MERCER COUNTY Bicycle trail offers the best of nature

The park is on the Audubon Society's list of important bird-watching areas.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
SANDY LAKE, Pa. -- A new bicycle trail in northeastern Mercer County offers a special opportunity to enjoy the fall foliage season in all its glory as one cycles through a variety of habitats along a scenic lake shore.
The 121/2-mile loop around much of Lake Wilhelm is now completing its first full year of use. The $2.9 million, asphalt-paved trail, which is also open to hikers, is the latest addition to Maurice K. Goddard State Park.
"This is a great time to come out here," said Donald Campbell, park manager. "Because of the diversified habitat, you have bright colors and a lot of different colors,'' he added.
Built with state funds atop a former dirt hiking path, the trail goes through park boat launch areas, woods and abandoned farmland, alongside working farms and near wetlands.
Cyclists can expect to see lots of waterfowl and may see deer, wild turkey, great blue herons, bald eagles, osprey and an occasional black bear. Bald eagles and osprey nest along the shore.
Located on a migratory bird flyway, the park just made the Audubon Society's list of important bird-watching areas.
"It's very quiet. We're not deluged with a lot of people," Campbell said, noting that an estimated 8,000 cyclists have used the trail since it opened late last year, according to the park's traffic counting devices.
Location
Situated about 15 miles from Mercer, the park is named for a former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources, and the lake is named in memory of the late Lawrence J. Wilhelm, who was a Mercer County commissioner. The 1,860-acre lake is a popular boating and fishing destination.
Lake Wilhelm was created for flood control, conservation and recreation purposes by a dam that was completed in 1971 along Sandy Creek, a stream that was noted in 1753 by George Washington during his trip to Fort LeBoeuf. Trail users may park at the dam or fishing pier or at one of the park boat launches.
The trail crosses the top of the dam, which is about 11/2 miles from Sandy Lake, and it is known as the Wilhelm Trail on the lake's north shore. Not far from the dam, cyclists will see trees sheared off by a tornado that passed through the area July 21 of this year.
Featuring a gently undulating surface, the trail continues to Lake Wilhelm Road, a lightly traveled road cyclists will use to cross a bridge to the south shore, where a waterfowl observation area, marina, boat rental facility and fishing pier are located.
The trail then follows the lake's south shore, emerging onto the lightly traveled Creek Road about a mile before returning to the dam.
Be prepared
Because much of the park is open to hunting, Campbell urged trail users to wear brightly colored clothing to make themselves clearly visible during the fall hunting seasons. Because access to drinking water along the trail is limited, he also advised cyclists to carry it with them.
During the winter, snowmobiling is permitted on the Wilhelm Trail along the north shore; and cross-country skiing is permitted on the south shore section of the trail, where snowmobiles are prohibited.
The lake is open for ice boating and ice fishing, and the boat launch three has a nonmaintained ice skating area. There's a one-acre sledding and tobogganing hill at the dam.