Today we hiked a loop around Tuscarora Sate Park. The hike starts along the lake. It was fine on the south side but the north (where the sun doesn’t hit) was icy as I expected. We switched into light traction which was more to keep from slipping as there’s really not much elevation on this hike. I love Tuscarora. The terrain here is not your typical ankle breaking rocks jutting out of the ground like most of the trails I’ve experienced in Pennsylvania. I’m not sure why that is, exactly, but it’s so pleasant when you can actually look up from your feet and enjoy the scenery. This loop trail isn’t listed on the map. You actually have to walk along the street for a bit and then jump the guard rail to reconnect with it to make it a loop. We did this over the summer and it was just as pretty in the winter. I spotted a white robin today too. It wasn’t an albino though. The white is caused by a genetic condition called leucism which prevents pigments from reaching some of the feathers. I tried getting some photos, but since I didn’t have my birding camera with me, they didn’t come out very well. At least I got a good enough photo to I.D. the bird. After the hike we took time to enjoy the icy beach. I’m really enjoying these beaches in the winter when no one is on them. In the summer, that may be a different story! :)
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.
We had a nice hike around Tuscarora State Park. We started from the Day Use area on the Lake View Trail heading east and clockwise around Tuscarora Lake. The trail looped along the edge of the north side of the lake until crossing over the dam and heading back into the woods. The views along the trail of the lake were quite nice. We then passed through open meadows and followed the Crow Trail to its terminus at the parking area. I had thought we might be able to make a loop around the lake, but I wasn’t quite sure of the route. I had a feeling we’d have to take the road, but decided to wait until I had better intel and come back another day. We made our way back the way we came and enjoyed the scenery from the opposite direction. I enjoyed the hike today and this is a lovely area with very few people. The terrain isn’t quite as rocky as further north so the walking wasn’t as tough on your feet. I really enjoy this area and will be back again to complete the loop.
Saturday morning we had a lovely walk around Tuscarora State Park. The temperatures were below freezing again, but there was no wind and the day was sunny. We hiked the Spirit Trail which we had done in the summer when it was filled with wildflowers. Today it was covered in a dusting of snow and patches of ice. The trail starts off following along the lake for about a mile ascending through an oak and hemlock forest. We could see views of frozen Tuscarora Lake below and also hear the water shifting under its thick coating of ice. It makes an eerie sound; kind of hard to describe. We then took the loop south heading back down towards Locust Creek where we hiked in and out of rhododendron tunnels. Parts of the creek were frozen solid and others had a coating of ice above with water flowing underneath. We passed by the Spirit Tree which is covered in a green coating of moss and mushrooms, even in the winter. We made our way to a newly added bridge and crossed over the creek to begin another ascent. At the top we came to a clearing with lovely views and an evergreen forest. Before continuing onto the second loop (the trail is actually a figure eight if you look at it on a map), we explored a side trail which ascended the mountain again. I believe would have taken us to the Crow Trail. We’ll have to explore that one on another day. The trail then dropped us back down for more creekside hiking. We crossed another bridge over the creek that had been broken by a fallen tree. When we arrived back at the trailhead, we took a walk down to the lake. By this time there were ice fisherman and ice skaters taking advantage of this beautiful winter’s day. It was a nice contrast to when we had visited over the summer.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has a very well organized layout of Pennsylvania’s State Parks and Forests. The parks can be searched by region and each park has its own map and recreational guide in a downloadable pdf. I’ve been using these resources to find different trails to explore since I’m new to the area. This week I chose Tuscarora State Park. The stunning Tuscarora Lake sits at the foot of Locust Mountain with Locust Lake State Park being just six miles away. The trail I chose today was called “The Spirt of Tuscarora Trail” which was a little under 5 miles. It’s quite an amazing trail. Absolutely stunning scenery with thick, lush forest and wetlands. I still can’t get over how green it is in Pennsylvania. Part of the trail is carpeted in bright green moss with fern on either sides. It looked so magical. With a soft wind blowing through the trees, I truly was enjoying the morning. The single track trail can be done in a figure eight loop which took me up a few steep sections of rhododendron and then down through low rhododendron tunnels. I can imagine how beautiful they must look when in full bloom. The forest here consists of several species of oak, eastern hemlock, white pine, sycamore, birch, maple, ash and tulip trees. The trail looped me down to the edges of Locust Creek where there were late season wildflowers still in bloom. One of the highlights of this trail is the “spirit tree” which stands creekside in all his moss covered glory. I believe this tree was hit by lightening and his shape now takes on a mossy covered goat head. As I took my time taking in all of this great scenery, I saw a good number of very tiny toads hopping about as I walked. This really was a lovely trail. I walked it very early in the morning and did not see a soul. I will surely come back again to this magical place in the future to explore more of these wonderful trails.
