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North Country National Scenic Trail

 

Trail Stats

Nearby City: Clarion, PA
Length: 180 total miles
Skill level: Easy to Strenuous
Trail type:Point-to-point
Trail category: National Scenic Trail

 

Scenic vista on the North Country Trail

Trail guides and maps can be obtained through the North Country Trail Association

Trail Description

The North Country National Scenic Trail is a premier footpath that one day will stretch more than 4,000 miles to link communities and wilderness areas across seven northern states. Already, more than 1,600 miles have been completed. Pennsylvania plays host to 180 miles of the trail.

Once the hiker crosses into Pennsylvania, there are still 104 miles of the first largely completed segment ahead. The initial 95 miles of the North Country Trail meanders through the rolling hills and stream valleys of the Allegheny National Forest. Marked with white paint blazes and routed wooden signs, this northwestern Pennsylvania trail is one of the more established along the route of the NCT.

Snuggled in rugged plateau country, the forest's rolling, sometimes steep topography, cut deeply by hundreds of miles of creeks and streams, boasts elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,300 feet. The NCT passes through some unique old growth forests, the 4,080 acre Tionesta Natural and Scenic Area, and the 120 acre Heart's Content Scenic Area, boasting 300-year-old white pine.

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