Harrisburg PA section

[Tennessee Viking]

Can anyone tell me the difficulty rating/grade for the Harrisburg, PA section or within the vicinity? I hoping to one day visit a friend of mine in Harrisburg, and take them hiking on that section. Any good sights to visit for photo ops, and any recommended shelters/campsites.

[gumball]

Without pulling out a map to refresh my memory on shelters and such, I can't help you there other than to say that there are some very nice and some not so nice shelters in PA--just like everywhere else.

Terrain-wise, there are no steep climbs that I recall. Only the famed PA rocks which are burdensome, but which I would not call "difficult"...just an annoyance. If you are going for a long hike with folks who haven't hiked before, I would recommend that their footwear is comfortable for hiking and that they aren't carrying a lot of weight they don't need. PA is the state where I learned how not to get a blister, since my feet were constantly banging against rocks.

As far as vistas--I remember PA to not have many great vistas, but I'd again defer to others who have done it more recently.

Have fun gum

[shelterbuilder]

One of Pa.'s premier rail-trails intersects the AT near the Rausch Gap Shelter in a section of Pa. Game Lands called St. Anthony's Wilderness. The rail-trail runs from Gold Mine Rd. (between Rt. 443 and Tower City) and the town of Dauphin (on the Susquehanna River, upstream from Harrisburg) for about 15 miles (more or less). Access is from a Game Lands parking lot at either end, the AT at Rt. 325 and Rt. 443 (south and north on the AT), and from Cold Springs Rd. through Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation if you have 4WD. BTW, the shelter is about 4 miles from the Gold Mine Rd. parking lot. PLENTY of Pa. rocks on the AT - the rail-trail is bikable. Bear, deer, snakes, plenty of small game to see if you're quiet. Wear blaze orange during hunting season.

[ki0eh]

For dayhikes: The Cumberland Valley ATC http://geocities.com/cvatclub section just west of Harrisburg crosses the Great Valley so has fewer rocks to contend with. An option is to head south on A.T. from Boiling Springs to Center Point Knob, the one-time midpoint, then out the blue blazed White Rocks Ridge trail, see http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/...hiterocks.aspx

The climbs either side of the Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg are both a bit less than 1000', east side has easier access from a park-and-ride lot, west side has nicer view. See also http://www.satc-hike.org/hikemap.html

Overnights: A relatively easy overnight will be to Peters Mountain shelter area straight north of Harrisburg, 3 mi north of PA 225 passing a couple of viewpoints in and out. An earlier shelter built by Earl Shaffer in 1961 still remains nearby, until enough papers are shuffled to move it to the new A.T. museum. Bring your water from the car if you go here on an initiation trip, the spring is about 200 steps down the north side.

Rausch Gap as earlier mentioned has interesting cultural remnants and better water access, however it's smaller, older, and on PA Game Commission lands where game wardens periodically enforce the rule that says camping is only allowed in these lands on the A.T. for "through hikers" i.e. point to point not in and out, see http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/05...5/s135.42.html . The wardens are more likely to enforce this during the ever lengthening PA hunting seasons, check http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/v...a=460&q=161003 .

One could also make the Boiling Springs/White Rocks Ridge into an overnight by heading not quite a mile further south on A.T. to Alec Kennedy shelter then back out.

[BlackCloud]

One of Pa.'s premier rail-trails intersects the AT near the Rausch Gap Shelter in a section of Pa. Game Lands called St. Anthony's Wilderness.

God bless your wonderful heart, but you couldn't be more wrong about the Stoney Creek Rail Trail. I've done most of PA's Rail Trails that exceed 10 miles in length and please, let me scream to all the world, that the Stoney Creek is the worst!

Poke[sic] marked with ballast sized rocks, there's absolutely nothing going when riding that trail. No views, no fast "downs", no cool bridges, no tunnels, no RR era antiques, notta. I remember my friend and I commenting that the best part of the trail was that it intersected the AT!

[emerald]

Some might be content to post they preferred others.

[shelterbuilder]

God bless your wonderful heart, but you couldn't be more wrong about the Stoney Creek Rail Trail. I've done most of PA's Rail Trails that exceed 10 miles in length and please, let me scream to all the world, that the Stoney Creek is the worst!

Poke[sic] marked with ballast sized rocks, there's absolutely nothing going when riding that trail. No views, no fast "downs", no cool bridges, no tunnels, no RR era antiques, notta. I remember my friend and I commenting that the best part of the trail was that it intersected the AT!

To each his own.

There are some points of interest along this trail, but they are all off the trail a substantial distance, and you need a Game Commission map to find them. The Game Commission opens this road to vehicular traffic one Sunday a year for the public to "drive-thru" the area, and from open til close, you can't find a place to park near the points of interest. One hundred years ago, this area was being mined for hard coal, and many of the remaining relics are from the mining or railroad industries from that period. (There used to be an old rail station at Cold Springs until some kids cut the lock off of one of the gates, drove in and crashed into it. The Game Commission had no choice but to raze the building.)

[ki0eh]

The virtue of the Stony Creek rail trail is not the fun riding (between ballast rocks, mud, and no-traction stone randomly thrown down on it, the ride by itself is a chore) but what you get to when you get off it: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/StAnth...ss/anthony.htm (long, keep scrolling then keep clicking onto the next long scroll)

[ki0eh]

To each his own.

There are some points of interest along this trail, but they are all off the trail a substantial distance, and you need a Game Commission map to find them.

Let me put in a plug for the KTA A.T. map "Susquehanna River to Swatara Gap" (dated 2004) that comprehensively covers this tract and much more, at larger scale, on better paper, and more up to date than the PGC's "Sportsman's Recreation Map." Plus, the hikers get the "profits." It's available through ATC, KTA, or local outfitters.

[Yahtzee]

Born and raised in HBG and this is what I can tell ya. The hike out of the river northbound is an excellent walk in the winter or fall. When you reach the top you can sit on a rock and see the Susquehanna on both sides of you. Walking along the ridge offers some decent views and a mile or so past the William Penn Shelter there is a pipeline which offers views south of the Dauphin Narrows, the little Statue of Liberty and Three Mile Island. If your friends aren't into the climb up, you can start at Rt. 225 and head into the Peters Mt. Shelter. This is a relatively flat stretch that passes Table Rock two miles from the road, which is a decent little view pt. There is also the climb south from Duncannon which offers Hawk Rock at the top and view of the farmland in northern Dauphin County. If I am feeling game, the climb out the Susqehanna northbound is the one I prefer.

Happy Trails.

[c.coyle]

... The hike out of the river northbound is an excellent walk in the winter or fall. When you reach the top you can sit on a rock and see the Susquehanna on both sides of you. Walking along the ridge offers some decent views and a mile or so past the William Penn Shelter there is a pipeline which offers views south of the Dauphin Narrows, the little Statue of Liberty and Three Mile Island. ...

Yahtzee - Agree with everything you said, but did you mean Clark's Ferry shelter?

[shelterbuilder]

The virtue of the Stony Creek rail trail is not the fun riding (between ballast rocks, mud, and no-traction stone randomly thrown down on it, the ride by itself is a chore) but what you get to when you get off it: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/StAnth...ss/anthony.htm (long, keep scrolling then keep clicking onto the next long scroll)

GREAT post for the history of the area - I enjoyed reading it. Learned some things that I didn't know.

[Jack Tarlin]

Other than Hawk Rock just south of town, the best Trail photos I've seen in that neck of the woods were taken on the balcony of the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon.

As far as interesting shelters, Peters Mountain north of Duncannon is pretty handsome, tho I always try and stay in the adjacent shelter, built by Earl Shaffer.

One possibility for a short trip would be to start Southbound at PA. 325, do a short day to Peters Mountain Shelter, and then walk back to Duncannon the next day, finishing at the Doyle.

(Oh, and depending on what time of year, the water at Peters Mountain Shelter isn't that great, plus it's way off the Trail straight-down; if you're gonnna overnight there, you might want to pack your water in with you).

[Appalachian Tater]

Please watch out for rattlesnakes in that area.

[BlackCloud]

the little Statue of Liberty and Three Mile Island.
Happy Trails.

What's the story w/ the mini St. of liberty out there?

[c.coyle]

What's the story w/ the mini St. of liberty out there?

It was a gift from the government of France to the people of Duncannon.

[ki0eh]

What's the story w/ the mini St. of liberty out there?

From http://www.fish.state.pa.us/watertra...trailguide.htm

Dauphin Narrows/Statue of Liberty - The Dauphin Narrows is the most technical/difficult section of the River Trail. Stay far to the left when traveling downstream and exercise caution. To your right, you will see a 25 foot replica of the Statue of Liberty constructed out of wood, metal, and fiberglass by a group of Harrisburg area citizens, led by Mr. Gene Stilp, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of "Lady Liberty."

[Jester2000]

Born and raised in HBG and this is what I can tell ya. The hike out of the river northbound is an excellent walk in the winter or fall. When you reach the top you can sit on a rock and see the Susquehanna on both sides of you. Walking along the ridge offers some decent views and a mile or so past the William Penn Shelter there is a pipeline which offers views south of the Dauphin Narrows, the little Statue of Liberty and Three Mile Island. If your friends aren't into the climb up, you can start at Rt. 225 and head into the Peters Mt. Shelter. This is a relatively flat stretch that passes Table Rock two miles from the road, which is a decent little view pt. There is also the climb south from Duncannon which offers Hawk Rock at the top and view of the farmland in northern Dauphin County. If I am feeling game, the climb out the Susqehanna northbound is the one I prefer.
Happy Trails.

I'd listen to Yahtzee here. Although Jack is correct about possibly reversing the order, especially if you're with folks unused to hiking. By the way, don't you love the fact that Yahtzee edited his post because of spelling errors? How great is that?

It was a gift from the government of France to the people of Duncannon.

This is honestly one of the funniest things I've ever read on Whiteblaze.