Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

Activities

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  Bicycling

  Bring your bike and ride the 2.5-mile trail back to the historic Staple Bend Tunnel.

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  Hiking

  The Allegheny Portage Railroad has many trails and places to explore. Hike the old trace of the level sections of incline planes 10 through 6. Take a stroll down to the Skew Arch Bridge or relax and walk the Nature Trail.

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  Historic Sites

  The visitor center, located immediately off of US Route 22 at the Gallitzin Exit, is the best place to start your tour. The park moviegives a concentrated overview of the park story and lasts approximately twenty minutes. The movie is a dramatic interpretation of what it was like to work and travel on the Portage Railroad.

  The Engine House 6 Exhibit Shelter contains a reproduction of the machinery that would be in Engine House 6. At the top of incline #6 were several buildings. Among them was a building to house the stationary steam engines. While actual plans for the buildings have not been located, remains of the foundation for the engine house are preserved in an unique exhibit structure. Within the Engine House 6 shelter building are exhibits to explain the workings of an engine house and a "Discovery Room" of interactive exhibits. At the east side of the Engine House Exhibit Shelter is a platform that permits you to look down the length of Incline 6 to the Skew Arch Bridge. The Bridge can be enjoyed close up by hiking down the trail or driving to the traffic island on which it is preserved. In the area surrounding the Engine House are places for demonstrations of period work skills. When the weather cooperates costumed rangers will help immerse you into the 1840s.

  The Lemon House is a restored 1840s stone house. While the house is on its original location, there is a great scarcity of information available about the home. Plans or contracts for building the house remain elusive. Documentary evidence is lacking to explain how the tavern was operated and what the menu may have been. Much of the restoration was founded on archeology work, period artwork, and documentation of other 19th century taverns in the local area.

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  Picnicking

  There are tables near the park visitor center for those wishing to have a quick meal or snack. Alternatively, some visitors enjoy using the empty amphitheater as a resting place. A shaded picnic area with a covered shelter and comfort station is located a half mile walk from the park's historic area. There is parking much closer but it is a separate area of the summit facilities.

  For the picnic area only, drivers take the Cresson Summit exit of U.S. Route 22. Westbound drivers take the exit marked "Cresson Summit" and turn left at the end of the exit ramp. The picnic area is on the left side of 'old route 22' and is marked with a large wooden sign. Eastbound drivers take the exit marked "Summit" NOT the Cresson US Route 53 exit that preceeds it. At the end of the ramp turn right onto 'old route 22' and watch for the wooden sign on the left as you start down the long hill.

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  Winter Sports

  Winter sports are available.