Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy

Founded in 1995 as the Allegheny Trail Alliance, the Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy promotes its signature project, the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage, and coordinates, strengthens, and supports the efforts of allied partners to ensure a high-quality experience for all those who enjoy the GAP.

The Great Allegheny Passage will be recognized as a standard-bearer for excellence because of its unparalleled trail quality, flourishing trail towns, and welcoming experience, and will attract a growing number of repeat visitors from around the world.

Goal One: Consistent Trail Quality: We will coordinate and strengthen the quality of the GAP to provide a world class trail experience.

Goal Two: Captivating Experience: We will create a welcoming and enjoyable experience on the GAP and in its trail towns.

Goal Three: Creative Outreach and Promotion: We will promote the GAP and maximize the number of users.

We have committed resources to sending our executive director to the Pennsylvania Trails and Greenway Summit, the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition Summit, and will send him to the World Trails Summit in 2024, all for identifying best practices.

The Great Allegheny Passage, its earliest-built sections now approaching 45 years old, faces significant infrastructural challenges that threaten its viability as an economic generator. Maintenance is performed by a mix of local residents, by far most of them retired and aging volunteers operating on shoestring budgets, as well as by a handful of municipal, county, and state park staff. Dozens of aging bridges, four deteriorating tunnels, a proliferation of unforgiving landslides, over 110 miles of problematic drainage ditches, innumerable failure-prone culverts, scores of road crossings, and persistent hundred-year flooding all challenge the capacity, expertise, and energy of volunteer groups. Moreover, the rigors of routine maintenance ultimately cause structural and foundational issues to be deferred. These realities place the GAP at the risk of unexpected and lengthy closures, and consequently, severing a key source of economic vitality. Closures mean cancelled trips, discourage future through-rides, and stress business owners who anticipate sales. Given our timely economic impact study and improved understanding of the value the GAP has on the surrounding towns and region, strategic planning is essential to identify the most needed improvements for the GAP’s safety and sustainability, so that we can thoughtfully and effectively utilize dollars during a future implementation. In order to preserve, protect, and prepare the GAP for the next generation of travelers, business owners, and local residents, all with the goals of sustainable economic growth, we're partnering with nine other organizations to create this plan and raise dollars to implement it.