Skip to Navigation
University of Pittsburgh
Print This Page Print this pages

July 21, 2011

Off the beaten path: Nature trails at Pitt’s regionals

Pitt-Johnstown’s cross-country course is a popular trail for runners, but the University’s regional campuses offer even more rustic trails to tread.

Pitt-Johnstown’s cross-country course is a popular trail for runners, but the University’s regional campuses offer even more rustic trails to tread.

A nature trail is taking shape on the slope below the Falk School (see June 23 University Times), but the University’s Pittsburgh campus isn’t alone in preserving niches where students and employees can enjoy (and observe) the natural world. Ranging from rugged to roadlike, the nature trails on Pitt’s Bradford, Greensburg and Johnstown campuses all have their own unique characteristics.

Pitt-Greensburg’s Kenneth E. Bell Nature Trail

Without a guide, the Bell trailhead is hard to find. UPG development coordinator Cletus McConville leads the way to a small birch tree that marks the trail entrance.

Without a guide, the Bell trailhead is hard to find. UPG development coordinator Cletus McConville leads the way to a small birch tree that marks the trail entrance.

Pitt-Greensburg’s nature trail was dedicated in 1975 in memory of UPG biology professor, botanist and naturalist Kenneth E. Bell. In a span of less than a mile, the path encompasses wetlands, woodlands and meadow habitats.

While the trail appears on campus maps, it has not been maintained and is used infrequently. But UPG director of media relations Susan Isola said a campus beautification group has the trail in its sights as a future project.

Marked only by a young birch tree and obscured by some tall thistles behind the plant maintenance storage building, the trail starts off on a steep downward slope overlooking Slate Run, which flows through the center of campus.

Pitt-Greensburg’s Bell Nature Trail hugs the steep slope overlooking Slate Run.

Pitt-Greensburg’s Bell Nature Trail hugs the steep slope overlooking Slate Run.

The marshy area is home to spring peepers and chorus frogs, with lush stands of pickerel rushes and yellow wild irises hugging the banks of the shallow stream.

Near the bottom, on a log bridge slick with moss and missing several planks, the trail crosses a rivulet that feeds the stream, climbing again on the far side to an overlook marked by several large oaks.

Other trees include ash, cherry, hemlock, ironwood and sweet-smelling black locust, said Cletus McConville, a nature lover who has been quick to explore the trail and other natural areas on campus since being named UPG development coordinator less than a year ago.

Ferns, may apples, trillium and other wildflowers dot the hillside. Hidden among them is evidence of nearby civilization: the lost golf balls of errant drives that originated from the nearby athletic fields.

A little farther along, McConville said, the trail emerges onto a hillside covered in ramps — the pungent Appalachian delicacy prized as a spring tonic.

Deer, turkeys, raccoons, skunks and chipmunks frequent the UPG campus, which also is a haven for songbirds, McConville said, noting that red-eyed vireos, cedar waxwings, indigo buntings and scarlet tanagers are among the many species he has identified in his early explorations on campus.

Pitt-Johnstown business office staffer George Hancock points out highlights on the network of trails in UPJ’s Rocky Run Nature Area.

Pitt-Johnstown business office staffer George Hancock points out highlights on the network of trails in UPJ’s Rocky Run Nature Area.

Pitt-Johnstown’s Rocky Run Nature Area

Pitt-Johnstown has several popular trails as part of some 630 acres of recreational land on campus. There’s a rolling 5-kilometer cross-country trail that zigzags across lawns and along treelines near the athletic fields. Mountain biking and ski trails can be found behind the sports center.

The most rustic trails, however, are in the 40-acre Rocky Run Nature Area, accessible via a trailhead hidden behind tall grass, just a short walk from the athletic fields.

Remnants of a low stone dam are all that remain of a trailside pond built by former biology and natural sciences professor Henry J. Idzkowsky.

Remnants of a low stone dam are all that remain of a trailside pond built by former biology and natural sciences professor Henry J. Idzkowsky.

At the trailhead, a large map board shows a network of trails and a dedication to Henry J. Idzkowsky, who was instrumental in developing the pathways. The campus dedicated the nature area to the UPJ professor emeritus of biology and natural sciences upon his retirement in 1974. Idzkowsky died in 1999 at the age of 91.

“It’s incredible what he built,” said campus historian George Hancock, pointing out sections of stone stairs that Idzkowksy and his students built on the narrow footpath that drops sharply to the bottom of a picturesque wooded gorge.

A 5-kilometer course is among the most popular recreational trails on the UPJ campus.

A 5-kilometer course is among the most popular recreational trails on the UPJ campus.

However, the nature trails, which stretch toward the southern boundaries of campus, are not maintained, and in some spots fallen trees block the way. Deer, turkey, coyotes and an occasional copperhead or bear have been spotted, although on a recent morning, visitors found only chipmunks and songbirds on the path.

The trail passes a seasonal waterfall as it descends to an unnamed stream that feeds the Little Paint Creek. At the bottom are more remnants of Idzkowsky’s handiwork: a low dam, now breached, that once held back the stream to form a small pond.

The charred ashes of a small campfire and remnants of a spiral-bound notebook offer evidence that at least a few people use the quiet creekside spot for study and relaxation.

Past the dam, about 1.5 miles into the gorge, the nature trail connects with an old road that leads past farmhouse ruins and a cemetery used by the Baumgardner family, who once farmed the land. Hancock’s research has revealed nearly 85 graves, the majority of which are marked only with fieldstones.

Hancock, who works in the UPJ business office, offers “outback walking tours” of the seldom-seen stretches of campus through the community education and outreach office. His presentations are filled with tidbits of history related to the campus and the farms that preceded it.

Trekking the rough trails requires sturdy boots but Hancock is developing a virtual tour option for the less sure-footed. He is spending spare time this summer shooting photos of the highlights that otherwise would require several hours of cross-campus trekking. He plans to offer an indoor “couch potato” PowerPoint tour of the trails in the upcoming academic year.

The newly installed Miriam Barcroft Blaisdell Memorial Gazebo, donated by UPB benefactors Harriett B. Wick and Sarah B. Dorn in memory of their mother, provides a peaceful seating spot between two ponds along the trail.

The newly installed Miriam Barcroft Blaisdell Memorial Gazebo, donated by UPB benefactors Harriett B. Wick and Sarah B. Dorn in memory of their mother, provides a peaceful seating spot between two ponds along the trail.

Pitt-Bradford’s Richard E. McDowell Community Trail

While trails at Pitt-Greensburg and Pitt-Johnstown are steep and rugged footpaths, the Richard E. McDowell Community Trail is a 10-foot wide, paved, level trail that borders 1.5 miles of the west branch of the Tunungwant Creek on the Pitt-Bradford campus. The trail is named in honor of McDowell, a biology faculty member who was UPB president, 1973-2002.

Rick Esch, UPB vice president of business affairs, said a trail was part of a 1994 campus master plan, but financing it in light of competing needs proved difficult. However, a community presentation Esch made sparked interest that led to the formation of the nonprofit Tuna Valley Trail Association in 1998.

Today the trail system, funded through private and government sources, encompasses nine trails, but its McDowell trail is the most popular.

Ponds and wetlands along the path provide habitats for turtles, wood ducks and other birds. Deer abound and people have reported spotting bears on occasion, Esch said. The creek, informally known as “The Tuna,” is stocked with trout, making it a popular spot for fly-fishing.

Nearly two dozen different tree species have been mapped and identified in a brochure produced several years ago by a pair of students and retired biology faculty member Dessie Severson. The nature guide pinpoints the trees’ locations and provides descriptions and facts about each variety.

“On any given day there are a couple hundred people on the trail,” Esch said.

The smooth surface can accommodate walkers, cyclists and motorized wheelchairs and the many benches and resting spots along the path have made it popular as well with people rehabbing from athletic injuries or joint replacement surgery.

The paved and level Richard E. McDowell Community Trail on the Pitt-Bradford campus is popular with walkers and cyclists.

The paved and level Richard E. McDowell Community Trail on the Pitt-Bradford campus is popular with walkers and cyclists.

And the trail isn’t limited to warm-weather use. In winter, cross-country skiers and snowshoers take the place of walkers.

The trail has enhanced the campus’s relations with the community and has become a social gathering place, Esch said. It’s a natural venue for community-based fitness programs as well as fundraising walks and other events that are coordinated through UPB’s conference services staff. One new initiative, the summer-long “Tuna Trekkers” fundraiser to benefit the Red Cross, combines walking with geocaching to encourage people to explore the trail system.

Esch said the trail association ultimately would like to connect all of the system’s 31 miles of trails. An important component, a new Community Parks Trail that will connect UPB, its athletic fields and the McDowell Trail to Bradford’s downtown and city parks, is expected to be completed later this summer.

—Kimberly K. Barlow


Leave a Reply