is a regional concept of trails.”

Atkinson said there is a chance that the towns of Lonaconing, Barton and Midland can all connect to the existing railroad bed before it fully connects to Frostburg and the Great Allegheny Passage.

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Long & Foster Real Estate for all of your real estate needs! 877-563-5350

Category: great allegheny passage

$30,000 ARC grant puts Garrett Trails step closer to goal of connecting recreational paths

Western Md. Group Aims For Deep Creek Trail Link

Trail group looking at fundraising options after grant rejected

Mountain Marylanders back governor’s plan for state trail network

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