Rothrock State Forest

Living near the Rothrock State Forest, I am presented with plenty of opportunities to do small day hikes in the forest. I am also lucky enough to have a forest that is full of trails. Most of these trails are not designated hiking trails. Instead these trails are maintained by a community of mountain bikers. This past weekend I had the opportunity to hike on a mountain biking trail, and I must admit, it was one of the more pleasurable day hikes that I have done in a long while.

Read more: Checking Out the Sassy Pig Trail in Rothrock State Forest

The northern reaches of Rothrock State Forest extend into Centre, Huntingdon, and Mifflin Counties. Unfortunately the trails in the Rothrock that are located within the boundaries of Mifflin County are neglected by all but mountain bikers. I looked to remedy that in late March by hiking some of the mountain biking trails and introducing these fines trails to the hiking community. There was a circuit hike of about 5 miles that I have been wanting to do for over six years. It was this circuit hike that Dan and I explored on the last sunny but chilly weekend of March.

Read more: Hiking the Mountain Bike Trails of Coopers Gap

The first hike of 2011 had Shari, Dan and I doing a winter hike in Rothrock State Forest. We opted for the Bear Meadows Trail that loops around the Bear Meadows Natural Area. With four-wheel drive vehicles, we made it to the trailhead and began our first winter adventure of the year.

Read more: Winter Hiking in Bear Meadows

The Fall 2010 Keystone Trails Association meeting was held in Milroy this year. Hikes for this meeting were to be held on the surrounding trails in Rothrock and Bald Eagle State Forests. Since I hiked many of the trails in the region, I offered to lead a hike in Rothrock. The hike that I lead followed the many mountain bike trails around the Buck and Brush Ridge area.

Read more: KTA 2010 Fall Meeting Hike in Rothrock State Forest

A number of years ago I had hiked these trails, back when the trails weren't well maintained. I was notified that the trails were now maintained and easy to follow, but I hadn't had a chance to head out and check out the new trails. With plans of leading a hike on these trails in the fall, I decided to do an after work hike and see if the trails were indeed cleared and maintained enough to lead a fall hike here.

Read more: Revisiting Buck and Brush Ridge

Tussey Mountain Trail is a favorite of the local mountain biking scene. Because of this, it makes for a very nice hiking trail, free of obstacles, and aside for the fact that it is situatead on top of a ridge, you can follow it very easily without the need of blazes. This was the destination for our latest after work hike: a shuttle hike from Bear Meadows to the gas pipeline crossing of Treaster Kettle Road.

Read more: Tussey Mountain Trail: Huckleberries Along The Trail

Just south of State College, Pennsylvania can be found the Rothrock State Forest. Located within Rothrock State Forest are a number of natural areas and wild areas. These designated areas have limits placed on them with regards to forestry and recreation. The purpose of a natural area or a wild area is to keep the woods as primitive and primeval as possible. Two such areas, the Detweiler and Alan Seeger Natural Areas were the focus of this hike.

Read more: Hiking in the Detweiler and Alan Seeger Natural Areas

This winter is an oddity compared to most recent winters. This winter we actually got some snow. And with snow comes the opportunity to snow shoe. Much more strenuous then hiking, but more fun as well, snow shoeing requires a good 6 to 8 inches of snow on the ground. With a recent snow storm, we were lucky enough to end up with over 12 inches of snow laying on the ground. Not wanting to miss an opportunity like this one, I decided to take a day off work and venture out into the woods of Rothrock State Forest and do some snow shoeing.

Read more: Another Snowshoeing Adventure in Galbraith Gap

Bear Meadows was designated a natural area in 1966. Located in Rothrock State Forest, Bear Meadows is one of the largest fresh water bogs in the east. Unlike the bogs of Canada, the bog at Bear Meadows was not touched by the glaciers of the last ice age supporting a variety of plants over the past 10,000 years. Bear Meadows is a great place to explore and the Bear Meadows Trail that loops around the bog is a great place to start. However, this hike was a slight variation of the typical Bear Meadows hike as we explored some of the trails and ridgelines to the northeast of Bear Meadows.

Read more: Bear Meadows Variation Hike: Hiking the Jean Aron Path and Tuxedo Trail

Back in 2006 there a was forest fire in Rothrock State Forest. The fire burned up the south face of Tussey Mountain and then spread to the north face. Running across the top of the mountain was the Tussey Mountain Trail which I had snow-shoed just that previous winter, but now was obliterated by the fire. The trail was reopened in the fall of 2006 and I had never been back to see how the trail and the forest were recovering. An urge to revisit the area overcame me during the second week of July, so three years later I decided to hike the Tussey Mountain Trail to see the burn area.

Read more: An Alternate Hike on the Tussey Mountain Trail

There is a trail that connects Penn Roosevelt State Park to the Alan Seeger Natural Area via a route over Grass Mountain. Curiously enough, this trail is not called Grass Mountain Trail but is called Long Mountain Trail. Long Mountain runs from Muttersbaugh Gap, about 3 miles east of Penn Roosevelt and ends near Poe Paddy State Park. My guess is that this is the only remaining section of what was once a longer trail, one that actually traversed Long Mountain.

Read more: Discovering the Long Mountain Trail

This hike was a slight modification of the hike I did back on National Trails Day in June of 2006. On that day in early summer of 2006 the temperatures were in the low sixties with overcast skies. On this late April day in 2009, the skies were brilliant blue and temperatures were in the mid to upper eighties. Regardless of the warm temperatures, when you are presented with such a beautiful day so early in the season you have to take advantage of it, and that's exactly what I did with this invigorating hike.

Read more: Old Laurel Run and Spruce Gap Trails in Rothrock S.F.

I often get asked about hikes that are good for children. There are a number of hikes in Central PA that are good hikes for children. The Alan Seeger Natural happens to be one of my favorite leisurely strolls when I just want to get out, and at less than a mile in length and never over 50 feet in elevation gain, this is a great hike for kids. Toss in huge trees, rhododendron tunnels, bridges, and a creek, and this hike is a hit for kids of all ages.

Read more: Alan Seeger Natural Area: A Great Place to Hike With Kids

The Shingletown Gap area is a popular place for hiking, biking, or just going for a stroll. The Shingletown Gap area is also a popular starting point for those wanting to explore the Rothrock State Forest. But with popularity comes over use, erosion, and general neglect by those that don't appreciate the trails or the out of doors. In an effort to ease the overuse of the Shingletown Gap area, Clearwater Conservancy jumped at an opportunity to purchase a tract of land just 1.5 miles west of Shingletown. The area, known as Musser Gap, was then transferred to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and became the latest edition to the Rothrock State Forest. This new access point will provide another gateway to the popular state forest and will hopefully alleviate some of the traffic with in the Shingletown Gap area. Of course it isn't every day that new land is added to the public domain, so Shari and I decided to hike up into Musser Gap to see the new edition to the Rothrock State Forest.

Read more: Exploring in Musser Gap

In December of 2005, I borrowed a pair of snow shoes from a friend. After my first outing, I was hooked. After purchasing my own pair of snow shoes, I had to wait 14 months for a decent snow fall and another chance to try snow shoeing. I had my chance the week of Valentines Day in 2007. We had a measurable amount of snow with over 8 inches on the ground in the valleys. I was sure it would be deeper on the wind blown sides of the mountains. Not wanting to miss this opportunity and have to wait until Winter of 2008, I took a day off work to head out and do some more snow shoeing. This would be my second try at snow shoeing and I was anxious to get onto the trail. And not only that, but I would get to use my brand new snow shoes for the first time.

Read more: Snowshoeing in Galbraith Gap

Saturday, June 3rd, 2006 was National Trails Day. This was the day that everyone was suppose to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Unfortunately, in our neck of the woods, the weather was not all that cooperative. I awoke Saturday morning to an overcast and dreary day with drizzle falling. Regardless of the weather I was determined to make it out onto the trail on National Trails Day and experience my outdoors. I decided to make a circuit hike on some of the many trails within Rothrock State Forest. The hike would be on the northwest face of Tussey Mountain, climbing to the top where I would hike across Little Flat, and then descend back down to Galbraith Gap, using the Old Laurel Run Trail, Spruce Gap Trail, Lonberger Trail, and the Three Bridges Trail.

Read more: National Trails Day: Hiking in Rothrock State Forest

On a recent flight back from Chicago, as my US Airways twin prop airplane was making it's final descent into State College, I glanced out my window to see the mountains of Rothrock State Forest below. I will often look down on these mountains as I fly into and out of State College, recognizing the different ridge lines and streams and recalling the hikes that I've done along both. On this occasion I saw a small body of water that I hadn't noticed before. It was a small pond located at the very top of a ridge. I thought that it would be nice to see if I could hike back to that pond, and that's what I set out to do this past weekend.

Read more: Hiking the Trails Around Buck and Brush Ridge

For two weeks prior to doing this hike I had been planning on hiking somewhere. My initial plans went by the wayside when we received over 8 inches of snow only three days before. So I decided to borrow some snow shoes and try a hike a little closer to home. I decided on hiking some of the trails in Rothrock State Forest. There are many trails used by mountain bikers as well as older cross trails from times gone by.

Read more: Tussey Mountain Trail: My First Snow Shoeing Experience

Bear Meadows was designated a natural area in 1966. Located in Rothrock State Forest, Bear Meadows is one of the largest fresh water bogs in the east. Unlike the bogs of Canada, the bog at Bear Meadows was not touched by the glaciers of the last ice age supporting a variety of plants over the past 10,000 years. On the day before deer season of 2005, Shari and I decided to take a nice winter hike around this 800 plus acre natural area.

Read more: Bear Meadows Trail: A Winter Stroll