On the east rim of the canyon over Pine Creek, the 585-acre Leonard Harrison State Park has modern facilities, a visitor center and the most famous scenic views of views of the canyon. On the other side of the canyon is Colton Point State Park.
Cherry Springs State Park is nearly as remote and wild today as it was two centuries ago. Its dark skies make it a haven for astronomers of all levels. Named for the large stands of black cherry trees in the park, the 82-acre state park is surrounded by the 262,000-acre Susquehannock State Forest. The Susquehannock Trail passes nearby and offers 85 miles of backpacking and hiking.
The Pine Creek Rail Trail or "Rails to Trails" is a collaboration of DCNR and the local area townships and counties to convert the old railroad tracks to wonderful biking and walking trails. The rail trail runs from Jersey Shore to Stokesdale which is a length of approximately 62 miles. The hard packed stone allows for the trail to be a nice easy ride. The trail has a small grade, only around 2%, and runs mostly uphill toward Ansonia and downhill toward Jersey Shore.
The Susquehannock Trail System (STS) is a series of 63 separate trails; most of which are old Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) fire trails. When the STS was originally laid out, we decided to keep the names that the CCC had given to each of these trails; and in turn having a system of trails instead of one long trail. We have broken the trail system into trail sections as noted on the map to the left. Starting at the Northern Gateway and going clockwise around the trail, clicking on a trail section will display all the trails within that section where the statistical information about each individual trail can be obtained.
Two miles down and back up, this difficult trail descends one mile to the bottom of Pine Creek Gorge. Please be aware that the canyon is a wilderness area and you must be prepared for such travel if you decide to hike on our trails. Help us keep the erosion to a minimum by staying on the trail and not taking shortcuts. Not only will you risk serious injury, but will trample fragile vegetation. It is a down and back trail. There is no bridge across Pine Creek at the bottom. A beautiful vista, one-half mile down the Turkey Path Trail, was constructed by the Youth Conservation Corps in 1978.
Shortly after the vista, there is a scenic waterfall along the path on Little Four-Mile Run. Major improvements on the Turkey Path Trail, including steps, observation decks and hand rails were completed by the Pennsylvania Conservation Corps in 1993.
