New Section of Mid State Trail Completed

Description:
The new section of Mid State Trail connects the Ives Run campground at Hammond Lake, just off PA Route 287 between Wellsboro and Tioga, with Hills Creek State Park in Charleston Township. The new trail meets the State Park’s Lake Side Trail at the north end of the lake near the campground.

Mid State Trail began in the 1960’s as a project of the Penn State Outing Club near State College. Mid State Trail Association, the non-profit volunteer group that keeps the trail open, assumed responsibility for the Trail in the early 1980’s. The Association has now built over 260 miles of Mid State Trail across Pennsylvania from Tioga County to the Mason-Dixon Line in Bedford County.

Dr. Thomas Kelliher, President of Mid State Trail Association, said, “These two lakes at the end-points of the trail, along with the ridge-top views, are highlights of the stunning beauty of the Tioga region. The completion of this section of trail represents a milestone in our efforts to connect the Mid State Trail and the Finger Lakes Trail, two great regional trails.”

Most of the trail passes through Pennsylvania Game Commission land between U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, Tioga-Hammond Lakes Project property and State Park land of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Volunteers of the Keystone Trails Association cleared and marked the new trail between the lakes in the summer of 2003. The volunteer workers came from all over Pennsylvania, as well as New York state, and even from Maryland and New Jersey. Keystone Trails Association is the statewide voice for hikers in Pennsylvania and more information is available on the KTA web site, http://www.kta-hike.org.

Hikers can find a map and more information about the new trail at Mid State Trail Association’s web site: http://phoenix.goucher.edu/MSTA.

Marking, clearing, and keeping the trail open is an all volunteer effort and an enjoyable way to give back to the outdoors we all enjoy in Tioga County. Inquiries from hikers, and individuals or groups willing to work on the trail, are welcome.

Contact:
Mid State Trail Association
P.O. Box 167, Boalsburg, PA 16827
or Peter Fleszar, Regional Manager
msttioga@epix.net
or leave a message at 570-835-5954

Contact:
Peter Fleszar
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