Lower rhymes with flower

The Lower Trail is a 16.5  mile rail-trail along the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River.

A Rail Trail, is an old railroad that has been re-purposed as a multi-use trail. In more hospitable weather you can find people walking, running, riding bikes and riding horses along the trail. Since trains require flat, wide, tracks, converted railroads tend to be very easy to hike. Typically, you won't find steep grades or rocky terrain. Rather wide paths of crushed gravel or grass, with gentle slopes are the norm.

On a cold  (10°F) Saturday morning in January, we pulled into the Alfarata Station trailhead parking area. This is also the northern terminus of the Lower Trail.  There is plenty of parking and a pit toilet, as well as signs and benches. Due to the extremely cold weather and the possibility for snow and ice on the ground, a rail trail made perfect sense, for my second hike of the year.

The only downside, at least with this path, is that there really aren't any side trails for doing loops. Straight out and backs, or point to point is your only option.

There are however, a number of Boy Scout Eagle projects along the path, including benches, beacons, bird houses and educational signage about the history and ecology of the trail. These make the extremely non-technical trail very informative and entertaining.

Trails near water tend to be great for spotting birds and this one never disappoints. We saw ducks, Bluejays, and a woodpecker. I also tagged cardinals and a red tailed hawk on the way home.