Powdermill to offer 2 new trail experiences

At Powdermill Nature Reserve, visitors can immerse themselves in nature for as far as the eye can see — more than 2,200 acres to be precise.

This summer, visitors will be able to travel deeper into the forest and learn more about the flowers blossoming throughout the area.

Powdermill Nature Reserve is constructing two new trails — the Porcupine Ridge Trail, which will adjoin an existing trail and the Forest Wildflower Trail, which will be accessible for visitors with mobility disabilities.

“(The Porcupine Ridge Trail) provides access to a variety of forest types and they can see some large-scale ecological research ongoing,” said Executive Director John Wenzel.

“It's long enough so people who really want to have a hike for a couple hours have that opportunity.”

“I think not many people get to see our native wildflowers in their real habitat because they're being exterminated by over-browsing by deer and other manipulations,” Wenzel said of the Forest Wildflower Trail. “You get to see a very rich array of our native wildflowers in the place where they really live.”

The Porcupine Ridge Trail will connect to the existing Sugar Camp trail, Wenzel said, spanning about one-and-a-half miles and culminating in a scenic Laurel Highlands lookout point.

Wenzel said there are surprisingly few places with public access to outlooks of the Laurel Highlands.

“We're going to provide another one,” he said.

The trail will take visitors into the back acres of the reserve and through part of the reserve's blow-down experiment, Wenzel said, where scientists and graduate and undergraduate students are examining the impact of salvage logging on biodiversity after a windstorm. A June 2012 tornado that swept through Westmoreland County inspired the study.

“We will walk them right through the middle of it,” he said.

Informational signs will dot the entire trail, providing visitors with lessons in forest ecology, Wenzel said.

Ligonier resident Anne MacDougall, who serves on the reserve's board and co-chairs the new trail's fundraising committee with Janet Seifert, said visitors will be able to see “beautiful, old growth” throughout the trail. There will be a destination at the top of the trail for visitors to have a picnic, she said.

MacDougall said the addition will benefit the reserve because it doesn't have a lot of long trails. Porcupine Ridge Trail will be longer and more challenging, she said.

Near the nature center, a new, 300-foot trail will allow visitors to view a bevy of native wildflowers. It is specially designed to allow visitors with mobility issues to travel through it.

“This is really a very special thing,” Wenzel said, adding that he doesn't know of another trail like it anywhere.

Wenzel said about 300 plants of 30 species have been planted, with help from gardener Martha Oliver.

Oliver, who co-owns The Primrose Path in Mt. Pleasant, said some of the flowers that have been planted include fern leaf bleeding heart, trillium, Virginia blue bells, bloodroot, heartleaved asters, foamflowers, coral bells, fire pink, wood poppies and Jacob's ladder.

“We hope that this garden will be a resource for all kinds of people, not only for gardeners but also researchers who come to Powdermill,” she said.

Oliver said many of the plants came from the nature reserve's local populations, while some were grown from seeds at her nursery. Signs listing the Latin and common names of the plants will be installed, and an 8-foot tall deer fence surrounds the plants.

“This being protected from the deer means that researchers and actually homeowners can examine what plants are actually eaten by deer and what plants need to have this kind of protection,” Oliver said.

Ultimately Oliver hopes the wildflower trail will inspire people to plant more native plants.

“Native plants support insect populations that support birds,” she said.

Both trails have been made possible through private donations and $67,000 in state funds from the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program, Wenzel said. The Porcupine Ridge Trail will be completed in time for summer, Wenzel said, but the informational signs will not be ready for a few months. The Forest Wildflower Trail is basically complete, he said.

Powdermill Nature Reserve does not charge visitors admission to enjoy its property.

“It's pretty hard to beat that kind of an offering any place,” Wenzel said.

“I think our goal for all of our programs is to have people learn more about natural habitat around us and appreciate the beauty and do so in a setting that's fun for the whole family,” he said.

For more information, visit www.carnegiemnh.org/powdermill/.

Nicole Chynoweth is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-2862 or nchynoweth@tribweb.com.