Lorraine Covered Bridge #14847

The Story

Here is the Lorraine covered bridge the day after a short snowfall along the Lower Trail rails-to-trails. This scene was photographed in early winter, leaving some of the yellow and orange foliage still on the trees and bushes. In a very pleasing way, the leaf color contrasts beautifully against the newly fallen white snow.

The Lorraine covered bridge is recently built. It’s not one of the old preserved antiques from yesteryear often spanning much wider streams and rivers than as shown here. It sits at the Mt Etna trailhead on the Lower Trail, a very picturesque rails-to-trails in Blair County, central Pennsylvania.

What little I know of its history was given to me verbally by another trail user. He told me simply that the Lorraine covered bridge was named in memory of a woman who loved being on the trail deeply. I’m out biking on the Lower Trail often and feel just about the same way about it: I go there in good weather to unwind my mind riding a bike and soak up nature. It’s often a great re-centering and relaxing experience, and it works.

As you can see from this picture, I still go there in winter too! On this day, there had been snow the night before followed by a light rain that left a hard frozen crust on top. Simply trying to walk was quite a bit of labor and it took a while to get around. I was attracted by the colored leaves still on the trees and scattered over the snow.

Location: off the beaten path on the Lower Trail at Mt Etna, Blair County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story ©Andrew Dierks