Anyone who has visited the Eternal Flame Trail in Chestnut Ridge Park knows that it can be a treacherous hike.
Erie County is hoping to make it a little less so.
Starting Monday, the trail will be closed for a month as access and safety improvements are made.
Access to the popular attraction will still be available. Parts of the trail, including the parking lot and main trailhead, will remain open. Barricades and signs with flame graphics and arrows will be placed throughout the trail to guide visitors to the detour route.
“The trail will be shut down, the major portion of it, but there is a detour in place if people want to get to the Eternal Flame,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said. Visitors “should not under any circumstances” attempt to enter the original trail, he added.
The flame at the end of the trail is fed by natural gas. The flame burns deep in the woods, at the bottom of a ravine, in a crevice of a waterfall in Shale Creek called Eternal Flame Falls.
Erie County Parks Department and Chestnut Ridge Confederacy are collaborating on the $134,000 project to improve trail safety and “beautify” the trail.
Among the improvements will be the construction of railings, the installation of roughly 135 timber box steps and relocating a trail section that is located in the streambed.
The trail is a popular sight for visitors across the country, but under the weight of thousands of yearly visitors the trail suffers from degradation. It includes tree roots, large fallen tree branches and some eroding stairs.
Seasoned hikers may find the park easier to navigate and thrilling to walk through the unusual trail. However, some visitors might not be prepared.
The day before the trail closing was announced, someone was injured while headed to the flame, Troy Schinzel, commissioner of parks, recreation and forestry, confirmed.
Wearing scandals is a common occurrence at the park, which the Parks Department does…
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