Endless Mountains Heritage Region to Host 2024 Eastern PA Greenways & Trails Summit

Endless Mountains Heritage Region (EMHR) has been named the host of the 2024 Eastern PA Greenways & Trails Summit, which will be held Sept. 18-20 in Sayre (Bradford County). These Summit events bring together a network of various agencies, organizations, and outdoor enthusiasts who are involved in planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, promoting, and utilizing trails and greenways in eastern Pennsylvania in order to improve outdoor recreation in the Commonwealth. With incredible sites like Round Top Park (pictured below, a gorgeous view from Round Top Park), the Diahoga Trail, the Susquehanna North Branch and Chemung Rivers, and Mt. Pisgah State Park nearby, the Sayre/Athens area is the perfect setting for the Summit.

The day after the Eastern PA Greenways & Trails Summit ends, EMHR invites folks to enjoy the start of their first self-supported bikepacking race (the “Endless Mountains 430 Challenge”) along the Endless Mountains Gravel Bikepacking Loop on Sept. 21. Event details can be found at: https://emheritage.org/event/the-endless-mountains-430-challenge/.

View from Round Top Park.

First-Ever Western PA Trails and Greenways Summit in Clarion in 2024

The inaugural Western PA Trails and Greenways Summit builds on two other regional trail summits; the Erie to Pittsburgh Trail Alliance’s Summit and the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape Trail Summit. By expanding the focus of these two summits, we capitalize on the collaboration central to these two networks. The Western PA Trails and Greenways Summit gives trail managers, land stewards, public officials, and other regional stakeholders who work to preserve and maintain the regional recreation assets a chance to explore approaches to shared challenges.
A planning committee, composed of representatives from the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, the Oil Region Alliance, the Northwest PA Commission, the North Central Regional Planning Commission, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), and others, are busy designing an engaging program. Though the date has not formally been set, the planning committee has selected Clarion as our host community. The Summit is being planned to coincide with the Trail of the Year Celebration for the Trails at Jakes Rocks.

Thanks to EMHR and planning committee members of the Western PA Trails and Greenways Summit for their contributions to this post.