Confluence is a popular tourist spot during the summer months, thanks to its scenic outdoor beauty and close proximity to Ohiopyle, Fallingwater and the Great Allegheny Passage. Many local and not-so-local visitors enjoy hiking and biking along the trail or spend a few nights at local hotels to enjoy all the outdoors have to offer.

Sandy Younkin, co-owner of The Confluence House Bed & Breakfast and Catering Services LLC, said business has grown since she and her husband, Fred, took over two years ago. “Our business increased five percent the first year, and seven percent the next,” she said. Younkin attributes more than half of the visitors to those who are taking advantage of the Great Allegheny Passage. “The trail has a tremendous impact on every town on its path,” she said. “What is important is that those people do what they can to entice people to come back and visit.” “We’re finding people are staying within a two-to-three hour radius (of where they live) because of the economy,” she said. Younkin attributes much of her business’s success to the Great Allegheny Passage.

Click here to read “Trail, outdoor amenities bringing visitors to Confluence year-round” in the Daily American by Katie Walker.