Wait, there’s a Grand Canyon in PA?
It may not equal the Grand Canyon we are all familiar with in the mid-west, but it is still impressive in its own right.
What’s the big deal with the PA Grand Canyon?
Also called the Pine Creek Gorge, the canyon stretches south for over 60 miles, starting near Ansonia, PA.
There’s an entire park system that encompasses hundreds of acres and includes trails (hiking and biking), camping areas, cabins, all set up to experience the beautiful sights that are available.
Boating opportunities are available where you can either rent or bring your own kayak or canoe.
For those who may not have an interest in what we’ve already mentioned, there’s still plenty to enjoy.
You can visit fabulous vistas on both sides of the canyon. On the west, you can drive up to Colton Point State Park and Barbour Rock Trail Overlook. Colton Point has a series of vistas to view the canyon from.
On the east side, there’s a lookout tower and the Leonard Harrison State Park. You can even camp at the park. All the vistas require a short but stable walk from the parking areas. Most can be accessed even in a wheelchair.
From a leisurely perspective, there are helicopter tours, hummer tours and even horse drawn carriage tours. These tours are great for those who’d like to get the history and see the trail in a more relaxed manner.
The Pine Creek Rail Trail
We had hiked the West Rim Trail previously and seen the Pine Creek Rail Trail from above. Because it was late fall and no one was on the trail, there was no indication that it was anything more than a service road for park employees. More recently, however, we found out about the Pine Creek Rail Trail from friends.
The 62 mile abandoned rail bed was converted to a gravel road bed. It is generally not accessible to vehicular traffic. Obviously that makes it friendlier to hikers and bikers. Similar to the Great Allegheny Passage Trail, we found there are more bikers than hikers.
We went to Pine Creek Outfitters and rented two bikes for $42 for two hours.
It was off season and it was supposed to rain that day That meant there wasn’t going to be much in the way of competition for the bikes. Interestingly enough, when I (Gary) said something about hiking it previously, one of the guys behind the counter said, “I remember you were here a few years back when we shuttled your car. You were with a couple of other guys” (my sons). That was nine years before…that guy has one really good memory.
Pine Creek Outfitters provided us with all the biking necessities for our adventure and sent us on our way. There was a path behind the store that is normally used for snowmobiles, but in the warmer weather it’s nice to use as a short cut to the rail trail. It was easy to ride and allowed us to avoid State Route 6, which can have some traffic.
Our Experience
It only took a few minutes and we were at the rail trail bridge.
From there we went south towards Blackwell, PA. At the bridge we saw a large horse drawn carriage where some people were taking part of a tour.
Once on the rail trail, it was smooth riding. There were some minimal depressions, but no potholes. The elevation difference was barely noticeable.
While biking the trail, we discovered there were bathrooms to use. Surprisingly, there were several along the way. Most of them had accommodations for those on bicycles.
The Turkey Path Waterfall Trail has an access point from the rail trail. If you follow it all the way up, you end up at the Leonard Harrison State Park.
Our last stop was the place on the trail where we could see up to the ridge vista on the other side of Pine Creek where we had hiked the day before. Plus, it had started to rain so from there we turned back and returned to Pine Creek Outfitters.
If you want to make it a longer trip than we took, there are a series of lodges and campgrounds for those who decide to make a longer trip of it. There are even campsites available if you prefer camping.