We went back to Tuscarora State Park today to see if we could figure out how to do the loop from Lake View, Spirit and Crow trails. After some research, it seemed we’d have to take the street a short way and then reconnect with the trail. This time we headed off on the Lake View Trail heading counterclockwise or west. The trail followed along a road and past by some camping areas. The lake was crystal clear and for once, the weather wasn’t super humid. From the Lake View Trail we picked up the Spirit of Tuscarora Trail. I’ve been on this trail a couple of times and it’s a really beautiful trail. It’s very well take care of and ironically, we happened to bump into its creator, Pap. He was out on the trail cutting back the shrubs and making sure the trail was clear. We stopped and chatted with him for a while and he told us he had created this trail over 30 years ago and has been taking care of it ever since. You can easily see it is a well loved trail. It’s also a very unique area. There’s quite a bit of diversity compared to a lot of Pennsylvania trails which tend to all kind of look the same after a while. The terrain is also less rocky in this region. I’m not quite sure why that is compared to most other Pennsylvania trails, but i wasn’t complaining. After talking with Pap, he confirmed we would have to follow the trail to the street, hop the guard rail and walk up the road a short way if we wanted to pick up the Crow Trail and continue the loop. We took his advice and found our way. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The monarda was flowering in the meadows and it was full of butterflies. We also came upon a majestic larch plantation. It was a really nice hike. As the day went on, it started to warm up and the humidity began to rise. Luckily we were just about wrapping up our hike and ready to head home. It was a great day at Tuscarora State Park. I always enjoy coming here.

Click Read More Below for More Photos.