dead man's hollow -witch hazel trail

Witch Hazel Trail proves there’s much more to Dead Man’s Hollow than ghost stories and the remnants of a beautifully grafitied old building. I had no idea this trail existed and stumbled upon it unexpectedly because it’s where the GPS took me when I plugged in, “Dead Man’s Hollow.”

I parked on Calhoun Rd. Anyone walking this particular trail would find it incredibly hard to believe any of the many foretold murders and paranormal activities that haunt these 400 acres of woods that lie right outside of McKeesport, PA.

Witch Hazel trail is the most challenging of the 5 trails that make up Dead Man’s Hollow. It is 6,175 feet with a 420 ft. elevation. The path divided early on in my hike, and I instinctively stayed left. I honestly had no idea where I was going, and I just thought either path would lead me to the same place: the old building and tunnel of clay pots that opens to the Youghiogheny River. But that was not necessarily the case.

I first trekked down a steep mountain mostly zig zagging from right to left. I didn’t mind at all because the view was nice because of the beginnings of spring and no one else was on the trail. I knew quickly that the hike back to the car would be a challenging one due to the steepness of the decent and my post-Covid physical physique,🤪 but I was confident the bottom would be worth the challenge. There are 2 pause worthy look out rocks that I’m certain will be beautiful in the summer. I couldn’t take a picture that captured the beauty of it all since there weren’t leaves on most of the trees to give any depth perception, but we tried anyway.

The bottom of the hill was A-MAZING! There are trails everywhere. Most of them go up another mountain so I decided to venture right. This decision did not disappoint. The even flowing stream is seated in a valley which you can enjoy while sitting on one of the many benches placed along the trail. I sat and meditated on one for what seemed like a quick minute. The path zig zags again and again over the stream but most often with strategically

placed rocks to guide the way. After crisscrossing the water several times and a stroll across a bridge we saw our first sighting of the remnants of the Union Sewer Pipe Factory that burned down in 1925. Broken clay pieces are embedded in the dirt along the trail and in the stream. The old building is beautifully decorated with spray paint art that would normally make you cringe when seen in nature, but here adds more character. It is obvious by the firepit ashes that this place is visited by overnight guests that I’m sure are intrigued by the many ghosts that are said to haunt this land. Moving past the building leads you to the Allegheny Trail. At this point I looked for the tunnel and other popular landmarks with no success. I decided to call it a day and head back up the way I came since I was not equipped with a good water supply or food. The hike up wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.

This is the 2nd trail at Dead Man’s Hollow that I’ve hiked. I was pleasantly surprised and would gladly do it again. In fact, I can’t wait to see it in the summer and I’m even more intrigued now to hike the other 3.