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Early in the pandemic, one little silver lining was people getting outdoors more — biking on riverfront trails, hiking in the woods. Municipal, county, and state parks were utilized as seldom before, surely lowering stress levels and boosting moods throughout the region.
Here’s a brief plug for a less well understood aspect of Pennsylvania’s woodlands: state forests.
Pennsylvania has about 17 million acres of forest, and 2.2 million of them reside within the bounds of our 20 state forests. That’s publicly owned land distinct from the more heavily traveled state parks.
Whereas most state parks are relatively well-equipped, with amenities like water fountains and bathrooms — think Point State Park, at one domesticated extreme, or even Raccoon Creek State Park — state forests are typically sprawling, with few to no facilities, but laced with hiking trails and dotted with camping spots. They’re bigger, too: Pennsylvania’s 124 state parks comprise a mere 300,000 acres, about one-seventh the acreage of state forests. So you can really get out there, hiking for hours (or days) without seeing another person. If that’s your thing.
State forests — much like federally owned Allegheny National Forest, in northwestern Pa. — embody a sort of paradox: Once you’re a half-mile or so off the access road, they can feel a lot wilder than any trail in a state park, where you’re seldom too far from a gravel road, parking pad or bathroom. Yet state forests are less protected than state parks, open to managed logging and — more controversially — gas drilling.
I recently spent four days and three nights backpacking in Rothrock State Forest, which is draped across the mountains east of State College.
Out in Rothrock, I saw a porcupine the size of a truck tire waddle off into the undergrowth. I also had to share the trail with a couple of rattlesnakes (which, contrary to popular belief, pose minimal threat if you give ‘em space). And while the entire state that week was under a drought watch, it was a bit hard to tell inside the shady forest, whose flora and living soil are built to retain moisture. Two of the three nights, I camped along Detweiler Run, a beautiful stream that was running strong, if not high.
Backpacking isn’t everyone’s idea of a vacation, of course. Cell service can be spotty, and room service is even worse.
But state forests are good for day hikes, too, and they’re not all as far away as you might think.
For instance, Forbes State Forest, which includes the lovely Quebec Run Wild Area, is just a 90-minute drive east from Downtown. So is Clear Creek State Forest, in Clarion County.
Further afield, one of my favorite backpacking trips was along the west rim of the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania (yes, we have one of those), in Tioga State Forest. That one is a bit of a drive. But the main point is, if you’ve got the time, they’ve got the space.
For more on Pennsylvania’s state forests, see here.
