Inside/Outside State College is a monthly column by Jeff Deitrich offering views on downtown and the outdoors within a 30-minute driving distance.
The pandemic stank.
While that is true, silver linings certainly appeared. One of those can be seen in many woods and fields close to downtown and campus – an expanded system of trails for walking, hiking and mountain biking.
I found some of these during the pandemic through my Overlook Heights neighbor, Matthias Weissensteiner, then an Austrian post-doc student in the Penn State Eberly College of Science who arrived in State College about a month before the COVID shutdowns. After things started loosening a little, he made friends with a couple of people in the biking community and learned of some of the trails.
“I have been into cycling my whole life, but only in State College I got into mountain biking,” said Weissensteiner, who is currently a bioinformatician and researcher at the Institute of Avian Research in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. “When we first moved to the area, I noticed that there were mountain bike trails essentially everywhere, not just in Rothrock State Forest. It was this kind of accessibility—being able to hop on the bike and start riding one minute from home—that made the sport so enjoyable to me.
“Not having to drive to get access to awesome trails is an invaluable asset,” he added.
Because of his encouragement, soon I was riding across paved paths, crushed limestone trails, and then green hillsides accessible without ever getting into my car. The trails in our area were perfect for someone, like me, without a great deal of experience—challenging enough, with some small log crossings, jumps and downhills, but also short enough and easy enough to keep my attention and my limbs easily intact.
“Area trails provided a wide range of difficulty,” said Weissensteiner, “allowing me to introduce my kids (8 and 5 years at the time) to this wonderful activity. I have to say that the mountain biking community were extremely welcoming and further contributed to this great experience.”
I agree. It’s fantastic. And I never had to take the time and trouble to load my bike into a vehicle—or even buy a bike rack.
Likewise, I can walk or hike for miles from my house. I’d already known about trails through the adjacent wooded section of Penn State’s Arboretum known as Hartley Wood. My wife and I had walked through them numerous times. During COVID, however, we walked incessantly and noticed as time passed that these trails were becoming wider and better manicured. The same was true of many trails in the area, including, I expect, the creation of new ones that had never been there before.
By now, the Hartley Wood paths are extremely well maintained and used frequently. They’re terrific for hiking and, in the time I’ve lived nearby, have been named the Marilyn Quigley Gerhold Wildflower Trail. A sign near the end of McKee Street notes the various wildflowers one might find, especially in the spring.
Other walking, hiking and biking trails are accessible from downtown and various borough locations, including those at Walnut Springs Park off University Drive and Thompson Woods Preserve just beyond it.
Thompson Woods was initially preserved by ClearWater Conservancy in 2000. These trails connect across East College Avenue to Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, operated by Centre Region Parks and Recreation, with its variety of marsh and streamside trails, which in turn connects to a bike path that runs to Park Avenue east of Penn State in one direction and Spring Creek Park in the other. This then connects under the I-99 overpass to a bike path along Slab Cabin Run that rolls under East College Avenue past Happy Valley Brewery and Voodoo Brewing en route to Boalsburg via Scenery Drive.
Virtually all of these trails are paved, wide and in most places gently sloped, so people of many ages and abilities can use them for walking and biking.
With the recent, well-publicized addition of the Musser Gap Greenway (which is managed by Penn State’s Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, where I worked many years ago), and the completion of phase 1 of a project adding 50 miles of trails between the Musser Gap trailhead and Whipple Dam, area residents have scores of miles of biking and hiking available without ever getting into their cars.
For instance, from neighborhoods like Overlook Heights, College Heights, Teaberry Ridge and Circleville Road, biking to Blue Course Drive’s path will lead across West College Avenue out to Whitehall Road. From there, you enter the Greenway, which connects directly to the Shingletown Gap trail near 814 Cider Works on Route 45. People who live downtown or in The Highlands have similar access via the southwestern communities out to Blue Course Drive.
The importance of these options to outdoor lovers can hardly be overstated.
“It’s nice to start from your house, ride on a series of purposeful trails, and get a relaxing start,” said Justin Wagner, co-owner and founder of Freeze Thaw Cycles. “Anytime you can save a trip from your car, it’s helpful for your mind and for warming up. Plus the parking lot at the trailhead off Route 45 isn’t that big, so you’re not fighting for a spot.
“The greenway is important, because the only other way to get there is to drive. Route 26 has a low shoulder and isn’t safe, so, before the greenway, you were forced to drive.”
Wagner is full of tips. He said many bikers map their own routes using GPS, and some use GPS heat map technology to find local trails. Purple Lizard maps are also terrific guides, he said.
Probably his most important tip is to get yourself involved with an area biking club. That’s true whether you want to ride alone, with your family, or with a group. A club can help you learn more about the local trails available in the area, where to go for biking gear and service, and much more. There are several clubs in our area that you can easily find online.
We have a lot to be grateful for in the State College community. Centre County native Leanne Stine, owner of Hairlines by Leanne, couldn’t agree more.
“As an outdoor enthusiast, I am extremely lucky to live in this community where the forest is managed in a way that welcomes all types of users,” she said. “One of the main veins of Rothrock Forest that makes that a reality is Musser Gap. I often meet up with friends on the greenway or near our houses to mountain bike Musser Gap and don’t get into a vehicle.
“We may all be of different skill levels but get to equally enjoy fun, well-maintained and professionally built trails. We can easily access Pine Grove Mills trails, Shingletown, Tussey or simply enjoy Musser View and head back home if we have limited time or wet weather that day.
“I talk to friends who mountain bike across the nation who have to add a fair amount of driving time into their rides,” Stine added. “I truly value the time I get in the saddle to reflect, unwind, recharge and feel my mind and body connecting with nature.”
I’ll add one additional trail that does generally need a vehicle to access, though the path is so amazing that it is worth mentioning. That’s the so-called Spring Creek Canyon Trail along famed Spring Creek all the way to Fisherman’s Paradise outside of Bellefonte. It’s a short drive to access points at Shiloh Road near the fish hatchery or Rock Road, though there is a fairly steep incline if starting at Rock Road. The rest of the path is pretty flat over crushed limestone and offers beautiful views of Spring Creek and its semi-canyon.
Wagner said this trail has come a long way since its early days.
“Years ago Spring Creek Canyon wasn’t for families, but now they have it cleaned out and widened, and you can ride from near State College to Bellefonte without touching any roads.”
It’s a beautiful ride. So get out there and enjoy State College’s beautiful outdoor trails!
Jeff Deitrich is a retired hotelier and outdoors writer living in State College. He welcomes comments at psumohs@yahoo.com.
