Trail towns poised to capitalize on increasing access, popularity of rails-to-trails

Cheryl Babbit, general manager of the Comfort Inn in Connellsville, poses for a portrait. The hotel sits next to the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail, which generates the majority of its guests during the warm seasons.

Street scene in downtown Freeport.

A section of the Tredway Riverfront Trail meanders near the connection of the Freeport Bridge, the center of which is where four counties meet: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland.

Freeport Borough is located to the left of the Freeport Bridge that spans the Allegheny River. River Forest is visible at the right. The center of the bridge is where four counties meet: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland.

A section of the Tredway Riverfront Trail meanders below the Freeport Bridge. The center of the bridge is where four counties meet: Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler and Westmoreland.

A section of the Tredway trail runs through River Forest in Allegheny Township.

Lauren Edinger and her husband, Edd Velez, are in the process of turning a former men’s clothing store into an ice cream and sandwich shop in Freeport.