Princess Run, a scenic creek that runs through Eldred Township and is mostly bordered by private property, can now be more easily enjoyed by all residents.

Eldred Township is putting in a new 150-foot trail leading down to a recreation area beside the creek at the Walter W. Mock Memorial Park.

Township secretary Ann Velopolcek described the area as a wide grassy floodplain opposite a cliff wall that rises up about 50 feet and has mountain laurel growing up its sides.

“Princess Run, that’s a really beautiful area out there — that’s a gorgeous creek,” Velopolcek said. “You could take pictures down there, you could just go sit down there and meditate for a while and enjoy listening to the water and, you know, just (enjoy) the natural beauty of the creek.”

Work began on the trail in the last 10 days and should be completed by the end of the month, Velopolcek said. It is part of a larger park development project that the township has been working on since the spring.

When the plan to create this trail was discussed at a supervisors meeting in December 2018, residents raised safety concerns because a child drowned in the creek about 60 years ago.

“That was my 7-year-old cousin who drowned in that whirlpool,” resident Archie Craig was quoted as saying in a previous Times News article. “You should not be putting a trail there. It will just encourage people to go into the creek.”

Velopolcek said the incident occurred in a different section of the creek than the area by the trail. Normally, the water is gentle but it can get wild after excessive rainfall so the township plans to place warning signs at the recreation area.

The area is not for swimming or wading but can be used for fishing, Velopolcek said.