Hiking the Loyalsock Trail in Loyalsock State Forest, Pennsylvania

Hiking the Loyalsock Trail

by Rob Keith and Mike Bettis

My first experience with Loyalsock State Forest was a hike on Old Loggers Path. Several years later I started acquiring Purple Lizard Maps, including the one for Loyalsock, and started to see how many other trails and destinations were in this forest, so we reserved a campsite at the top of Yellow Dog Rd and explored the waterfalls of the Rock Run and McIntyre Wilds areas – we were hooked!  We’ve now made several trips to Loyalsock, Rock Run, Worlds End, etc., and this spring we discussed finally thru-hiking the Loyalsock Trail.  We had used the trail a couple times to access some waterfalls like Angel Falls, and falls around Worlds End, Ketchum Run, and Dutters Run.  It was finally time to hit a ton of new Purple Lizards along the entirety of the LT!

We decided to head up in the afternoon to get the big climb up from PA87 out of the way.  We saw a black bear along PA87!  We parked a vehicle where the LT crosses Dry Run Rd, then came back to the trailhead along PA87 to get started.  The first 0.7 mi were nearly straight up the side of the Loyalsock Creek Gorge!  We paused at Charlie’s Lookback and Sock Rock, then ate some wild blueberries when we crested the top.  We were feeling pretty good and we had a little daylight left, so we pushed to and camped at about the 1.5 mi mark where Bryan Hay Trail met the LT.

There are many spectacular vistas along the LT

The next day we set the goal to camp somewhere near Grandad Run.  There was a lot of up and down to deal with, but first we enjoyed the fern-floored forest along Allegheny Ridge.  The vista was excellent – one lizard spot down, many to go!  We had read that there was some gas-drilling in the area, and the LT had been rerouted, which was easy to follow.  The descent down Pete’s Hollow was steep, rocky, and relentless, but also had some huge old white pine along it.  We rested and cooled off in Little Bear Creek, refilled on water, then started the 1088 ft climb to the summit of Smiths Knob.  Helen’s Window was a nice place for a break.  We reached the summit and Smiths Knob Vista, one of the finest on the trail.  We ate lunch here and enjoyed the vistas at each lizard spot.

What's a Lizard Spot you ask? This is a Lizard Spot!

I had read that Painter Run was a beautiful stream, but the LT seemed to have joined Painter Run Tr above the pretty section, and it kept its distance from the stream.  We climbed up out of Painter Run and arrived at Shingle Run, with ample camping, and a beautiful hemlock-lined stream.  This place was amazing!  We had made pretty good time, so we decided to push on toward Grandad Run.  We started to hear some rumbling from an incoming storm, so we quickened our pace, even though we were starting to get a little worn down.  Grandad Run was smaller and didn’t quite have the campsite that Shingle Run had, so we pushed even farther to about mile 14.  We found a great campsite along Hessler Branch, and got our tents up just in time for the downdrafts and heavy rain of the storm.  After the storm passed, we got to enjoy watching a barred owl hunt along the stream!  Our first full day ended up being about 12.5 miles.

You'll find many places to camp along remote streams

The next morning we packed up and hiked through the Miller farm, which left our feet pretty wet from all the grass.  We enjoyed an ample supply of blackberries as we approached Dunwoody Rd.  We weren’t sure about the upcoming road walk, but the history along this portion of the LT was incredible!  We were on the centuries-old Towanda Path, which was rebuilt as the Genesee Road in 1799, which was used by Native Americans, early settlers, War of 1812 soldiers, slaves on the Underground Railroad, and raftsmen returning upstream!  We also passed the locations of three mountain resorts built in the 1880s, and two of their casinos were still standing!  We also paid our respects to the Meracle family at their cemetery.

We ate lunch just past the highest point on the LT (2140 ft), which we thought would have a sign, but it didn’t.  From there we stayed on old roads down to the crossing of Ogdonia Creek.  We refilled our water, then climbed up to the junction to the trail to Angel Falls, which we had seen last spring with good flow, so we decided to bypass it.  Our original plan was to camp along the LT along Falls Run, but we were way ahead of schedule.  I was really excited about the next lizard spot – Kettle Creek Vista – and it did not disappoint!  I want to spend more time in this valley.  We hiked down to the crossing of Kettle Creek, then headed downstream to the waterfall.  This area reminded me a little of Rock Run with the bedrock chutes, slides, and deep pools.  It was beautiful.  We did some wading and swimming here, then headed upstream to find another waterfall, but we didn’t have any luck.  We watched a great blue heron for a little bit.  I read that there was a sawmill and village in this narrow gorge called Sonesville – it would be fun to explore and try to locate the ruins.  The climb up out of Kettle Creek was a tough one, but we were now headed for Dutters Run to camp.  It was the longest 1.3 miles of the hike, bringing the day’s total to 13 miles.

Cascades and waterfalls define the LT

The next morning we packed up, enjoyed the falls along Dutters Run, then headed for Dry Run Rd and our “halfway” vehicle.  Mary’s View was an excellent vista, and seeing how far away Smiths Knob was really gave us a morale boost – look how far we had come!  We had some shuttling to do at Dry Run Rd, which required driving back to the western end to get the first vehicle, then driving all the way to the eastern terminus to drop a vehicle, then back to Dry Run Rd.  We saw another black bear in a field along PA87.  We were able to drop trash and dirty clothes, and grab the food needed for the rest of the hike.  Our one big setback was that my buddy left his food in his truck at the eastern terminus, so we had to drive all the way back out there to get his food.  It all worked out!  When we got back to Dry Run Rd we hit the trail and almost immediately heard two barred owls hootin’ it up off to the south.  The five switchbacks built by the CCC up to High Knob Rd weren’t too bad, and since we had seen High Knob Overlook a couple times already, we decided to bypass it.  We had a pleasant hike down to Cape Run, which was quite dry.  We’ll revisit Cape Run with good water flow to see all its waterfalls.  The climb to Split Rock was pretty steep, but we pushed on - we were dropping into the amazing Ketchum Run!

A Blue Heron enjoys the sunshine along the stream

Ketchum Run is a special place.  Its steep, rocky gorge is just beautiful, and its waterfalls are incredibly scenic.  The hike down was nice – it was along an old logging railroad grade.  We were here last spring, but still were excited to see the falls and gorge again.  We rested at Lee’s Falls and swam in Rode Falls.  We knew what to expect with the climb up out of Ketchum Run, but it was still challenging.  There was a beautiful black phase timber rattlesnake chillin’ at Lower Alpine Vista, and we rested and ate our dinner at Alpine Vista.  

Rode Falls with its iconic ladder is a favorite photo spot

The original plan was to camp along Ketchum Run, but again we were ahead of schedule, and decided to push the extra several miles to the West Branch of Double Run.  As we descended from the ridge above Coal Mine Rd and Worlds End Rd we actually discovered a mine shaft!  The West Branch of Double Run had a great campsite, and we actually had a fire that night to enjoy the late evening.  After the fire faded, the fireflies gave us a marvelous display!  Mileage for day three was 13 miles.

The LT is truly one of the most remote trails you'll find

Day four was a big one – we had to tackle all the elevation changes around Worlds End State Park.  We passed through some rock formations, then headed down to the East Branch of Double Run.  We saw Mineral Spring and Neeneha Falls, then hopped on another logging railroad grade for the hike to Loyalsock Canyon Vista, probably the best view on the hike!  I didn’t expect the rocks beyond the vista – it was a nice surprise before dropping below Cold Run Rd.  During the rocky descent we had a visit from a very vocal winter wren!  We traversed the bottom end of Double Run, then headed up to Pioneer Road and over to Worlds End Vista, another new lizard spot!  We descended to Worlds End State Park, visited in the Park Office, then ate lunch along Loyalsock Creek across from the cliffs and High Rock Run Falls.

Hikers bridge over High Rock Falls

At this point the day got very challenging.  It started to rain, and by the time we got to High Rock Vista it was pouring.  We put on our ponchos, and trekked upward and upward.  We had originally planned to camp along High Rock Run, but again we had arrived ahead of schedule, so we pushed an additional four miles to Alpine Falls.  The trail was very, very wet – under a couple of inches of water at times.  The trail uses a series of confusing logging railroads that all seemed to end where the two branches of Big Run meet.  These came all the way from Laquin up in Bradford Co along Schrader Creek.  We pushed hard through this section, arriving at camp at 4:30 pm, finishing 10.5 miles for the day.  The rain was relentless – I sat under a small hemlock tree with my poncho over me for a long time waiting for a small break in the rain.  As soon as the break hit, I put up my tent, but a large gust of wind dumped water all over my tent before I was able to get the rain fly on.  It was a long, wet night.  Fortunately my sleeping pad and bag were dry.  I found five railroad spikes from Laquin’s logging railroad at camp above Alpine Falls!

History is easy to see, find and feel along the LT

We had pushed pretty hard each day to surpass our expectations, leaving us with 8.5 miles remaining for the final day.  The rain had ended sometime overnight, but our gear was pretty wet.  Our morale got a boost from the stunning hemlock forest we traversed on our way to Sones Pond.  The sun started to break through, creating amazing scenes with hemlocks silhouetted against sunbeams passing through the mist.  Sones Pond was pretty quiet, so we enjoyed a nice quiet break near one of the great campsites.  We had hiked up Coal Run to see its waterfalls this past spring, so Sones Pond was familiar territory.  We read in the guide that there were 25 loaded coal cars entombed in a mine in the vicinity, but we really didn’t see any indication of their whereabouts.

The Haystacks are a unique geological formation in Loyalsock Creek

After passing CCC Camp S-95 and crossing the Iron Bridge built in 1897 at Worlds End, we were looking forward to walking close to Loyalsock Creek and enjoying the sound of the rushing water.  To my surprise, and frustration, we had to climb hundreds of feet up the south face of the gorge to reach the Williamsport & North Branch Railroad grade.  I’m a railroad historian, so seeing the rock cut, fill, and waterfalls along this stretch was worth the unexpected climb.  The descent to the Haystacks wasn’t bad, and the Haystacks themselves were one of the highlights of the hike.  The fact that geologists still haven’t pinpointed how the Haystacks formed is incredible, and their speculations are intriguing – earthquake, tsunami, glacial-ice dam failure, meteor impact?!  This was one of my favorite lizard spots on the whole hike.  A storm passed to the southeast as we snacked at the Haystacks, then we slung our packs back on for the last couple miles.  This stretch is what I expected back near Iron Bridge – a pine/hemlock woods beside Loyalsock Creek.  It was a mild, peaceful way to finish the hike.  Until the end, of course, when you have to climb a couple hundred feet up rocky terrain to the parking area!  One last kick in the pants by the LT!  After retrieving the vehicle on Dry Run Rd, we headed for some celebratory cheesesteaks at Big Mike’s in Forksville – amazing!  We had done it – we thru hiked the Loyalsock Trail!!

Are you ready to explore the Loyalsock Trail?