Luminaria-Lit Montour Trail Attracts Night Walkers for a Shaping Cause

Karen Robbins, her son, daughter-in-law, grandchildren and other Friends of The Montour Trail in Peters Township greeted hikers and their pets as they arrived at the St. Petersburg Center trail entrance.

Down the road, at the / check-in location, Sandy Bosick, Jamie Headley and Chris Nagoda handed out glow sticks and raffle tickets.

For a $5 donation, hikers walked along the path lit with luminaries, votive candles inside recycled two-liter beverage bottles. The donation came with the glow stick, raffle ticket, a drink and a cookie ticket (children under five were free).

Registration started just before 8 p.m. at the St. Petersburg location. DJ Bryan Lee of BML Entertainment spun a selection of adult alternative songs from the 80s and 90s, such as “Love Shack,” by the B52s and “Mickey,” by Toni Basil.

Participants enjoyed snow cones and popcorn as they listened to some familiar tunes.

Railroad historian and aficionado Bob Freidhoff, of Mt. Lebanon, said, “These trails used to be The Montour Railroad line. It was mostly a short-line railroad for coal mining trains, and it ran up and down here until 1984.”

The Montour Trail, located in Allegheny and Washington counties, is a 46-mile rail trail connecting Coraopolis to Clairton, Pa. The rail trail now has 40 miles of completed trail and a crushed limestone surface.

The portion in Peters Township is referred to as The Arrowhead Trail. 

, with many wooded nature areas, historic sites and small towns. The trail has good access points along its length, and much natural beauty and wildlife.

“My grandfather worked on The Montour Railroad and I am carrying on his legacy,” said Robbins.

A lot of folks were there to meet up and hike along the path with their children and dogs, enjoying the luminaries and a guest appearance by , a walking smiley face cookie.

Joyce O’Dell, Amanda Uher and Adaline Biagini traveled from Monongahela to enjoy the trail.

“We love to walk," said Biagini. "We heard about this and thought it would be fun. She pointed down the road to the right of the trail and said, 'We’re going to walk down this way for a bit, and maybe we’ll go up that way.'

Zion Baxter and his grandparents, Margie and Jason Anderson also wandered onto the trail.

“My grandpap and I like to ride bikes on the trail," said Baxter. "We’ve never been on it at night though.”

After the walkers returned to the St. Petersburg location, many of them hung out, chatted with friends and listened to music—all enjoying a beautiful midsummer’s night on the trail.

All proceeds collected will benefit maintenance and expansion of the Montour Trail in Peters.