Fred Thomas III spent his formative years gazing out at the Laurel Ridge.
As a teen, he could feel the pull of the wilderness calling to him.
“For years, I just dreamed of walking on top of the ridge,” he said.
He was a high schooler in Cambria County in the 1960s when his self-described “crazy notion” of hiking the entire ridge top started to form into a plan. He got Westmont-Hilltop High School classmates and friends Bruce Springer and Doug Corbin on board, as well as family friend and outdoorsman James Mayer.
“He was also crazy enough to buy into it,” Thomas remembered.
After buying topography maps and coordinating with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and state officials, both of whom owned some of the ridge land, the four set off on their journey from the Seward area in July 1968. The trio of teenagers and their adult chaperone spent nearly five days on the ridge, pushing through some densely wooded mountainous terrain, and hunger, on their way to the opposite end in Ohiopyle.
They proved it was possible.
Though it would be eight more years until the trail was built and opened, their journey served as the birth of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
The 70-mile hiking trail has been an enduring draw in Southwestern Pennsylvania since its completion Sept. 28, 1976, for adventure seekers looking for a multi-day through-hike challenge or just a few hours in the forest.
The trail with eight campsites along the way is in state park, forest or game land property, aside from sections on Seven Springs Mountain Resort and Greater Johnstown Water Authority land. It’s known as Laurel Ridge State Park, managed by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. An estimated 110,000 people use the state park annually and at least 70,000 of them are trail users, said Kim Peck, environmental education specialist at the Laurel Hill State Park complex, which oversees the trail.
“It was a vision long before it was put on paper,” she said.
Some sections are easily accessible, with parking nearby, which can make for an out-and-back trip of a couple miles or more of a daylong hiking adventure. Others provide opportunity for backpackers to get deep into the woods and spend the night, or nights, by a fire before doing it all again the next day.
There’s a build-your-own-adventure aspect to it that makes the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail appealing to beginners as well as hardcore through-hikers who carry everything they need on their backs.
“It is my favorite state park, but it is because I can make it my own,” Peck said. “I think that’s my favorite part about it.”
Rugged miles of trail
The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail stretches 70 miles on Laurel Ridge between gorges along the Conemaugh and Youghiogheny rivers, through Cambria, Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties and Forbes State Forest. It can be hiked in either direction, though either end of the ridge has steep climbs and descents.
Mile marker 70 is close to a parking area off Route 56 just outside Seward in Westmoreland County.
Mile marker zero is just outside Ohiopyle in Fayette County.
The rugged miles in between have plenty to see for those willing to look, depending on the time of year — viewpoints, interesting rock formations, wildlife such as Eastern newts, ferns, streams, wildflowers like the pink lady’s slipper, fall foliage and blooming mountain laurel. The highest point of the trail is 2,961 feet around mile marker 27 on Seven Springs Mountain Resort property, and a bridge carries hikers over the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
“There are people that come from all over to hike it, and it is definitely an asset to the region,” said Eric Knopsnyder, spokesman for Go Laurel Highlands.
The trail came together through years of land acquisition with the mission of conserving the ridge top.
Jane Menchyk, land protection manager with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, said the creation of the trail required that people and organizations come together to plan, find funding and get ownership of the land.
“It’s important to residents that live around there … but also for visitors who often mean dollars coming into a community,” she said. “There’s also the plants and the animals and clean water and forests.”
The conservancy played a big role in acquiring land for the trail, which was then transferred to the state. That work is ongoing — over the past couple years, the conservancy has transferred two tracts totaling about 700 acres of forested land near mile markers 3 and 19 in Fayette County to the state DCNR, protecting the wild view for hikers.
“We’re pretty proud to be a part of this and then to continue to be able to do that,” Menchyk said.
“Semi-wilderness experience”
With its markers every mile, yellow blazes, parking areas and campsite areas, officials believe the trail’s accessibility has influenced its popularity. The state-maintained campsite areas are the only places along the trail hikers are permitted to spend the night.
“We want to maintain that semi-wilderness experience,” Peck said.
Each location has five Adirondack shelters with fireplaces and space for 30 tents that must be registered in advance, along with two vault toilets. Firewood is provided sometimes. Those amenities set the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail apart from other through-hikes, such as the 2,198-mile Appalachian Trail, users said.
The Laurel Highlands trail is well-kept with friendlier terrain than its Appalachian counterpart, said Georgetta Frederick of Cambria County.
“Because of how it is set up with the shelters … it’s easier in a way than other places,” she said.
After her first through-hike of the Laurel Highlands trail in 2017, Frederick said she’s lost track of how many times she’s backpacked all 70 miles. Practically every mile carries a memory for her.
“I just found this thing that I love, and I just keep doing it,” said Frederick, who started a guide business in 2023 as a way to help others find their place and confidence exploring the outdoors.
She recently led a small group on an overnight backpacking trip with a stay at the Turnpike Shelter Area, near mile marker 38. Frederick said, for some fellow trail users, being outdoors seems to spark childhood joy, reminiscent of playing outdoors.
“This is such a great place to do that,” she said.
“A good escape”
While a typical 70-mile backpacking through-hike can last a few days or more, the ridge top has become a home to two events that allow some to push themselves to the limit.
Runners in the Laurel Highlands Ultra race must complete the entire Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail in less than 22 hours. The race starts at 5:30 a.m. on the second Saturday in June and carries course records of 10:43:34 for men and 12:51:20 for women.
The three-day Crucible Hike for Veterans, held annually in September, is a fundraiser for the Veterans Leadership Program. Participants hike 24, 27 and 19 miles on the consecutive days.
Luke Miney of Derry Township has completed the Crucible Hike twice and plans to do it again in September. He typically does shorter overnight trips on the trail four or five times a year.
“I love the outdoors to begin with, but hiking for me, personally, it’s more of an ‘it keeps me grounded’ sort of thing,” he said. “Like a lot of people, I kind of feel the burnout from every day life. The trail’s a good escape from that.”
He’s a volunteer with the Ridge Runners, a group dedicated to minor upkeep of the trail, and is responsible for keeping an eye on 17 miles between Route 271 and Beam Rocks. Staff at Laurel Hill State Park complex rely on the Ridge Runners to let them know of maintenance needs, a huge help with the expanse of land and 90-minute drive from one end to the other, Peck said.
“We rely on the Ridge Runners to be our eyes out there,” she said.
Volunteers teamed up with state park staff this month near mile marker 43, a few miles from Route 30, to install boardwalks, bridges and stepping stones in an area that has poor drainage, Miney said.
A long-term legacy
Corbin, Springer and Thomas reunited a few years ago to reminisce about that original 1968 trek.
Corbin said he has never done the official trail after its completion as he moved out of the area after high school. Now 73 and living in Maryland, Corbin was impressed the group’s rough exploration turned into something big.
“It blows me away,” he said. “We were just having fun.”
Thomas, also 73 and living in Somerset County, remembered they hung ribbons from trees to show their original path, or where they thought the trail should go. He hiked the 70 miles once more when the trail officially opened to see how it ended up.
“I was excited to see it completed,” he said. “It was really cool.”
In the decades afterward, Thomas said he spent time with local Boy Scout groups on the trail watching them enjoy it. He hopes it stays isolated from civilization and the natural beauty remains for another generation to discover and explore.
“It’s exciting it’s made it this far along,” he said. “I’m really impressed so many people are using it and realize the value of all the recreation it presents.”
Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail 50th anniversary
Several events are being planned this year for the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail:
• 9 a.m.-3 p.m. June 28: Peoples Natural Gas Park, Johnstown. The free event will include guided bicycle rides, concessions and live music. To register for the bicycle ride or for more information, visit the Facebook event page.
• 3 p.m. July 18at Seven Springs Mountain Resort. A 1970s-themed party will include guided hikes, live music, refreshments and activities. GO Laurel Highlands is organizing the event. Details and registration is available here.
• A party is being planned on the Turnpike Bridge on Sept. 27 by state park officials.