May 6, 2002 By Melissa Glisan 2 min read

Another $375,000 from the state will help local officials extend a bike/hike trail another six miles toward Uniontown and maybe make Fayette County an important link connecting trails across the United States. The Sheepskin Trail, also called the American Discovery Trail for its function of linking trails between the east and west, will begin in Dunbar Township pass through Dunbar Borough and North Union Township then run into Uniontown.

Project manager Art Cappella explained that the trail will begin at an intersection with the Youghiogheny River Trail, travel through Uniontown then continue on to Point Marion, where one day it will meet up with the Mon Trail in West Virginia.

Last year, the trail project received a similar construction grant of about the same as this year’s $375,000 award. Cappella said everyone involved in the project is hopeful to get at least six miles created by the end of this fall.

“This is really something to be excited about. The (Fayette County) commissioners certainly are. Even officials in West Virginia are excited and have voiced support in conversations we’ve had over linking the trails,” Cappella said.

West Virginia officials are seeking funding to finish construction that would bring the Mon Trail north, he said.

Once completed, the Sheepskin Trail will be about 33 miles long, following converted railroad property from both the Penn Central rail line and the Baltimore & Ohio lines.

Because of the topography involved, the trail will alternate between the two rail lines on its way from Dunbar to Uniontown, Cappella explained. He said the commissioners just began work on the lease agreement with Pennsylvania-American Water Co., which holds the rail rights of way to the Penn Central line. Once done there, he said, negotiations would begin with Fay-Penn Economic Development Council on obtaining rights to the Baltimore & Ohio property.

If all goes as expected, Cappella said, construction on the trail would begin at the Yough River Trail intersection in Dunbar Township this summer. In the end, the Sheepskin will be unique, he said, because of the way it will connect the county.

“You will be able to get on and go to the Cheat River, the Youghiogheny and the Monongahela. That is most significant,” he said.