Outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy hiking don’t have to look far for a place to tread the trails. Although the midstate is home to the halfway point of the well-known Appalachian Trail, Central Pennsylvania also offers hiking trails for all levels of hikers. A publicaiton, “Simply Moving: A Guide to Public Parks, Trails & Recreation Facilities in Cumberland and Perry Counties.” It’s available on the county website at www.ccpa.net or at the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau and many local municipal buildings.
Kings Gap
Kings Gap State Park and Environmental Education Center in Dickinson Township offers 16 miles of hiking trails on more than a dozen interconnecting trails, with a variety of sights and terrain. Difficulty levels range from easy to challenging. Some are handicap accessible.
Also included in the park is the Buckridge Trail, a six-mile route connecting Kings Gap with Pine Grove Furnace State Park.
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Maps of the trail network are available in the park, which also offers an orienteering course allowing people to practice with their compasses. Orienteering maps are available at the park office. Kings Gap is on Pine Road five miles west of Mt. Holly Springs and one mile east of Huntsdale. Call 486-5031 for information.
Pine Grove Furnace
The state park in Cooke Township offers some easy trails for day hikers.
Pine Grove cuts through the park and is home of the Appalachian Trail’s half-way marker. Creek Trail is marked by red. The Pole Steeple and Sunset Rocks trails are marked by blue blazes.
The 1.25-mile Koppenhaver Trail travels along streams and through pines and hemlock trees, offering a scenic and relaxing hike through the remains of an old Girl Scout camp. It begins at the far end of Fuller Lake ball field.
The half-mile Creek Trail is behind the camping area near the amphitheater.
A flat hiking and biking trail begins near the park’s furnace stack and travels east six miles to Mountain Creek Campground in Dickinson Township.
The quarter-mile Swamp Nature Trail near Fuller Lake branches off the hiking-biking trail.
The 1.25-mile self-guided historical trail explains the importance of iron ore to the area. For hikers who want harder work, a three-quarter-mile climb up Pole’s Steeple is rewarded with a great view. It is a rock outcropping with a spectacular overlook of the Mountain Creek Valley that begins off of Old Railroad Road on the back side of Laurel Lake.
Hikers can pick up a brochure from park headquarters on Route 233 eight miles south of Interstate 81’s Exit 37.
Col. Denning State Park
The state park in Upper Frankford Township has four primary trails that begin in the park and many smaller trails that can be accessed from the main road. Many of the trails lead into Tuscarora State Forest.
Nine trails that range from one to nine miles connect into loops. Parking is available at the state park, which is tucked into North Mountain at Doubling Gap.
The trails vary from easy to moderately difficult. The terrain varies from flat near the state park to steeper as the trails climb ridges.
The Rattlesnake Trail is a one-mile loop offering easy-to-moderate hiking. Doubling Gap Trail offers a one-mile hike.
One of the most noted trails is Flat Rock, which is a 2.5-mile route to the top of North Mountain, providing spectacular views over the Cumberland Valley.
The park is eight miles north of Newville on Route 233. Visitors may stop by park headquarters at 1599 Doubling Gap Road for maps. Most trails begin there. Contact the park at 776-5272.
Tuscarora State Forest
The forest has several major trails and many old logging roads for hiking. Three trails lead through Hemlock Natural Area near Big Spring State Picnic Area in Perry County, where Patterson Run flows through an area of virgin forest.
The Hemlock Trail is three miles with different trails branching off, some offering steep climbs.
The Iron Horse Trail is a 10-mile loop that travels into Big Spring State Park. The trail is along old logging roads and railroad grades and leads to an incomplete railroad tunnel. It is mostly flat, but offers a few climbs.
Masland Natural Area, a natural national landmark in Tuscarora State Forest near the north branch of Laurel Run, offers hikers two scenic trails.
Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area located near New Bloomfield is also a popular spot for day hikers. The 10 acre tract on Huckleberry Road just off of state Route 34 just south of New Bloomfield is host to a rare colony of box huckleberry estimated to be over 1,300 years old. A loop trail encircles the colony.
The Tuscarora State Forest office is one mile west of New Germantown, off of 274. For information, call 536-3191 or e-mail fd03@state.pa.us.
Michaux State Forest
The forest includes 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail with several blue-blazed trails branching from it. The state forest also offers many of its own trails.
Rocky Knob Trail in Southampton Township is about four miles long and offers scenic views and numbered interpretive posts. A printed guide is available to tell the history of the numbered area.
This trail, which loops off the Appalachian Trail, begins and ends along Ridge Road southwest of Big Flat.
Also in Southampton Township the park offers the Flat Rock Shared-Use Trail. The 38 mile trail is open to hikers, bikers and equestrians. It is marked with brown and white triangles. Parking is available on Milesburn Road at one end of the trail and Shippensburg Road at the other. The trail ranges from easy to “most difficult.”
The state forest also has a number of cross-country ski trails and a self-guided automobile trail that takes drivers on a 19-mile trip through a small part of the forest. It begins on Milesburn Road near Caledonia State Park and goes to Big Flat on Shippensburg Road before returning by way of Route 233.
Maps are free and cover the general area of Michaux. For more information, write to Michaux State Forest, 10099 Lincoln Way East, Fayetteville 17222 or call 352-2211.
Caledonia State Park
The park has several short trails. The Appalachian Trail also passes through part of the park, and a blue-blazed side trail is accessible.
The park’s trails range from a half-mile to nearly 3 miles in length.
The Blue Blaze Trail is seven-tenths-mile long, ascending 400 feet to Ore Bank Hill, before joining the Appalachian Trail.
The 2.2-mile Ramble Trail begins at the visitors’ center and passes through scenic lowlands in the park and past the Rolling Mill waterfalls.
The Thaddeus Stevens Historic Trail allows hikers to inspect an old blacksmith shop, an iron furnace, Mill Race Falls and a furnace and header dam. Guidebooks for the .8-mile trail are at the park office.
The Midland Trail is a seven-tenths-mile trail that is more level and easier to hike.
The 2.7-mile Charcoal Hearth Trail is the longest and most rugged trail in the park. It begins at the falls on the Thaddeus Stevens Trail and ascends Graeffenburg Mountain.
Whispering Pine Nature Trail is four-tenths-mile long and is more suitable for families.
The park’s seven-tenths-mile Trolley Trail is suitable for bicycling. The park is at the intersection of routes 233 and 30 east of Chambersburg. For more information call 352-2161.
Fowlers Hollow State Park
The park offers four main trails — and the 3-mile Alfarata Hiking Trail, Beaston Trail, Fowlers Hollow Trail and Hart Ridge Trail.
The trails are used by hikers, bikers, cross country skiers, equestrians and snow mobiles.
Most of the trails are old logging road and railroad grades leading into Tuscarora State Forest.
The park is off Route 274 near Blain in western Perry County. Call 776-5272 for more information.
The Tuscarora Trail
The trail winds 250 miles through Tuscarora State Forest before entering Maryland. Much of the trail follows the crest of Blue Mountain, eventually ending in northern Shenandoah National Park at Matthew’s Arm Campground.
A person hiking 10 to 15 miles a day should be able to hike the entire trail in 17 to 25 days.
The original 108-mile Tuscarora Trail was combined with the Big Blue Trail in 1997 to form the 250-mile footpath. Since both of its ends join the Appalachian Trail, hikers can complete a long loop. The trail has only one shelter in Pennsylvania, so hikers must rely on tents for overnight shelter. The trail is marked by blue blazes, with side trails marked by orange blazes.
It branches off of the Appalachian Trail near Deans Gap on North Mountain and extends southwest. It crosses Route 34 at Sterretts Gap and Route 233 at Doubling Gap, two of its best access points.
The trail’s terrain varies from steep climbs to graded terrains. Much of the trail is rocky.
Potomac Appalachian Trail Club officials have compiled two guide books about the trail. One focuses on the northern half of the trail and the other on the southern half.
Free public-use maps of the Tuscarora Trail may be obtained by writing Forest District Headquarters, RD 1 Box 42A, Blain 17006 or the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of State Parks, PO Box 8551, Harrisburg 17105.
Mason Dixon Trail
The trail is marked by blue blazes and meets the Appalachian Trail at Whiskey Spring Road in South Middleton Township.
From the Appalachian Trail, hikers travel east to Gifford Pinchot State Park and then to Brunner Island on the Susquehanna River. The trail then follows the Susquehanna south to the Chesapeake Bay to Havre de Grace, Md.
The trail also crosses Delaware and terminates at Chadds Ford, Pa., where it connects with the Brandywine Trail.
The stretch from the Appalachian Trail to Pinchot Park generally follows back-country paved and gravel roads. At Pinchot, it briefly turns into a wheelchair-accessible hiking trail before turning again to back-country roads.
It becomes a traditional hiking trail as it nears the Susquehanna River and offers a challenging trek to Havre de Grace. It presents what many say is the most strenuous hiking in the tri-state area.
The trail has limited areas for camping, including sites at Gifford Pinchot State Park. Call 1-888-PA-PARKS for reservation up to 11 months in advance. Walk-up registrations also are accepted.
Some areas on the trail have either restricted access of require carrying picture identification because of heightened security after the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
Hikers can become a member of the Mason-Dixon Trail System for $15. Annual renewal of the membership is $5.
For more information about the trail or the Mason-Dixon Trail Club, write to 13 Denise Drive, Thornton, PA 19373.
Darlington Trail
The Darlington Trail traverses Blue Mountain in Cumberland and Perry counties. It starts at the Appalachian and Tuscarora trails, 1.55 miles west of Millers Gap Road where the trail crosses at the top of the mountain. Parking areas are available there and at the Lamb’s Gap Road crossing. Vehicle access is better there than at the other end of the trail, at Tower Road on Little Mountain.
The Darlington Trail is orange blazed for its entire 7.74 miles, all of which is within State Game Lands 170. From the west, the trail follows on or near Blue Mountain ridge. About a mile after crossing Lamb’s Gap Road, the trail descends to the Bryson Hollow stream area between Blue and Little mountains.
The narrow trail is for foot travel only in much of the relocated sections, and some parts are rocky and rough. Since it goes entirely through state game lands, no camping is allowed.
For more information visit www.satc-hike.org or write to the Susquehanna Trail Club, P.O. Box 61001, Harrisburg 17106-1001 or Keystone Trails Association, 107 N. Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17101.
