Once arriving at the top of the Inclined Plane (not to skip over the actual ride, which is worth your $4 round trip itself), you can take a few steps over to the observation deck. Here, you’ll see the quintessential view of Johnstown, looking over the valley where the waters of the 1889 flood gushed through.

The Visitors Center, also located at the top of the Incline, provides a history lesson for visitors. Although even life-long residents may find a fact or two they didn’t know. The building also features a large window, from which you can view the inner workings of the Incline.

Just the past Visitors Center, sharing the same magnificent view over the city as the observation deck, is City View Bar and Grill. City View offers Johnstown residents and visitors a casual dining experience with a rotating menu of drink specials, and features a banquet room that can be booked for special occasions.

If you prefer a more adventurous outing, why not try hiking to the top of the hill instead of riding? The 2.4 mile James Wolfe Sculpture trail winds up the side of the hill. Along the path, you can you view many works by James Wolf, who created the pieces from steel from Johnstown’s Bethlehem Steel plant.

Please note both the Inclined Plane and City View Bar and Grill are currently closed. They will both be reopening on Friday, January 27, 2012.

For directions to the bottom of the Johnstown Inclined Plane, click here. For directions to the top, click here. To learn more, visit http://www.inclinedplane.org and http://www.cityviewbarandgrill.com.

Photograph courtesy of Jon Dawson

Our area’s forests and parks offer trails for outdoor enthusiasts of all abilities and interests. From those out for a casual stroll or bike ride to those looking for a longer, more challenging hike. The Lost Turkey Trail can offer something for everyone in this spectrum. For casual hikers, consider traveling a small section of this 26 mile trail, perhaps starting at the southwestern trailhead where you can hike along Pot Ridge. The more experienced, adventurous hiker can attempt to take on the trail in its entirety.

Backpack camping is permitted in the Gallitzin State Forest portion of the trail, and fee campgrounds are available in the Blue Knob State Park portion, near the northeastern end of the trail.

The trail winds through Blue Knob State Park, as well as Gallitzin State Forest and state game lands, leading you through a variety of scenery, from low valleys, along ridges and toward the summit of Blue Knob, Pennsylvania’s second-highest peak.

Named by its original trailblazers, the Youth Conservation Corps, in 1976, the trail also features a monument built in memorial of two pioneer children who got lost in the forest and perished in 1856. The Lost Cox Children Monument is located at mile 24 of the trail, along Hogback Ridge.

For more information and a map of the trail, visit the Pennsylvania DCNR’s Lost Turkey Trail page.

There are, of course, many sites around Johnstown that commemorate the historic flood of 1889 and one of the most immersive of these is the Path of the Flood Trail. What could be more hands-on than walking or biking the exact path that the waters took as they bounded through our area?

Of course, the path is no longer surrounded by destruction, as it was when the flood rushed in. The path instead is lined by scenic views and the city of Johnstown as we know it today. Several memorials dedicated to the flood can also be found along the path as well. For a more informed hike, you can take along a brochure from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council that specifies points of interest along the path and their importance in the tragedy of 1889. Click here to download the brochure and map.

The Path of the Flood Trail is limestone surfaced rail trail open to non-motorized traffic, and can be easily biked or hiked, though there are a few small grades. The ends of the trail also include on-road routes.

The Path of the Flood trail extends from the Johnstown Flood Museum in downtown Johnstown to a trailhead in Ehrenfield Park. There are also trailheads located at the Staple Bend Tunnel parking lot and near Mineral Point.

For more information or to be put on their email newsletter list, call (814) 472-2110 or visit the trail’s page on the Pennsylvania Environmental Council website or the TrailLink website.

With 36 miles of gravel trail, and many access points throughout the area, the trail is well-equipped for a casual afternoon bike ride or an all-day hike. The trail is one of many rail trails in our region, having been converted from the railways once connecting company towns, furnaces, and mines that have since been abandoned. Though little remains of these towns today, a walk down the trail is still a walk through western Pennsylvania’s industrial past.

Stand-out locations along the trail include Wehrum, the ghost town for which the trail was named (though there are a few other former town locations along the way). Though not much remains at this time, a marker has been placed to tell the story of the town, which was developed by Warren Delano, uncle of President Franklin Roosevelt. Another prime site is the Eliza Furnace near Vintondale, one of Pennsylvania’s most well preserved iron furnaces.

Access points nearest Johnstown are Vintondale and Nanty Glo in Cambria County and Wehrum and Dilltown in Indiana County. Parking is available at all access areas. Visit the Indiana County Parks & Trails Web site for maps and more information.

View additional images of the Ghost Town Trail in the “Nature and Outdoors” photo set on the Do Johnstown! Flickr photostream.

A trip outdoors doesn’t have to be a major excursion. Sometimes a little time on a small path can be just what the doctor ordered. So it is with the James Mayer Riverwalk. This trail, named after an area attorney who was dedicated to preserving the region’s natural resources, connects Johnstown’s Moxham neighborhood with the village of Riverside in Stonycreek Township.

Generally designated as an “easy” trail, the James Mayer Riverwalk is approximately a mile-and-a-half of generally level trail, with a crushed limestone surface. Convenient access, easy terrain and a gentle surface make it an ideal destination for a walk with a friend or a short bicycle ride that even young children can easily tackle.

Access and parking are available at each end of the trail. From the Moxham end, follow Central Avenue to Bridge Street; the entrance is located on the left, just before the Ferndale Bridge. From Riverside, access is found off of Eisenhower Boulevard, just across the Stonycreek River from Ferndale Boulevard. Turn southeast off of Eisenhower Boulevard onto Michigan Avenue. Continuing on Michigan Avenue the street becomes a dirt road, which leads directly to the parking area.