Black bears have even been spotted crossing the trail!
Once the sun gets high, watch out for the occasional snake sunning itself on the warm pathway. Coexisting with these industrial castoffs is a variety of wildlife hit the trail early enough and you’re likely to encounter deer and more than a few chipmunks. You’ll pass massive iron furnaces, long-disused tipples (equipment that loaded railroad cars with coal), slag (a by-product of mining), old railroad ties, and other artifacts attesting to the path’s rich rail history. The crushed-limestone trail winds through the scenic Blacklick Creek watershed east of Pittsburgh and offers a 32.3-mile main stem from the small community of Black Lick eastward to Ebensburg, as well as a 12.2-mile spur. The pathway is also part of the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition’s developing 1,500-mile trail network through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and New York. Established in 1991, the Ghost Town Trail is a designated national recreation trail. When the coal-mining industry started declining in the early 1900s, so too did the towns along the rail route, eventually fading into the ghost towns of today. Sundays at 1960 Adeline St.Part of a larger system in Western Pennsylvania known as the Trans Allegheny Trails, the Ghost Town Trail was named for the long-abandoned towns strung along the tracks of the Ebensburg & Black Lick Railroad and Cambria and Indiana Railroad. Balanced, with a nice spicy hop kick, it hits all the right notes.ĭetails: Open from 3 to 10 p.m. Polydactyl Pale Ale is a dry-hopped American pale ale, made with Mosaic and Citra hops. Saratoga’s first brewery welcomes ManyFriendsĭon’t miss: Unusual beers are always fun to try, but one of Ghost Town’s mainstream beers is such a standout, we can’t resist it. Related Articlesīad Bunny accuses brewery of illegally using his images and trademarkīrewery Day Trips: Into Morgan Territory for beer and barley wineīecome a marijuana master with this sommelier-like certification for cannabisīay Area day trips: Livermore breweries, bocce and bites The taproom doesn’t have its own kitchen, but they’ve partnered with various food vendors, including the Grilled Cheez Guy, who was dishing up sandwiches the day we were there. Ghost Town Brewing is one of the better craft beer bargains around, with 16-ounce pours ranging from $3 to $6, and taster sets of four-ounce pours so you can try a broader range of styles. All of the beers were solid, with good hop/malt balance.
Made with lactose and cacao, it’s the closest thing to a milkshake that you can get in the craft beer business. If you’re a fan of chocolate milkshakes – and who isn’t? – try the Cat Hoarder Porter on nitro. Prefer a more full-flavored sip? There were two porters, two stouts, a rye ale and a barleywine, too. There were 14 beers on tap on the day we visited, ranging from very light - a cream ale, pilsner and saison - to the ubiquitous American pale ales and IPAs, including a tasty hazy pale ale called European on Uranus.
It’s kid-friendly and dog-welcoming, too. The brewery tasting room, which has been open about a year, is tucked in a comfortable, spacious building with concrete floors, high ceilings and plenty of space to spread out. (Who knew?) The brewery has embraced this history, right down to the small coffins painted on the side of the bar. Who knew it was such a good place to stop and have a beer? Ghost Town Brewing gets its name from the area, which was once home to several coffin factories. There are many people who zoom through this West Oakland neighborhood, using the Grand Avenue bypass as a shortcut to the Bay Bridge. Peek inside Oakland's new Ghost Town BrewingĬLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing these photos on a mobile device