Scotia Game Lands Trails and History Map, PA
$17.00
In partnership with Clearwater Conservancy, this map features Game Commission and community park trails plus the historical legacy of the iron ore industry.
Scotia - technically called Pennsylvania State Game Lands #176 - but referred to by locals as The Barrens, Scotia, or the Scotia Barrens. This is a place with many wonders - otherworldly in places, and echoing of a deep history well worth exploring. This map features a modern day trail map on one side and an 1892 historical map of Scotia on the other side with photos both new and old. The history of iron ore mining, and the communities that lived and worked in this area echo throughout the landscape.
Lizard Maps are durable, waterproof, and give you the big picture – the map opens to 24” x 36” and folds easily to 4” x 8” to fit in your back pocket. The Scotia Lizard Map scale is 1:16,075. Includes both lat./lon. and UTM coordinate systems.
This is a hyper-local map, which is different than the other Lizard Maps. Unlike our maps of larger State Forest landscapes over 100,000 acres, this map covers about 7,000 acres of public land in the State College, PA area.
Hikers and trail runners have a tremendous amount of trails to explore in a relatively small area - great for putting together loops of various lengths. Cyclists and equestrians can use several main trail corridors that traverse the Game Lands and connect with major roads, bordering parks, and tie into the State College bike path system.
As an FYI about the trail system in Scotia Game Lands #176 - the Game Commission does not name the trails, nor do they blaze them. They use a small plastic marker at the entrance or intersection of most trails that denotes a hiker, if it is foot use only, or a hiker-biker-horse if it is a shared use trail. But you will not find trail signs with names in the State Game Lands.
Scotia is a unique natural environment with many small (and not-so-small) lakes, vernal pools, old railroad corridors, historical ruins, and unusual vegetation habitat, The topography is unusual and it feels that way: in summertime temperatures can drop as much as 30 degrees cooler than in nearby State College Pennsylvania. Pitch pine and scrub oak dominate the Barrens, but you'll also find an amazing variety of rare, threatened and endangered plant and animal species such as the hoary puccoon, lupine, barrens buckmoth and frosted elfin.
Scotia was a former iron ore mining community in the 1800s and early 1900s—a real town, with a company store, a one-room schoolhouse, a church, a Main Street with duplex houses, a big fancy Superintendent's House, and a boarding house on the hill. It was also a major industrial ore mine, beginning with a hundred men working with picks and shovels and eventually becoming a network of railroads, steam shovels, boilers, pump derricks, ore washers, and several hundred men trying to do back breaking work without getting killed. That history echos today in the form of odd shaped pits, mysteriously flooded lakes, concrete bunkers and stone foundations.
This map is a collaboration with ClearWater Conservancy, an important Central Pennsylvania environmental non-profit that specializes in land preservation. Clearwater preserved the Barrens to Bald Eagle Wildlife Corridor, which abuts Scotia and continues to the Bald Eagle Mountain ridgetop. This also serves as a parking area and access to the northern side of the Barrens of Route 550.
One of the highlights of Scotia is the many small ponds that lie on the western side, in the Tow Hill region. There are many trails to and around these ponds, but please note that only the recognized Game Commission trails are shown on the map, so if you plan on exploring off-trail, or following deer paths, you might want to keep a compass handy.
In Scotia you may come across bits of railroad track, old stone foundations and other remnants of Scotia's industrial past. If you do find an artifact of some sort, such as an interesting old tool or unique object that leaves you scratching your head, please leave it in place and take a photo of it to the Centre County Historical Society. Historians and archaeologists are working to reconstruct what was happening there in the 1800s and these artifacts may prove helpful for their research.
Related Items
The Lizard Whole Shebang: All the Lizard Maps
$179.00 $209.00
Thirteen Lizard Maps - Over a million acres of public land. A perfect map collection for yourself or to give to a friend to share your love of the outdoors!
Nine Pennsylvania Lizard Maps: Loyalsock-Worlds End, Michaux, Moshannon-Quehanna, Ohiopyle-Laurel Highlands, Pine Creek, Bald Eagle, Raystown Lake, Rothrock and the Scotia Lizard Map.
Two West Virginia Lizard Maps of the Monongahela National Forest: Dolly Sods-Seneca Rocks and Elkins-Otter Creek. The best trails in southeast Ohio can be found on our Athens-Zaleski Lizard Map and our amazing Rincon Lizard Map and Guide to surf breaks and beaches on our favorite Caribbean Island.
Purchased separately this collection is $209.00.
Need some inspiration? Check out our Adventure Blogs!
Purple Lizard PA Adventure Pack: All of the Pennsylvania State Forest Maps!
$119.00 $136.00
Big Adventures need big maps - and we have a massive amount of Pennsylvania public land covered for you. You will not find a better collection of PA maps for exploration and adventure!
Our collection of 8 Pennsylvania Adventure Series Lizard Maps opens up a massive swath of territory that includes public land across 9 State Forests. From just below the NY border you can explore south to Rothrock State Forest and continue to Michaux State Forest and the Maryland state line. Follow the Mason-Dixon line west to Forbes State Forest on the Ohiopyle-Laurel Highlands Map.
"Getting lost and finding your way again is part of the adventure...if you are following a red line on a screen all those opportunities don't exist, they're sort of taken away." Elspeth Beard, the first British woman to travel the world by motorbike.
From North to South: Loyalsock-Worlds End Lizard Map, Pine Creek Lizard Map, Moshannon-Quehanna Lizard Map, Rothrock Lizard Map, Raystown Lizard Map, Bald Eagle Lizard Map, Michaux Lizard Map and the Ohiopyle-Laurel Highlands Lizard Map.
Purchased separately this collection is $136.00
There are thousands of miles of trails and backroads waiting for you, so be sure to request some time off from work; all these maps will make you a bit antsy to get out and explore. The Pennsylvania Adventure Pack also makes a great gift for your fellow adventures, or perhaps as a not-so-subtle hint for your couch potato friends to remind them there is life beyond the remote control.
Looking for ideas to explore our PA maps? Check out the PA Fall Adventure Guide and the other downloadable Lizard Adventure Guides that accompany each map, and be sure to look through the blog archives for our hikes and ride stories.
Also check out our PA Adventure Blogs
Health warning: continued use of these maps may result in an inability to stay indoors and a sudden criticism of traffic. Your skin may become covered with dust and dirt. Mild confusion will make it difficult to relate time and distance, which may alter your definition of weather. There is a potential for all of these side effects to occur simultaneously and without warning. That's why we are warning you now.
Shipping Privacy and Return Policies
We are a proud member of 1% For The Planet.
The Purple Lizard PA Wilds Pack
$45.00 $53.00
North of Interstate 80 is a different place. It's often referred to as the PA Wilds, which we think is a pretty good description. There are less people, less pavement, more dirt roads and more wild places. We call that a fair trade. and it's where we'd rather be most days.
We've made three maps of Pennsylvania State Forests north of 80: Loyalsock, Pine Creek and Moshannon. Loyalsock includes all of the Loyalsock State Forest and McIntyre Wild Area, the Pine Creek Lizard Map covers much of Tioga and Tiadaghton State Forests, and Moshannon-Quehanna includes Moshannon State Forest and the Quehanna Wild Area with sections of Elk State Forest.
These three maps represent some of the wildest, most remote places you can find in PA, with just enough civilization and small towns to keep you well supplied and comfortable if you choose to emerge.
Purchased separately, these three maps are $51. The Purple Lizard PA Wilds Pack is $45 and you get one of our sweet DCNR Boundary Stickers along with the set.
As our friend Van Wagner tells it:
“North of 80 it ain’t the same.
I don’t know how else to put it to explain.
There’s a different tune in the air.
There’s a northern feel, that makes it real everywhere.”
Van Wagner: Singer, songwriter, teacher.
Shipping Privacy and Return Policies
We are a proud member of 1% For The Planet.