Black Forest Trail
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Located in the Tiadaghton State Forest, the Black Forest Trail and it's many side trails reside in Lycoming and Potter counties. The Black Forest Trail is a loop of 42 miles beginning and ending just north of Slate Run, PA. The Black Forest Trail gets its name from the dense hemlocks that once grew here, keeping the forest floor in an everlasting darkness. The trail is challenging with many steep ascents and descents. However, the vistas make it worth the effort.
My Hikes @ Black Forest Trail
Topo Map - Black Forest Trail and Side Trails
Trail Ratings
 Reviewed by Pyro#1 of Selinsgrove, PA 01/22/2010 |
| Love this trail. Hiked it many times, whole thing and sections. For a challenge my friend and I did the whole thing in 19 hrs 17 min October 2008. Was not easy. Best time to go is fall for the trees and clear, cool nights to see millions of stars. Careful in spring, a little rain there goes a long way and you will be ankle deep in water all day long and might not be able to cross Slate Run Creek. |
 Reviewed by Justin of Mechanicsburg, PA 01/11/2010 |
| Awesome trail! My friend is an ex-Marine and we blasted through this trail in November 2008 in 2 days! We started pre-dawn and got off to a fast start. After stopping for a nap and lunch we hiked into the night by headlamp, and I was pleasantly surprised by the year's first snow flurries as we set up camp and started a fire. Day 2 was crisp and pristine as we awoke to a light dusting of snow in the hollow where we camped. My knees were sore but we tore through the rest of the trail that day, got turned around a couple of times on late night switchbacks, and we camped out along the road the second night in order to recuperate before driving home. Like many of the reviews say on this page, allow more time to appreciate the vistas and fantastic campsites. But all in all, I did enjoy the hike and plan to do it again, maybe in 3 days rather than 2. |
Reviewed by jimmytico of pembroke pines, fl 01/04/2010 |
| we did this loop many years ago (25+)...during the late summer... five of us...and took a week to do it!...no hurry...to thoroughly enjoy being in the woods...it rained every day...but the first and last days...gourged ourselves on mountain blueberries...and saw my first scarlet tanager on this trip...magnificent hiking with breathtaking views...moments to forever recall... and wish all could have this experience...it does make for a richer life... an unheralded but one of my most enjoyable hiking trips...and that includes having done Yellowstone trails, Teton upper crest trail and Costa Rican trails! |
Reviewed by Joanne D of Philadelphia PA, PA 11/08/2009 |
| I went on the Black Forest trail-starting on the what I believe is the ridge side. We parked by the Manor Hotel and due to getting a late start (12:30pmish) start ascending up to the most beautiful sites. We did the 17 mile loop in about 7 hrs. This was my very first hike with in this timeframe (7 hrs) and hiking 2 hrs after sun down. I am new at BFT, but I do know we followed the orange trail. Any feedback on diffilculty level. To me it felt pretty challenging in certain areas! I am looking forward to the any comments in regards to the level of difficulty I achieved? jojobin1@yahoo.com Thanks : ) |
 Reviewed by Gary of MERTZTOWN, pa 09/02/2009 |
| spent four days up in the pine creek gorge and out in the loyalsock forest, got out and did two day hikes in and along the main and side trails of the black forest, day one was a loop from the end of naval run road, followed the blue blazed pine trail along pine creek and then swung up riffle run valley which was killer, lots of washed out areas which had me climbing up cliffside at several spots, came out to the big "trail" which is a low use road, with a view shortly after the climb out of riffle run, i decided to trail run all the way to route 44, there i found an old gasline trail that met up with the black forest trail, and thats when the views just started coming one after another i swear it took me 2 hours to hike this part, followed the btf downhill and turned on to a yellow blazed trail that took me right to my car. it was the end of july and the temp was about 65 degrees all day and than rained like crazy at night, the second day i did a trail run along the btf i think i was hullicinating the entire run as i dont really remember anything i covered. must come back and do the entire btf |
Reviewed by Zack Kolodziejski of Lancaster, PA 08/22/2009 |
| Awesome trail. I just tackled it for the very first time and loved every second of it. I went all by myself, which I might re-think next time. I saw 2 bears from about 100yds and tons of fresh bear droppings, along with 3 rattlesnakes. So, having a companion would probably be in your best interest. Time was of the essence so I did 15 miles coming in, set up camp, and backtracked the following day. An awesome weekend event indeed. Killer vistas, killer climbs, and tons of bloodsucking insects! (i'll be sure to bring bug spray next time.. my back looks like someone opened up on me with some birdshot) The weather was awful the entire time but that didn't sour me up at all. Rainy and approx 70F during the day, misty and approx 40F at night. P.S: I now swear by sterno stoves |
Reviewed by Ironboots of Landenberg, PA 08/11/2009 |
| Wet Feet (Jamie), Wet Paws (Harley), and Ironboots (me) hiked the 42 mile loop counterclockwise. You can check out video clips on Day #1 - Day # 3 via youtube (do a youtube search: Hiking with Harley). Day # 1: (7 miles), Day # 2 (14 miles), Day # 3 (14 miles), and Day # 4 (7 miles). We did not take video shots on Day # 4 since we posted video of this segment from our June hike. We did not run into any bears on this trip but we did see 3 rattlesnakes. My pack weight was 36 pounds.....makes for a good workout. One guy (and his three sons) had a 50 lb pack that he was carrying. He said it took him 4 hours to hike from the official start point (at Slate Run) to and up the Lemon Squeeze (first mountain climb clockwise from official start point) to the cabin/pond area. He said they plan to hike the whole loop......just wonder if he ever made it. One piece of advice from a dog owner....keep your dog on a leash or at least have the leash dragging in case you need to get quick control of the dog.......there is a chance you will see a bear or two and at least a snake or two or three or four. Please hang up your food.......far enough from the (8+ feet) tree and high enough off the ground (10 feet +). You will do yourself, the bear, and other hikers a favor. Thank you ! |
Reviewed by Jeff of Sellersville, Pa 07/24/2009 |
| I have been on this trail 4 or 5 times. The first time back in 1978 when we hiked all 42 miles. I have also done some winter backpacking there, but not the whole trail. This is one of my favorite hikes in Pa. It will challenge you with many up and down hills. But well worth the effort if your looking for something without crowds. It has enough spots for water that you really don't need to worry about running out. The camp sites are pretty clean, and the only down side I found was the horse's that leave you "gifts" to jump over... You do need to worry about black bear. As we did have a VERY large bear take all our food once, and yes, everything was hung in a tree. But this guy was smart and had a trick to get the food bags swinging so he was able to grab them. And all the pot banging a whistle blowing in the world never fazed him. I would say this was his camp site and we were just his guests. We have also seen rattle snake on the trail too. The last time we hiked the whole trail was in Aug. 08. We took a rookie hiker, she was in great shape, but it was a lot for her to handle being her first time backpacking for more then 2 days. We are going back in the fall, and I am looking forward to it! The BFT is a great trail to hike! |
Reviewed by Eric of Hollidaysburg, PA 07/24/2009 |
| This was my first backpacking trip. It was very tough, however the vistas were worth the pain. We picked pounds of blueberries for breakfast, had plenty of water sources, heard coyotes, saw grouse, and ran across a rock of rattlesnakes! Up and down, up and down. Black Forest Trail is truly a gem of PA - and America. The people at the Black Forest Village are very friendly and awesome. Go do this trail but be ready for a painful body and many visual orgasms. |
Reviewed by Jay Heverly of Pine City, NY 07/10/2009 |
| We hiked 38 miles in two days. We started at the trail head(end of trail) on Slate Run Rd. and hiked up to Foster Hollow then took Francis Rd back to BFT and followed BFT for another 11 miles and set up camp right next to a stream at mile 18(counter clockwise). I have to say I am pretty dissappointed at the amount of trash and litter that has been left behind at most of the campsites. Day two our plan was to hike around 10 miles and set up camp. Our plan never came together. We ended up hiking over to naval run via the Callahan trail then bak to BFT at Naval Run with the intention of setting up camp at the Little Slate Run camping area(36 miles). We stopped there for dinner but felt we could move on so we ended up hiking 22 miles all in all back to the car that day! Great vistas on the inner portion of the BFT. Trail was in great shape except for those pesky nettles! |
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