Moving to SE Pennsylvania... hiking advice?

[blacknblue]

My wife and I are moving to Lancaster County, PA, in less than a month. After living most of my life in Vermont and Colorado, I've already submitted to a life of 'lesser' mountains for hiking and skiing, but with our first child (a boy!) on the way, lesser mountains might be a good thing for a while.

I have done some searching on the interwebs for good hiking places, and have found some, and I know a few avid hikers in Lancaster who have already spoken to me, but I figured it never hurts to have the VFTT community chime in. What are your recommendations? Ideally, it would be nice to have hikes in different categories: "quick, less than an hour's drive" (Southeast Pennsylvania); "medium, most of a day, few hours of driving" (rest of PA, maybe MD or NJ); "maybe an overnight" (Catskills?).

For the record, I don't know that I've ever hiked north of Shenandoah Nat'l Park and south of southern VT, so I'll be living smack in the middle of my redlining blank spot!

We will be two hours' drive from Delaware Water Gap and Harper's Ferry, and less than that to any A.T. trailhead in PA.
We are about 2-3 hours from the Poconos and the mountains in central and northern PA. The Catskills (which I've never hiked) are about 4-5 hours away, I think. For longer, weekend trips, we are 7 hours from both Grayson Highlands/Mt. Rogers in Virginia, and the Upper Valley of VT/NH (where I'm from).

 

[tomcat32]

I grew up in Berks Co. The biggest place to hike in that immediate area is the Pinnacle on the AT near Hamburg. It is typical PA Dutch Countryside view with the Blue Mountain extending to Lehigh Gap and Beyond. It can be busy. It's often listed as best view on PA AT. I prefer Bear Rocks accessible from Route 309 heading north on AT. It's more of a 360 view and you can continue to Bake Oven Knob in less than 10 mile round trip. Most of AT in PA is long wooded ridgelines with only occasional view points To the north I was always fond of the Loyalsock Trail in Sullivan County PAs Endless Mountain Region. In my opinion most AT views in PA look the same. Shenendoah NP is an attractive option but expect quite a bit of crowds.
I'm in the opposite situation I lived most of my life in PA, then Maine, now heading to CO. And yes PA will seem dull quickly.

 

[tomcat32]

A good waterfall hike is Ricketts Glen. It's not too far from the Loyalsock Trail and is a state park in Sullivan and Luzerne Counties in PA. It would be good combined with the Worlds End State Park/Loyalsock Trail area. I haven't been there in nearly 20 years but it's about an 8 mile hike with for the main waterfall loop. The entire Ricketts Glen area has close to 30 miles of trail and more than 20 named waterfalls. I think it is comparable to Gulf Hagas. The highest fall I think is just shy of 100 feet.

AT from Maryland border to Cumberland Valley has a some alright areas for a quick outing and the mountains run around 2200 feet if I remember right. Maryland is not too exciting on the AT. Further south in WV the Dolly Sods Wilderness is definitely a worthwhile area to visit. Most of the trails close to Lancaster are fairly low and incorporate lots of farmland such as the Conestoga Trail or HorseShoe Trail. Parts of the Conestoga offer nice views of the Susquehanna from the bluffs above it but you don't feel like you are in mountains.

Look up Keystone Trails Association. PA has a surprising amount of backpacking trails ranging from overnighters to weeks. The MidState Trail runs from south to northern border and is 500KM. Laurel Highlands Trail in Western is about 90 miles. Old loggers Path up north is about 40 miles for a long weekend. Unfortunately all the trails are are heavily wooded and view points aren't the norm.

Devils Path or Precipice are two nice and very challenging trails in the Catskills.

The area of the AT from PA 501- Lehigh Gap I have hiked very extensively and have guidebook knowledge of the area. If you have any questions about that area specifically let me know. I may be slow to get back to you as I am moving this week though.

 

[Snowflea]

My sis lives in Lancaster County, so I have scoped out many of the local trails over the years...

Very nearby is the Conestoga Trail. White Clay Creek State Park near Newark, Delaware (home of UD) is under an hour away. The many trails there are amazingly nice for running and mountain biking! Also, the Mason Dixon Trail passes through this area.

A little farther (but not much) is Susquehanna State Park in Maryland. Again, very nice trails for running, biking and hiking.

In addition to and just West of Shenandoah National Park, the Massanutten Mountains have some great trails and are much less crowded. The Massanutten Loop is about 70 miles. Front Royal is a good jumping off point for both SNH and MMT trails.

Also, the Tuscarora Trail (230'ish miles) which goes from Shenandoah National Park to near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. I thru-hiked/ran this one a few years back in June and couldn't believe how few people I encountered.

Further West in PA, near Johnstown, the Laurel Highlands Trail (70 miles) is a gem. Hike it in June when the mountain laurel is blooming.

Good luck with the move and the new little one!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Come on up to the Catskills! Our Club has a hike scheduled almost every weekend. See my Sig...

 

[weatherman]

Lived in SE PA (Philly then Delaware Cty then Allentown) for 5 years in much of my prime (pre-kids) hiking days, so did a lot there. Good thing is there are a million trails, mostly uncrowded, within a stones' throw of basically anywhere. Biggest thing for me is that micro-views (1 foot to 10 miles) replace macro-views (100+ miles). Smells, sounds, nonhuman living things, etc are much more abundant than in most "hiking meccas". So maybe a need to re-focus.
The AT is a good starting point but keep in mind that the PA AT is famous for being "300 miles of rocks". This can get frustrating.
Only thing I would have to add to the excellent destination advice is that there are a lot of old historic roads, towpaths, etc that are really interesting and not your typical hikes. Local bookstores can give you great ideas.
The other thing is that hiking 12 months a year is the norm- so your season lasts forever!
Enjoy.

 

[daxs]

Agree with Tomcat; Keystone Trails Association has a lot of good information. Lots on their website and they publish a hiking guide too. In the Lancaster area, you have the Horseshoe Trail (141 miles) You can buy a trail guide for this. If you like trail running or mountain bike riding, lots of trails on Mt. Penn outside of Reading. there are trails in French Creek State park. There are many hiking trails in north central PA; Lycoming, Clinton, Bradford, Tioga and Potter counties; Loyalsock trail, Black forest trail, Susquehannock Trail, Quehanna Trail, Donut Hole Trail, Chuck Keiper Trail, Midstate trail, Bucktail trail, Old Loggers Path. I'm not sure if its still published, but there is a trail guide out there called Hiking the Endless Mountains; gives trails in northeast PA. Ricketts Glen and Worlds End State Parks are places to check out.

There are lots of trails in PA. Its not the same as hiking in VT, NH, ME. No high peaks but rolling hills. The hills can get to your legs on longer hikes. The nice thing is, many of these trails are a bit remote. You can hike and not come across anyone. Lots of solitude. its pretty hiking in the spring when the mountain laurel are blooming and in the fall when the trees are changing. Crazee Monkee Meetup group in Phila does a lot of more challenging hikes. They are a lot of more responsible than most meet ups.

Wild Asaph outfitters in Wellsboro PA carries many of the guides for PA hiking trails.

 

[Raymond]

Watch out for snakes, as they used to say on ‘‘Mystery Science Theater 3000.’’ Isn’t Pennsylvania supposed to be the likeliest of the states that the Appalachian Trail crosses for running into rattlesnakes?

 

[Tom Rankin]

Devils Path or Precipice are two nice and very challenging trails in the Catskills.

Precipice? Do you mean the Escarpment Trail? It gets right up to the edge of a few cliffs.

 

[jmitch]

Welcome to PA. There are tons of trails here, including the most extensive system of backpacking trails in the east, plus 120 state parks. Lots of waterfalls, views, canyons, gorges, and isolation.

Some useful sites:

http://www.midatlantichikes.com/pa.htm

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/recreation/hiking/stateforesttrails/index.htm

State parks:

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/where/index.htm

Keystone Trails Association:

http://www.kta-hike.org/

 

[daxs]

Yes, you can come across rattlers and copperheads in Penna.

 

[jmitch]

Holtwood Preserve is very nice. Great views of the Susquehanna River Gorge. Do not miss Kelly's Run, beautiful glen.

http://www.pplpreserves.com/preserves/holtwood/

Other websites:

http://lancasterhikingclub.angelfire.com/index.html

http://www.lancasterconservancy.org/preserves/