ABOUT THE TRAIL   The Standing Stone Trail was first laid out in the late 1970s by a handful of forward thinking hiking enthusiasts. Originally 68 miles in length, today with the addition of the Greenwood Spur in 2014 it is over 80 miles long.  Elevations run from a low of 660 feet to a high of 2380 feet at the Greenwood fire tower. The footpath links the Tuscarora Trail in the south at Cowans Gap State Park, to the Mid State Trail several miles north of Alan Seeger Natural Area. The trail is part of the

Source: The Standing Stone Trail, Trail Info Page.

Mid State Trail Association’s  “Yellow Creek Bridge”  was one of 10 projects to gain national recognition recently with a  2014 award from the Coalition for Recreational Trails. Some of the other projects on the podium were from Alaska, New Mexico and New Hampshire. Deb Dunkle accepted the Recreational Trails Program Achievement Award on behalf of the MSTA at a ceremony held on June 11th in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington DC.The Recreational Trails grant money, which made the Yellow Creek Bridge and the other projects possible, came from the federal gas tax fund for nonhighway recreation. Over the past 20 years this fund has provided money for nearly 20,000 projects nationwide.  In Pennsylvania the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources oversees the dispersment of these grants. Also on hand to help Deb celebrate this honor were Lauren Imgrund and Vanyla Tierney representing DCNR, Gregory Miller and Pete Olsen from the American Hiking Society, Marianne Fowler and Derrick Crandall, CoChairs of the CRT and Ed Lawrence.

Source: Mid State Trail: Pennsylvania’s Wildest Trail

State College Region Trail Care WeekendJune 2 to 4 will be the State College Region Trail Care Weekend. We are camping at Poe Valley S.P. This year at sites 41,43,45,47 and 50. Check in/out is 3PM. If you are planning to attend please let me know ahead of time so I can plan accordingly. So far it looks like we will have a good turnout. Volunteers are welcome to come for the weekend or just for Saturday. The bulk of the work for the weekend will be on the MST from Poe Paddy S.P. South to the crossing of the Millheim-Siglerville Pike. We will be brushcutting, lopping, raking, and blaze painting. I also have a new register box to be installed. If time permits we may continue into the Green’s Valley section south of the Millheim-Siglerville Pike. Contact me for additional information: Kevin Busko at  [email protected] or phone me at 814-643-4238.

Source: Mid State Trail: Pennsylvania’s Wildest Trail