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| The Pine Creek Gorge from the Colton Point Lookout |
The Pine Creek Gorge is often referred to as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. While it may not be quite as grandiose as the Grand Canyon out west, it is spectacular in it's own way. The floor of the gorge is just under 1,500 feet deep and nearly a mile wide at it's widest point. Through the gorge runs Pine Creek, an 87 mile tributary of the Susquehanna River.
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| Bear Mountain Lodge, our home for this trip, is located just a few miles from the Pine Creek Gorge |
Along 62 miles of the creek an old railroad line has been converted into a multiuse trail appropriately named the Pine Creek Trail. USA Today listed the Pine Creek Trail as one of the 10 best trails for biking. On a clear, crisp day as we biked along side the creek, under a canopy of colorful leaves we are in complete agreement.
Pine Creek Rail Trail
We started our day at Pine Creek Outfitters, which is located less than a mile from the trail. They outfitted us with nice bikes, a map and pointed us in the direction of the trailhead. We enjoyed biking 17.5 miles of the flat, well maintained trail, going from the Marsh Creek Access to Blackwell Village (pop. 247). The scenery was incredible the whole way and there were a number of rest areas with benches, picnic tables and hiking trails, which made the ride a leisurely one.
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| The welcoming committee at Pine Creek Outfitters |
Pine Creek Outfitters
We reached our destination of Blackwell Village around 1:30. Which gave us plenty of time to enjoy an ice cream cone from Millers Store before our arranged 2:00 PM pick up. After picking up the car we got some great views from above by going to the outlooks at Colton Point State Park on the west rim and Leonard Harrison State Park on the east rim.
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| Along the trail |
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| Tiadaghton is the halfway point in this ride. It was a great place for a picnic |
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| Millers Store...…..water, food, art and most importantly ice cream! |
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| Colton Point Overlook |
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| Leonard Harrison State Park Overlook |
Today, with a ton of great memories, we pack up and head southwest towards Slippery Rock, PA. Which is where Ben and his dog Allie call home. There'll be a few stops along the way. The first one will most likely be back along the Pine Creek Trail for a nice little hike.
At some point yesterday as we were enjoying the cool temperatures and scenery Beth proclaimed "I think I'm a yankee"...……………….she quickly followed that proclamation up with "at least until winter"!
