Pennsylvania Grand Canyon / Pine Creek Scouting Trip
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Heading Off:
I recently went on a scouting trip of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon / Pine Creek area of north central Pennsylvania, as we are planning multiple trips out to the area in 2027.
From my home in NYC, it was a 204 mile drive, which took 3-1/2 hours during a low traffic time. I was brought along by Chuck Turner and Paul Kingsbury from Elmira NY...both of whom have tons of experience on the trails in the region. Chuck designed a route and planted firewood along the way a few days before on his own trip.
The idea behind the routes was to show me enough of the terrain and points of interest of the region to allow me to piece together a tour that I think people would enjoy. The Pine Creek Rail Trail is itself 65 miles from Jersey Shore to Wellsboro. The Rail Trail can be effectively used as a spine to connect a huge variety of rides and adventures. We did some crazy stuff that most likely won't make it into the 718 version of these tours, but the idea here was to show me the extremes and allow me to dial it up OR DOWN as necessary.
Day 1:
Our first day started by all 3 of us meeting at the trailhead parking lot in Jersey Shore, PA (yes, you read that right...Pennsylvania. See the story of the town's unique and misplaced name here). The parking lot was the kind of place where people leave the cars for a few days. It's lit, well maintained, has a bathroom and appears to be regularly patrolled by the local police. I had no hesitation leaving my car here.
And, to briefly talk logistics form NYC...there is no other way to get here than by car, I hate to say. This is quite contrary to all of our other tours, but it is what it is.
Day 1 was a 45 mile ride that gained 1,300 feet on the Pine Creek Rail Trail heading north from Jersey Shore, with a camping destination at Tiadaghton State Park.
We stopped at the General Store at Waterville (Mile 11) for some snacks. After checking out Tombs Run (a 19th century cemetery) we hit Wolf's in Slate Run for lunch (and food for dinner/breakfast). These are both great food options, as the Country Store is known for their breakfast sandwiches, while Wolf's has an amazing sandwich menu.
As we head north the valley starts to become more closed in and dramatic. We had a quick ice cream stop at Miller's Store in Blackwell. Our ride ended at Tiadaghton State Park. This site is right on the Pine Creek, with firepits and pit toilets.
As it was late October, it got down close to freezing overnight.
Day 2:
Day 1 was a 47 mile ride that gained 2,800 feet, with the first 20 miles pretty flat, completing the Pine Creel rail Trail to Wellsboro. After lunch in Wellsboro, the remaining miles in the afternoon were climbing along the agricultural roads on the East Rim to the overlook at Leonard Harrison State Park. Out Day 2 Camping destination was Asaph State park.
After breakfast at camp, we headed off north for the 20 mile ride to Wellsboro. After a brief stop at Pag-Omar General Store, we rode the new 6 mile final section into Wellsboro and visited the new Visitors Center.
We had late breakfast/early lunch at Harland's Restaurant, and then rode over to the Tops Supermarket to grab food for Day 2 Dinner, and all of my Day 3 meals.
A majority of our elevation on Day 2 was in the afternoon climb up to the East Rim Overlook at Leonard Harrison State Park. The climbs were on mostly quiet farm roads, and truly showcased the farmland of this area. The overlook at Leonard Harrison did not dissapoint.
After the overlook, and a little more climbing, we descended back down to the Pine Creek Rail Trail at Darling Run. We retraced a few miles north on the Pine Creek Rail Trail, then climbed a final bit to our camp at Asaph.
Similar to Day 1, this camp is right on a creek, has firepits and clean pit toilets.
Day 3:
Day 1 was a 47 mile ride that gained 3,700 feet, spending most of our day exploring the overlooks and canyins of the West Rim. Our camping destination for Day 3 was Hoffman State Campgroud.
Right out of camp, we climbed for about an hour on the Left Asaph Road. This was quite a wakeup call, and just this side of pretty challenging.
After topping our our 5-mile, 900 foot morning climb, we rode east on Route 6 to climb Dead Man's Hollow. This is another 5-mile, 900+ foot climb, that winds back and forth on canyon switchbacks.
It's hard to overstate how amazing beautiful these canyon roads are. Paired with the perfect fall weather we had on all 4 of our days out there, it made a rigorous climb so amazing. Even more amazing were the West Rim Overlooks (Pine Creek and Colton) that these climbs brought us to.
After a picnic lunch at the Colton State Park Pavilion, it was time to descend back down to the Pine Creek Rail Trail. Our descent was a bit over 20 miles, bringing us across to the west side of Pine Creek at Cedar Run.
We stopped again at Miller's Store in Blackwell for some dinner supplies on our way to Hoffman's Campground. Again, another great site with water access.
Day 4:
Day 4 was a 37 mile ride that gained 2,000 feet as we headed south on the East Rim towards our tour's destination at Jersey Shore. We woke to a good amount of frost.
After another stop at Miller's for breakfast sandwiches (3rd time at Miller's!) , we dug into the Big Run Road Climb (1,300 feet of elevation over 8 miles).
After finally getting to the summit of the Big Run Road, we found ourselves in high farm country, and enjoyed a descent back down to Waterville on the Little Pine Creek Brach. We stopped by a Bald Eagle sanctuary had a picnic lunch at Little Pine Creek State Park.
From Waterville, it was 11 miles back down the Pine Creek Rail Trail to our destination at Jersey Shore.
2027 Tour Planning and Next Steps:
As I experienced this ride, I was tasked with absorbing all of the information and formulating a ride that the 718 community would enjoy. Thinking about things like pacing, elevation, stops are always at the forefront. I was presented with a lot of info (and elevation!) by Chuck and Paul, but what we think is a great ride may not fly with a group of 24 bike campers.
Pennsylvania Grand Canyon / Pine Creek Thoughts:
A big part of the trip is both food and water management. there are some great stops along the way, but they can be spaced at large intervals, necessitating loading up for multiple meals (or carrying enough food to make initially).
Another important consideration is that much of this region doenst have great cel phone coverage. This requires offline and/or paper maps, as well as a satellite devices for effecting emergency communication. Riders must also realize that help may take awhile to arrive due to the remoteness of the region.
I didn't bring cooking supplies on this trip, and kinda wished I had as it made food management a bit more complicated, as I had to load up (and carry) food for 2-3 meals ahead at general stores.
I didn't bring any water filtering gear, and I came very close to regretting it. There is hardly any water sources besides springs and streams on the route (aside from buying water or using faucets at general stores).
We are looking to run multiple routes for our 2027 season...with one that climbs both the East and West Rims, and the other focusing on the Pine Creek Rail Trail itself.
We are looking to have our starts on Sundays to make for an easier drive out of NYC. We are also looking for a short Day 1 so that riders do not need to rush for an early start.
The Pine Creek Rail Trail can be effectively used as a spine to connect a huge variety of rides and adventures
Final Note:
For better or worse, I do not use AI to create my posts. This is all me, with my misspellings, questionable grammar and tangential thoughts. I didn't get into this line of work to hand over my thoughts, expertise and experience to AI to spit out blog posts.
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