Ernst Bike Trail

The Ernst Trail is a rail trail built on the roadbed of a railroad which connected Meadville to Conneaut Lake.  It is seven miles long, five of which are paved.  The non-paved portion is between Route 19 and Bailey Road. 

The trail is scenic and flat, passing over small creeks, through farm fields, and along French Creek.  There is a portion which parallels the Norfolk Southern line that runs from Meadville to Greenville, although it sees very few trains. 

The trail begins between Home Depot and Beans Auto on Route 322 in Vernon Township.  It goes south along French Creek and then turns west near Wilson Chute.  At Mercer Pike there is another parking lot.  After crossing Mercer Pike, it goes under I-79 and then continues on another mile or so until it reaches Route 19.  At this point it becomes packed gravel.  The trail goes through a trailer park driveway and on to Johnson Road.  At Johnson Road the rail bed merges with the route of the old French Creek Feeder Canal.  A little bit further west the trail leaves the rail bed and passes along a cornfield and around a pond to the Bailey Road parking lot. 

Near Bailey road the trail had to be routed away from the railroad bed thanks to uncooperative property owners in this area who were only interested in riding their ATV's on the rail bed and didn't want to share it with others.  Needless to say, there is a fence separating the trail area from the ATV area.  Please respect their property and stay on the trail here. 

Plans are currently in progress to construct a "Meadville Connector" which will make the trail more accessible from downtown.  Currently the trail starts on the outskirts of Meadville and is only accessible by car except for any hardy cyclist who is willing to ride on Mercer Pike (since the sidewalk on the Smock Bridge is indefinitely closed thanks to PennDOT). 

Ellsworth Park

This park was originally called Waterworks Park because of its location behind the city waterworks.  In 1942 it was renamed Ellsworth Park in honor of F. Harry Ellsworth who was the superintendent of Meadville's water and light department.  Source: Meadville: A Postcard History by William Bruce Moore and Elizabeth H. Rekas

Today it is an abandoned park bounded by the Meadville Area Water Authority headquarters and Rogers Ferry Rd.  It is still called Ellsworth Park on the Vernon Township Zoning Map, a part of which is reproduced below:

There are a couple abandoned picnic pavilions just northwest of the Meadville Area Water Authority headquarters.   

Here a couple photos that I took in September 2010:

This is a swamp pit with some trash. 

Here is where Meadville's yard waste is apparently dumped.  A squash took root in the pile of clippings. 



As of January 2014 there are "No Trespassing" signs posted along Rogers Ferry Rd. 

 I have a suspicion that Meadville Police Department maintains a shooting range on or near this property, so exercise extreme caution!

French Creek Outdoor Learning Center (Avtex superfund site)

The French Creek Outdoor Learning Center (FCOLC) encompasses the west bank of French Creek where it passes by the old Avtex plant.  It is a secluded area because the FCOLC appears to be permanently closed due to budget cuts.  The FCOLC itself is a couple trailers located at the NE corner of the parking lot surrounding the Avtex buildings.  However, the gate has always been locked when I have been there.  There is only one way in: through the Lincoln Avenue Sports Complex. 

The Lincoln Avenue Sports Complex is located on the outskirts of Meadville in Vernon Township.  To get there from Meadville, take Spring Street west across French Creek and turn right on Lincoln Avenue.  Drive through the Fifth Ward and when you get to the end of the road, turn right on Rogers Ferry Rd.  Immediately turn left and you will be in the parking lot where there is ample parking.

Refer to the map below for this stage of the hike.  There are several ways to go, but the most scenic is to go northeast from the parking lot and hike along French Creek past the swimming hole, through some beaver territory, to the viewpoint, and then on to "More Hiking."  As of July 2013 there is a "no swimming" sign posted on a power pole on the trail to the swimming hole.  If you are in a rush there is an obviously shorter route that will get you through this section faster.  These trails were improved in 2010 with crushed rock and are suitable for strollers.  The swimming area is popular in the summer. 

Continuing north, we move on to the second map.  Here is where you will notice a locked gate (the gate is indicated by the yellow dot in the lower right hand corner) with a building beyond it.  This is the abandoned wastewater treatment plant.  If you are limber enough you can slip under the gate or climb over.  However, if you don't feel like getting through this gate, you can just walk right in to the Crawford County Industrial Park via the main entrance on Dunham Rd and make your way over to the treatment plant without having to jump any gates.  The treatment plant is quite exciting so it will have to be the subject of another post.

Leaving the gate behind, the trail changes from a gravel path to an old dirt road.  It can be rather overgrown in places in the summer because it is no longer maintained.  I've tried to show the approximate location of the trails but there are also other trails besides what is shown.  In various places you will see remnants from when this was part of the Avtex site.  It was designated a superfund site a couple decades ago and was cleaned up and now nature is reclaiming it.  There are still some well heads, drainage channels, and small buildings scattered about.  The fly ash hill is pretty boring; I just marked it so you know what you are getting into if you hike that way.  I recommend hiking to the "Creek Access" point.  Also, on the northernmost trail there is some nice scenery and an oxbow lake where the trail dead ends at a fence at the property line.  When you have seen enough, the only way out of here is to either jump the fence into the industrial park or hike back out through Lincoln Park. 

Here is the official map which is posted near the FCOLC trailers.  Good luck trying to find all those little trails that branch off.  They are long overgrown since FCOLC probably has not seen school kids for a couple years. 

Mead Avenue Bridge

Check this one out before it is relegated to the dust bin of history, which could be as soon as this summer!  This bridge was built in 1871 and it is showing its age.  If you look down there are steel girders that are rusted through.  There are boards missing on the sidewalks and the handrail is halfway down to the creek in some places.

On the upstream side there is a good view of the confluence of Cussewago Creek and French Creek and also the abandoned railroad bridge for the spur line that used to go to Avtex.  

The Mead Avenue Bridge Project website will tell you a lot about this bridge, including the plans for it's demolition and replacement.  For now it is a nice car-free way to enjoy a view of French Creek.

 On the bridge:

The view from the Bicentennial Park boat launch:

 Looking upstream:

Twisted metal:

Crawford County Industrial Park (Avtex)

The former Avtex site is huge and has many interesting features.  Now known as the Crawford County Industrial Park, it is home to numerous manufacturers and businesses.  http://www.epacc.net/facilities/crawford-park.html

There are still some old vacant buildings and abandoned equipment.  There is an abandoned wastewater treatment plant, an old switching locomotive, and some buildings to explore.  Sadly, the railroad tracks to this industrial park were removed in 2012.  Some of the pictures are from before the tracks were removed.  There are still fragments of track left in some places.

The switch engine:

Interesting architecture around an old loading dock:

Part of the abandoned wastewater treatment plant: