Updated September 15, 2024 03:23PM
Skirt the soaring, 1,000-foot walls of the “Grand Canyon of the East” in the Tioga State Forest as you meander the West Rim Trail (WRT) along the western lip of Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania’s sprawling natural wonder. It takes three days to complete this mostly level, 29.8-mile point-to-point, the only route above the canyon.
Distance: 29.8 miles point-to-point
Elevation Gain: 950 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
From the parking lot at Rattlesnake Rocks, follow the West Rim Trail’s orange blazes into a thick canopy of hemlock, maple, and oak. Climb 950 feet in two miles (your only major hump), past gurgling Lloyd Run, to the top of the Allegheny Plateau. Pause at a gap in the trees at mile 3 to view the wooded peak of 1,800-foot Gillespie Point, known as “the Matterhorn of the Alleghenies” for its pyramid shape. Spend the rest of the day slipping through patches of ferns as you hike past a series of small campsites spread over the day’s remaining 7.5 miles. Tank up at Steel Hollow Run, the last reliable water source on your way to the best site, which boasts a balcony view of Pine Creek making an S-turn below.
After camping for the night, begin day two with a march 3.7 miles west around a private hunting camp. At the Bradley Wales Picnic Area at mile 14.2, find pit toilets and potable water. Follow the gravel road .1 miles to where the trail veers north to a series of bird’s-eye vistas of the canyon; look for boaters and peregrine falcons below. After 5.3 miles, turn left at the blue-blazed Sieman Trail and head .3 mile to a small, flat campsite.
On day three, resume heading north on the WRT, following it 6.2 miles as it turns away from the canyon into a forest of maples, red oaks, and white peeling birch. After a sign to Colton State Park at mile 25.8, the trail moves back to the canyon edge. For a mile, enjoy a series of rocky overlooks of the gorge snaking southward, cutting a gash into the forests and farmland that border the canyon. Finish by descending 675 feet over two miles through the woods to the trail’s northern terminus off Colton Road.
The West Rim Trail is the only route along the edge of Pine Creek Gorge (aka the Grand Canyon of the East). It offers hikers glorious views of the surrounding mountains and canyon below.
Parking
Southern terminus: Start at Rattlesnake Rocks. Parking lot and pit toilets available.
Northern terminus: Parking and pit toilets available. Red register box along trail.
-Text and mapping by Dave Pidgeon