The Pat McGee Trail is the first phase (12.14 miles of abandoned rail bed) to create a multi-use trail from Allegany State Park to Gowanda and Zoar Valley. The second phase has already commenced with the extension of this trail system to the edge of the Village of Cattaraugus. As the railroad discontinues use of contiguous routes. The construction of the trail head parks within the downtown areas of villages along the trail.To date the CLDC and community volunteers have accomplished the following:
- Obtained fee simple ownership of 12.14 miles of rail bed.
- Applied for and awarded two grants (NYS Parks and Recreation for a Trailhead in the Village of Little Valley and TEA-21 NYS DOT grant for development of the trail.)
- Raised over $2,000,000 in grants, private funds, donations and in-kind services.
- Designed, rebuilt, re-decked 660 feet of bridges, graded and landscaped the trail.
- Created Five Parking Areas
- Six Rehabilitated Bridges
- 811 feet of drainage pipe
- 30,000 feet of ditch cleaning
- 7,550 square feet of wood bridge decking
- 1,970 feet of hand railing
- 1,720 tons of riprap
- 9,880 tons of crushed gravel
- 1,075 square feet of signage
- Total of 27,000 tons of earthwork was completed
Along the Trail:
Some of the interesting sights along the trail include: rock formations, eco-communities, wildlife (150 species of birds, 41 species of mammals, 170 species of trees and plants), vistas and geo-cache locations.
