The “Great Allegheny Passage” logo was unveiled by the Allegheny Trail Alliance in three separate events along this 204-mile long trail that passes through five counties in Pennsylvania and one in Maryland. Complete with branding iron, the new logo was ceremoniously affixed to mock mileposts at three locations on or near the trail. Trail representatives and supporters including Marianne Geyer, the director of the Governor Ridge’s office in Pittsburgh, were on hand to show off the new logo at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, at Seven Springs Resort in Champion, PA at the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Service Convention, and at Canal Place in Cumberland, MD. The branding ceremonies kicked off a marketing campaign for the trail system run that runs from Cumberland to Pittsburgh.

In Somerset County Hank Parke, Director of the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Allegheny Trail Alliance Marketing Committee stated, “The trail has helped revitalize many towns and cities along this corridor. The railroad that once ran in this corridor was part of the powerful economic engine that made Western Pennsylvania the “Steel Capital”, the “Forge of the Universe.” While days are gone, our communities now enjoy the recreational and tourism benefit that the trail brings. Trail related tourism generates over $14 million every year along this trail. Once it is completed and fully marketed, the numbers will just continue to grow.”

The Great Allegheny Passage is a trail system being developed from Cumberland, MD, to the Forks of the Ohio River at Pittsburgh, PA, and the Pittsburgh International Airport. The Great Allegheny Passage meets the C&O Canal Towpath at Cumberland to link Pittsburgh with Washington, D.C.

Hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers and people with disabilities discover the region’s spectacular beauty in river gorges, mountain vistas and a variety of plants, wildlife, rocks, trestles and tunnels on a near-level rail-trail passing through the Allegheny Mountains, not over them. The trail also interprets George Washington’s struggles to access and control this region, whose industry later made the United States the world’s greatest power.

Scheduled for completion in 2003 the Great Allegheny Passage is among the longest multi-purpose trails being developed east of the Mississippi. With over 400,000 visits to the trail the trail is providing an economic impact of $14 million annually.

Over 127 miles of trail are open to the public. Until completion, trail users will encounter detours around areas not yet constructed or under construction. Detours are noted on the group’s website at www.atatrail.org.

The logo was designed and produced by Al Ortiz of Latrobe, PA and was endorsed by the seven trail organizations at the Allegheny Trail Alliance Conference in February. Linda McKenna Boxx, President of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, presented the logo that will become the trademark for the Great Allegheny Passage. “We are very pleased with our new logo and feel that it captures the vision that was developed for the Great Allegheny Passage. We are now hoping that our marketing campaign will drive the economic impact from the trail that we envisioned for the region” Boxx stated.

Find out more about the Great Allegheny Passage and the Allegheny Trail Alliance at www.atatrail.org or by calling 1-888-ATA-BIKE.