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Print Friendly MapA renovated former railroad tunnel that features a separate entrance for bats is a highlight of the Penn's Creek Path. The path is a relatively flat segment of the 328-mile Mid State Trail that runs across the ridge and valley section of Central Pennsylvania. Visitors can easily traverse the 2.7-mile trail through hardwood forest overlooking Penn's Creek by bicycle, on horseback, or on foot.
The Lewisburg, Centre and Spruce Creek Railroad left behind the railroad grade that the trail follows. Pitched as an east–west route across the mountains in the late 1850s to link with larger rail lines and to haul lumber out of the mountains, the railroad had difficulties building across the mountains and didn’t finish the Penn's Creek section until 1877. It became the Lewisburg and Tyrone Railroad after bankruptcy in 1879, and the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired it in 1915. Trains stopped using it in 1968.
You won’t find towns or services along the trail, although pit toilets and drinking water are available at campgrounds in Poe Paddy State Park near the western trailhead. A state project to renovate the previously closed almost-300-foot tunnel in 2015 had the side benefits of shoring up the eastern 2 miles of trail for construction traffic, as well as redecking a pedestrian bridge over Penn's Creek. While birding is a popular pastime along the trail, you might encounter other wildlife on the trail, such as black bears, bobcats, and timber rattlers. It’s best to review the proper options for dealing with these wildlife before setting out in their habitat.
Heading east from the Tunnel Spur Road trailhead at Poe Paddy State Park, named for an old lumbering town here, you’ll soon come to a pedestrian bridge crossing Penn's Creek. If you’re here in late May or June, you’ll likely see fly—fishers hoping to catch brown trout with green drake flies.
Soon after crossing the bridge you’ll encounter the entrance to a tunnel blasted through West Paddy Mountain. Closed because of safety concerns for two years, the tunnel reopened in 2016 with a new wall lining and trail surface. Take a flashlight, because a curve prevents light from passing through the tunnel. Above the east entrance, you’ll see a bat gate where winged mammals can come and go. The bats generally find other places to roost in the spring and summer and retire here in the winter to hibernate.
Exiting the tunnel, you’ll experience a pleasant trek through the designated 6,000-acre Penn's Creek Wild Area for the next 2.4 miles to the Cherry Run parking lot, with about 50ft along Cherry Run Road. From the parking lot, the Mid State Trail curves north and leaves the old rail bed. From the end of Penn's Creek Path, a 3-foot-wide hardpacked-dirt path with a nice tree canopy continues for a little less than half-a-mile and terminates where the former railroad corridor crossed over Cherry Run Creek.
Several overlooks along the trail provide views of Penn's Creek in the valley below, and hardwoods provide a colorful palette in the fall.
Parking is available at a number of locations along the trail. View the TrailLink map for all options and detailed directions. Parking locations include a parking lot off Tunnel Spur Road (look for the trailhead parking lot on the right) and a parking lot off Cherry Run Road/SR 3002 (look for the parking on the left).
Hiked the trail on May 27, 2021. Trail is pleasant , well shaded and fairly flat. We started from the east side and the railroad tunnel was on the far west side. We enjoyed the trail for its connection to nature. We saw a few animals including snakes and a turtle. Penn’s Creek is great at all points. Recommend.
Had a great day on the trail once we finally got there! You need to take Sand Mountain Road off of 322 not Decker Valley Road! There are no signs for the park on Decker Valley Road. Decker Valley is a narrow road barely wide enough for two cars - you need to pull to the side if someone is coming the other direction. There is also active logging and when a logging truck is coming down the road, you have to back up to try to find some place to get off the road. Wasted an hour traveling Decker Valley. Glad the trail was beautiful and peaceful to sooth our nerves after the Decker Valley road!
Rode the Penns Creek Path thru the completed remodel of the old train tunnel. Included some pics. On the other side of the tunnel is the Poe Paddy Campground, and another 3 to 4 miles further up the road is the Poe Valley Campground and lake. Lovely ride along the Penns Creek until you get to the tunnel, then the road turns to a dirt road to take you to the parks. Saw quite a bit of blooming mountain laurel today, and enjoyed the cool temperatures thru the forest. There are picnic tables and comfort facilities in the park you can use for free.
I'm glad I have experienced working on the rehabilitation of the bridge /trail/and tunnel.almost complete,bat habitat done,steel liner of tunnel finished,new head walls built,bridge done, (concrete)trail completed with new surface .800 yards of concrete encase the steel liner to ensure safety. Still a few items to complete (restrictor gates to be installed to limit access to bikes/and hikers) staining of imitation stone to be finished. Passable and safe be careful of a few minor construction areas. A must see now or when complete.
Hi, just an update as of 4/25/15 weekend this trail is still closed. The bridge is under construction, however it's passable. The entrance to the tunnel is blocked off. I'm not sure how long this will take, but it sure was disappointing to get out to beautiful Poe Paddy State Park and have it still unaccessible.
This is a trail that is off the beaten path to get to and has great potential for a short easy trail but there are things to be aware of. The tunnel at the beginning of the trail is officially closed but people are going around the sign and entering the tunnel anyway. The tunnel is only a few hundred feet and then the path begins. When we were there (July 4 week) the trail has not really been maintained. It is just two dirt paths (really just two tire tracks) and the grass hadn't been cut and was knee high. Once you reached the end, there was no indication of being able to continue on another trail (or portion of trail) so we just turned around and returned. Unless you are going to spend time at the State Park, it is not worth the trip to get there for a 5 mile round trip bike ride.
Tunnel is closed due to falling rock.
The tunnel at the start of the trail has been closed due to falling rock. We were told you can get to the other side by climbing over the top which we did not do.
This is a short but very nice section of trail. Definitely suitable for a touring or cross bike for the whole length. Very quiet with beautiful scenery.
As you're probely aware, the Penns Creek Trail goes through an old RR Tunnel.
Last year me, my Grandfather, and my uncle camped at nearby Poe Valley State Park. We found this trail and thought it would be cool to walk on this trail for a while. We did, 2 times.
First time:
nice, flat, and smooth. Great for biking and walking. No big rocks wich means cross country skiing on this trail would be possible. The tunnel had a few drops of water falling from the rocks above. No problem, what's a few drops of water, right? We had our fishing gear with us so we stayed for a bit to go fishing. This trail has great access to Penns creak.
Seccond time:
we decided to go on the trail again, Mainly because we had really good luck fishing along the creek. We get to the RR tunnel to find that it had water in it as high as our boots (1FT deep)
It's not a good idea to ride your bike through water that high. If the water reaches your rear derailur, you'll run in to some shifting problems.
So I do reccomend this trail to anyone, and I do rate this 5 stars. But be careful! Check the tunnel conditions if you want to bike on this
We actually started at the Coburn side of this trail. We parked at one of the PA Fish Commission parking lot areas and rode the township road to the Coburn tunnel. We crossed Penns Creek over a very narrow railroad bridge. We were unable to ride across because the guide rails were so tight it rubbed the end of our handle bars. The trail itself for being privately owned in this section was in pretty nice shape although not as nice as other trails I have been on. We rode on to the village of Engleby where the trail gets a little more narrow but it still is rideable. We rode on to the next bridge which is no longer in existance and we had to cross Penns Creek. We crossed on some rocks in the stream but I would recommend bringing sandals or some kind of footwear you don't mind getting wet. Some parts of the stream were mid calf high at this point. We then rode on to the beginning of the actual trail near Poe Paddy State Park. The Actual trail itself is very nice and well constructed. Watch your head if you ride through the tunnel on the other side. It was pretty close for me. We rode on to the Cherry Run parking lot where the trail ends. We did ride on out to the township road and further out to the town of Weikert. The township road follows the old railroad bed but this part of the privately owned section is not open to the public. Over all the main trail is very nice but if you want to extend the ride the rest of what I have described is very neat too. I actually enjoyed the stream crossing since it was 98 degrees out the day we went. Overall the grade is nice and it provides a great workout.
Fun little trail that parallels a creek. The best part of the trip is defiantly the tunnel. The trickiest part of this trail is getting to the trail head. I traveled from the west and most of the gravel roads are still snow covered.
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