There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over a ghost town at 7 a.m., and Masten — once a bustling logging outpost, now just a clearing in the trees where Pleasant Stream Road meets the woods — has it in spades. We’d heard about and even considered the Old Logger’s Path for years before we finally committed to it, and standing at that trailhead with our packs cinched tight, we understood immediately why backpackers talk about this loop the way they do.
The Trail, By the Numbers
Old Logger’s Path is a loop of roughly 27 miles through the rugged heart of Loyalsock State Forest in north-central Pennsylvania, with total elevation gain in the neighborhood of 3,800 feet. That gain doesn’t come in one brutal wall of a climb — it’s spread across a handful of sustained pulls as the trail follows old logging railroad grades and abandoned roads from the late 1800s, so most of the miles underfoot are gentler than the elevation profile suggests. Still, we won’t sugarcoat it: this is rated a hard, moderate-to-strenuous trail, and it deserves respect. We split it over three days — about ten miles the first two and a shorter push on the last — and that pacing let us actually enjoy the scenery instead of racing the sun.
Rock Run and the Streams That Steal the Show
If you ask us what we’ll remember most, it’s the water. Rock Run is the trail’s signature — clear, cold, tumbling over stone in a way that had us stopping every few hundred feet just to stand and stare. We’re not exaggerating when we say it might be the prettiest stream in Pennsylvania. Beyond Rock Run, the loop threads past Pleasant Stream and Wallis Run, plus enough feeder streams and seasonal runs that we never worried about water for long. We filtered as we went, refilled at nearly every crossing, and never once felt like we were rationing.
The Vistas Worth the Climb
We’re suckers for a good overlook, and this trail delivers more than one. Sharp Top Vista and Sprout Point Vista both reward the climb with sweeping views out over ridge after forested ridge — the kind of view that makes you forget your shoulders are sore. We timed our second day’s climb to hit one of these vistas around midday, and the light coming through the valley haze was worth every step of the ascent.
Camping and Water — Plentiful, If You Plan
This is a trail built for backpackers, and it shows. Established campsites are spaced generously along the route, many of them tucked right along a stream, and we never struggled to find a flat, quiet spot to pitch our tent. Combined with the frequent water sources, it makes for an easy multi-day trip logistically, even if the terrain itself keeps you honest. We’d still recommend carrying a filter and a backup purification method, since not every source runs strong late in the season.
A Word on Navigation
The Old Logger’s Path is well-blazed in orange, but the backcountry of Loyalsock is vast, and cell service disappears fast once you’re a mile or two in. We downloaded a digital trail map before we left — something like onX Backcountry or a GPS-based app that works offline — and we’d tell anyone attempting this loop to do the same. Paper maps are a great backup, but nothing beat glancing at our phone to confirm exactly where we stood relative to the next water source or campsite.
Getting There
The most common access point is the trailhead at Masten, reached via forest gravel roads off Route 14 near Ralston, in Lycoming County. Parking is informal but plentiful near the old town site.
By the time we climbed back into the car some 55 hours later, dusty, sore, and thoroughly happy, we already knew we’d be back — maybe not this exact loop, but somewhere in these same hills.
Journey Moore Often, because the best views in Pennsylvania are still the ones you have to earn.