There are houses on the road that the parking area is at. If you start going downward on the FS road you missed the right turn. To detour this section, please consult the updates page for current detour information. Carry lots of water. I didn't see it but I believe one does exist. Very easy to do hike not to many blazes on the trees but the trail is very easy to follow. Being out of hiking shape (and with it hot and high humidity), the Roller Coaster section of West Virginia was brutal. There are numerous sections of the trail. Also, I have in mind a thru-hike of the 71-mile Massanutten Trail, which circles the ridge of Massanutten Mountain. I wasn't overwhelmed on the ascent as it is not as far up or steep as say Old Rag. Tuscarora Trail Section 7: Cowan's Gap State Park to PA 16 - Hiking Project Keep your eyes open, it is easy to walk on by (I missed it the first time). Additional Road Access in Tuscarora State Forest: Limited Parking at Three Square Hollow Road (40.228, -77.569), Limited Parking at 2nd Narrow Road (40.224, -77.594). Turn left for Pinnacle Camp. The Tuscarora runs through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Please respect the landowner's decision. At the shelter, the white trail would be at your 10 o'clockposition if you were in the shelter and looking out (I didn't note a blaze on the trail until going down the trail a bit). Then, at the 3.0-mile mark, a trail sign. Please contact John Stacy atjstacy@patc.netwith any questions. before you embark upon your trip. The trailhead is located in the Shawneeland neighborhood, which is situated on a small mountain. What the Tuscarora lacks, though, is campsites. The blue blazes are really light at the parking spot. In a few more steps, you will reach the Pinnacle Shelter. We were definitely glad to have done the loop clockwise, as suggested, as the trail just below the shelter is extremely steep and would have been unpleasant to climb up we were also happy to cool our feet in the pretty stream that follows the road for the final few miles. This means that hikers generally must hike shelter-to-shelter, which in a couple of cases forces some relatively long days. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Again, the views were lovely, not spectacular. Camping: Fowlers Hollow Shelter (40.247,-77.611), Fowlers Hollow State Park. Freeze dried dinners and inside tents by seven to hide from the bugs. Tuscarora Trail North Camp at Gerhard Shelter This is a very nice small shelter with a fire ring and space nearby for several tents or hammocks. Great Eastern Trail joins/leaves the TT from/on Standing Stone Trail in Cowans Gap State Park. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Camping: Barclays Run Shelter (39.253, -78.319),PinnacleShelter (39.193,-78.3815), Pinnacle Camp (39.193,-78.385), Lucas Woods Hiker Camp (39.177, -78.409). Lots of rock covered with wet leaves -- hmmmm. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), 2021 Tuscarora Trail Day Two Basor Ridge Shelter, 2021 Tuscarora Trail Day Four Pinnacle Camp. Links: Buchanan State ForestCowans Gap State Park. Max Elevation:2515 ft. Min Elevation:670 ft. PA-641 to Cowans Gap State Park, 15.7 miles, PATC Map K, Guide to the North Half of the Tuscarora Trail. Tomorrow should all be trail with no roads. This is a popular trail for hiking and running, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. I did it in "reverse" that time since the hike up the standard way was pretty tough. Location: Rocky Run Shelter (412.9 miles) Tags: Appalachian Trail, Maryland, Tuscarora Trail The penultimate day of hiking on my Tuscarora-Appalachian Trail loop brought me a day of great weather and views. Didn't see anyone else the whole hike. In full sun at the overlook, I was comfortable. Once you reach the trailhead, you are near the top of the mountain, so of course, the hike begins with a descent. Tuscarora State Forest Treasures Maps and Information (PDF) Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Trail Guide (PDF) Tuscarora Trail. A lot of rotted and dying trees and there were a couple of signs about chemicals that had been applied, so who knows. The trail has been rerouted onto Va 689, Adams Rd. At this point the trail is a closed forestry road (FS) that slowly climbs the side of the mountain for 0.8 miles before the blue blazed Tuscarora Trail makes a sharp right, and the FS road continues straight. I really dont know its use. However, much to my surprise, every day I was on the trail, I saw at least one other person. At the trailhead, youll be in full sun, but not to worry. Day 32: Let's Not Make a Stink About the Bugs | Tuscarora Trail, 2020 . Our trusty mountain dog, Boone, also came along. At the 2.2-mile mark, the trail splits, but youll want to stay right for the Tuscarora Trail. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 3 h 0 min to complete. Difficultly: The stated difficultly is 4. The valleys were clear and pleasant. on our section trails. That would add another six plus miles to our day and most of that would be uphill. White blaze downhill after the Shelter was steep, and pressure on the knees. he trail can be accessed by road from both the northern and southern termini of section 5: he trail can be accessed by road from both the northern and southern termini of section 6: Limited shoulder parking onFannettsburg Road (. When I thru-hiked the Benton MacKaye Trail in 2018, I came away with the impression that it made a quite reasonable alternate to the Appalachian Trail. All the roads in Shawneeland are called trails, including Maple Trail, Timber Ridge Trail and Fir Trail. I think the rating of 5 is accurate. Need help finding a hike? . On balance, was nice to revisit that section of the AT again. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The Tuscarora Trail section just west of Massanutten Mountain is closed due to loss of landowner permission. Tuscarora Trail Camping in Tuscarora State Forest - Pennsylvania Department of Since the trailhead is located in a neighborhood, there is no parking lot. Theres plenty of room for everyone, too. The trail in Virginia and West Virginia was mostly well-maintained, and there were only a few areas where the trail was overgrown and a nuisance to hike on. My options for shelter would be to either use the Gerhard Shelter lean-to if I had the place to myself, or a lightweight tarp and minimalist hammock if I decided to wander out further into the woods and camp near the search area and nearby spring. Weather was crisp and perfect. The trail follows an extensive route that bypasses the Appalachian Trail by following mountain ridges to the west. Motorized, roadside campsites may be reserved up to eleven months in advance. This is not on the white trail leading down. Primitive camping is allowed throughout the Tuscarora State Forest. The rock scramble is fun but it does not better the view. There are some nice views on both sides of Great North Mountain from the ridge just before arriving at Gerhard Shelter. It may have been in the high 20s up high, as my beanie cap seemed stiff in parts, I think from frozen sweat. It stretches from Mathews Arm in Virginia to Sterretts Gap in Pennsylvania. Hiking in Tuscarora State Forest - Pennsylvania Department of I did hear some rustling leaves from a scurrying something, so maybe a hidden rabbit or two. The blue blazed trail climbs the side of Great North Mountain steeply and makes several switchbacks before reaching the ridge line in another 3.0 miles. The AT sections of my loop hike went largely as I expected, and I dont really have much to add I didnt already cover in my hike journal. We realized it about 2 miles in but decided to keep going. My April temperature range for this trip was between 40 and 75. Shockeys Knob Shelter in West Virginia had some of the most difficult to collect water I've ever collected, and it smelled so bad that I had to filter it three times before it seemed edible. Tuscarora Treasures Maps. There seemed to be a lot of interesting trails in the George Washington National forest in Virginia and West Virginia, and it would be fun to explore those. Ive never read any reports of anyone actually finding or visiting this site, so I really had no idea if there would be anything to be found. Tuscarora Trail-Burd Run shelter question - WhiteBlaze This trail soon re-connects with the blue-blazed Tuscarora Trail. The cold water felt good on our feet. The Tuscarora wasnt my favorite hike, but, on the whole, I had a good time. PATC North - Our Trails Access:The trail can be accessed from both the northern and southern termini of section 10: Little Tonoloway Day Use Area (39.698,-78.182), Little Pool C&O Canal Parking (39.684,-78.104), Camping: Licking Creek Campground (39.651, -78.048), Little Pool Campground (39.685, -78.113), 2017by PATC. Thanks Ed for the response, sounds like there's water in the area. Tuscarora Trail - Waites Run to US 50 - 4 All Outdoors I have done Wildcat Mountain, and you could stop to bury a body and smoke a cigarette and not see anyone (rated a 6), so a 5 seems about right having seen three others. Most likely, Covid restrictions in the first half of 2020 caused the shortfall of maintenance in Pennsylvania. The forestry road is normally closed to motorized traffic, unless your hiking during hunting season (bad idea!). Thanks to all the volunteers for their hard work getting them in and up on the trail. You will quickly enter the woods and will be in nearly full shade for the majority of the hike. Tuscarora Trail I'm in the early planning stages to hike the Northern section of the Tuscarora Trail (Darlington Shelter to Hancock, MD) in May 2012. Erin Metcalf PA Tuscarora Trail ~ Bill Miller Trail to Cowpens Road. I did this hike on 5/17 in the direction suggested in this guide and in reverse on 5/24. Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) has provided PATC with a generous grant to raise awareness of the 250-mile Tuscarora Trail. THE AUTHORS OF THIS SITE AND THE PATC ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HARM TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, USE OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE. There's at least 47 miles of paved roadwalk on the Tuscarora (almost a fifth of its total length), including a 14 mile stretch in West Virginia, some of which had very narrow shoulders. THE AUTHORS OF THIS SITE AND THE PATC ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR HARM TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY THAT RESULTS FROM YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, USE OF ANY CONTENT ON THE SITE. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Besides the elevation change early on, this hike is lacking a bit of challenge and variety, but I found those both to be forgivable. Camping is limited to one night without a permit. But with the temperature dropping, the hour getting laterand the fog severely limiting visibility, I chickened out and retraced my steps back down to the forest service road and the warmth of my car's heater. This made the need for maintenance in Maryland almost nonexistent. We bypassed the Spring, and off we continued until we hit the WVA/VA crossing, then all the way down the FS road to the parking lot where we first turned aroundin the morning. A somewhat similar tail to the Tuscarora is the Benton MacKaye Trail, located in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The club also built several shelters along the route as well. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. If you start going downward on the FS road you missed the right turn. Tuscarora and Warner Trail Loop. You should verify critical information such as directions, park hours, gate closings, blaze colors and specific regulations (pet policies, firearm/hunting regulations, etc.) We were hiking right after seven. The BMT can only carry a small number of overnight hikers, because its designers intentionally did not set aside space for large number of hikers to camp. Established in the 1960's as an alternate route for the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Tuscarora Trail is a 250-mile long trail through the Ridge and Valley Appalachians of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Water can be obtained at the spring down the hill, but keep in mind that it's a 1.2 mile round trip Day 1 Mileage:4.7 miles Day 1 Gross Elevation Gain: 1,474 Day 1 Gross Descent: 1,003 The information available on this site, including without limitation, overviews, opinions,directions, GPS data, photographs, (collectively "Content") may contain information relating to a hazardous activity. I will comment on the trail head. You drive up and up and up to reach Timber Ridge Trail. Highlights: Pinnacle overlook, Laurel Run Falls Access: The trail can be accessed from the northern terminus of section 15: US Route 50, limited shoulder parking (39.268, -78.314). Tuscarora Trail Journal. Chapter Four: And In the End (Sections 1-10 In Pennsylvania, the Charlie Irvin Shelter had one of, if not the best view of any shelter Ive ever stayed at, overlooking the Cumberland Valley and providing a fitting place to spend the last evening on the trail. Trail conditions and routes may be subject to frequent and unannounced change. " A W OpenMapTiles OSM 9.8 Miles Point to Point 2,451' High 1,222' Low 1,779' Up 1,076' Down 6% Avg Grade (3) 38% Max Grade (21) Toolbox Plan in onX Backcountry Driving directions Download GPX File Know This Trail? Max Elevation: 2300ft. Min Elevation: 800 ft. Access: The trail can be accessed by road from both the northern and southern termini of section 5: Advisory: No water along this section, Exercise caution in the Tuscarora State Forest during hunting season. It looks like a zipline platform, but to be clear, there is no zipline. At one point we misread the map and missed the turn on to Vance's Cove trail as well, which ultimately increased our total distance to about 13 miles. I enjoyed the yellow blazed trail on the FS road a lot. It connects to the AT near Harrisburg and in Shenandoah National Park (SNP). The shelter sits overlooking the valley, so on Saturday, June 21, they had to build a temporary scaffold to complete the roofing boards, underlayment & install the roofing metal. Shortly after we turned off the road and into the woods, we decided on an early lunch at a creek crossing. 2021 Tuscarora Trail - Day Three - Barclays Run Shelter Camping:Primitivecamping is allowed throughout the Tuscarora State Forest. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. I noted other comments about the decent from the shelter being hard on knees.