Connellsville lies along the Youghiogheny River, and the Great Allegheny Passage runs right through town on Third Street. The biking and hiking trail leads from Washington, D.C., to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This offers several local points of interest to consider when planning your trip: the regional trail, city bike rides, the riverside setting, and local history sites. You can focus on outdoor activities, history, or a combination of the two.

Biking and Walking in Connellsville

The Great Allegheny Passage provides the regional context; locally, the Connellsville Bike Loop adds two route options to the biking choices. One goes through a residential neighborhood, the other through the business district. The difference is the part of town you’d like to explore on your ride. The Great Allegheny Passage’s direct route along Third Street is another specific landmark for getting around Connellsville.

Those interested in the city’s history can also take a historic walking tour through Connellsville. The Fayette County Cultural Trust planned and created it. Eleven poster-sized panels explain the town’s history through images and text. The route was chosen to lead visitors away from the main roads and support local businesses. It thus combines historical information with a connection to local commerce.

Exhibits and Railroad History

Exhibits at the Connellsville Canteen pay tribute to more than 800 female volunteers who served around 600,000 soldiers during World War II. Railroads are another focus: the site features a model railroad layout built entirely by Harry Clark himself. It measures 55 × 25 feet; Railroader Magazine rated it the best handmade layout in America. Some of the World War II exhibits are interactive.

Connellsville’s depot also tells the story of railroad history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996 for its authentic design and materials, and is considered a defining symbol of the city’s railroad history. Together with the historic walking tour and the Connellsville Canteen, it offers a look at different forms of local remembrance: explained through panels, conveyed through exhibits, or anchored in a historic building.

Riverside Setting, Events, and Public Art

The Youghiogheny River setting is also connected to an annual event. Braddock’s Crossing takes place in June and commemorates the crossing of the river by Braddock’s army in 1755. Each day of the event, visitors have the opportunity to cross the river. Dates and programming may vary from year to year; if you’d like to plan your trip around it, check the details for that year’s event.

At Savor the Avenue, numerous restaurants prepare and serve food to several hundred guests at Fayette County’s Longest Dinner Table. Participating restaurants and the event’s scale may vary. Another cultural highlight is the many public art sites spread throughout the city. Connellsville’s townscape thus includes not only the biking and hiking trail, river, and railroad history sites, but also public art.

Discover more destinations: Champion, Wharton, Perryopolis, Uniontown.

For the broader travel overview: Fayette County.