The West Rim Trail is a linear

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

in Lycoming and

Tioga Tioga may refer to: United States communities *Tioga, California, former name of Bennettville, California *Tioga, Colorado * Tioga, Florida * Tioga, Iowa * Tioga, Louisiana * Tioga, Michigan * Tioga, New York, a town in Tioga County *Tioga County, ...

Counties in north central

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The trail mostly follows the edge of

Pine Creek Gorge Pine Creek Gorge, sometimes called The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is a gorge carved into the Allegheny Plateau by Pine Creek in north-central Pennsylvania. It sits in about of the Tioga State Forest. The gorge begins south of Ansonia, ne ...

, also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, which is up to deep and about wide from rim to rim in the area traversed by the trail. The trail is entirely within

Tioga State Forest Tioga State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in District #16, in the Allegheny Plateau region within Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The main offices are located in Wellsboro in Tioga County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The state fo ...

and is known for its large number of vistas overlooking the gorge, which is a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best e ...

and one of the deepest gorges in the eastern United States. The West Rim Trail follows several old logging railroad grades, which remain from the late 1800s when Pine Creek Gorge and its surrounding plateau areas were almost completely

clear-cut Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of for ...

. The trail also visits several significant side gorges and small waterfalls that were formed by

differential erosion Weathering is the deterioration of Rock (geology), rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs ''in situ'' (on-site, with litt ...

as glaciers melted at the end of the last ice age, plus occasional stretches on top of the

Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau ( ) is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglacia ...

, which itself was cut by Pine Creek Gorge. The West Rim Trail was chosen by ''

Outside Outside or Outsides may refer to: * Wilderness Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, theatre and TV * Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a television network * '' ...

'' magazine as its "Best Hike in Pennsylvania" in 1996.

Route

This section describes the West Rim Trail in the southbound direction. The trail begins at a forestry maintenance parking lot on Colton Road, south of

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbered Highway System. While it ...

and near the village of Ansonia. The trail starts at a low elevation but soon begins a long diagonal "slab" climb up the side of

, reaching the edge of the

and the first of several vistas over the gorge at 2.6 miles.

Leonard Harrison State Park Leonard Harrison State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is on the east rim of the Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand ...

is visible on the other side of the gorge. At 4.0 miles, the trail briefly crosses a corner of

Colton Point State Park Colton Point State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is on the west side of the Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand Ca ...

. The trail then heads away from the gorge for about the next five miles, going around a significant side canyon formed by three different branches of Four Mile Run. At 9.0 miles, the West Rim Trail returns to the edge of Pine Creek Gorge, with several more vistas across to Leonard Harrison State Park. Continuing southbound. the trail mostly follows the edge of the gorge for the next seven miles, but with several sojourns into rugged side gorges formed by a variety of small tributary streams, several of which feature small waterfalls. The trail passes through Bradley Wales Picnic Area at 15.9 miles, then leads inland for another extensive segment away from the gorge, this time to avoid a parcel of private land. At 19.7 miles, the trail returns to the edge of the main gorge and for about the next eight miles repeats its previous pattern of following the edge of the gorge, with numerous vistas, interrupted by several trips into side hollows with occasional waterfalls. At 26.5 miles, the West Rim Trail passes a junction with the Bohen Run Trail; that trail follows the stream of the same name past a significant waterfall, reaches Pine Creek at the village of Blackwell, and eventually connects with the Mid State Trail. After the junction with the Bohen Run Trail, the West Rim Trail turns away from Pine Creek Gorge again and heads inland for about one mile of plateau-top walking. At 28.2 miles the trail passes an old

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

shed, and, at 28.8 miles, begins a significant descent, following Lloyd Run toward the bottom of Pine Creek Gorge. At 30.5 miles the trail ends at PA Route 414,Dillon, p. 47-52. south of Blackwell and across from a parking lot that serves the

Pine Creek Rail Trail The Pine Creek Rail Trail is the only rail trail in the Appalachian Mountains of north-central Pennsylvania. The trail begins just north of Wellsboro, runs south through Pine Creek Gorge (also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania) and end ...

References

{{Coord missing, Pennsylvania Hiking trails in Pennsylvania Long-distance trails in the United States