Pine Creek Trail

The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania

I love this trail! Patty sung out over her shoulder just 100 feet down the trail.  The weather is perfect, the flow in the first run had us thinking TROUT and we took an hour and half to cover the first three miles – scouting, and talking and watching…


It was hard to See the eagles, but we could sure HEAR them. A pair nests near the Darling Run Kiosk and the juvenile is flying. 
“They usually return to the nest about four o’clock.”
We’ll be here.







This is our third trip to the area and probably our fifth ride thru the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania”.  Did I mention those hills are ---high?

Another day took us to Cedar Run


Our home for five days will be Ives Run, a Corps of Engineers facility we have enjoyed before.  It is always in demand and most often by local folks in nice rigs.  In summer younger families mix in, so there are lots of bikes with training wheels, piles of car top boats and some new tents.  It is a well designed and orderly place.

Each day we pass through the lovely village of Wellsboro. The main street is a touch of New England, with lovely homes set back on large lots.  The business area is thriving, with locally owned stores and no franchise anything.  The department store is over 100 years old. The Wellsboro Dinner has been on the corner since 1928 in its little trolley building.  We enjoy the shopping for essentials, the dinner food, ice cream, books and gear.  But the best walks are near the green with it’s fountain. Winkin, Blinkin and Nod always give us a little peace.

          WELLSBORO, PENNSYLVANIA  

Each day is a ride on another part of the Pine Creek Trail.  We ride out and back from our starting point, so we see each section at least twice.

The upper section is along Marsh Creek.  It’s pretty now looking forward as the two rims close in to form the “canyon”.  We’ve been told that it is gorgeous in the fall as the Maples turn and the Marsh is alive with migrant birds. 









The ride turns around at the Eagle’s Nest.  They DID return at 4:15 the other night – all three of them.  Today just one bird lazing in the noontime sun.
We had to move after five days, so we struck out for Little Pine State Park IN THE RAIN.  It’s a nice enough park, closer to the lower sections of the trail and packed full over the weekend. A different clientele, more families with kids, packs of twenty somethings and lots of amateur fire building. We snuck in a twilight ride after the rain…














… and we made some new friends.



Little Pine has its own Eagles and a convenient place to pull up a chair, talk with other watchers and wait.



The focal point is that dead tree in the center.  Sometimes a canoe from down on the lake can be counted on to stir them into a little activity.
There are frequent sightings of Herons, Beaver, deer and Canadians. New friends Wayne and Lynn were as enthusiastic as we were and delightful company.  Hope their pictures turned out better than ours. but we are LOVING our new binoculars.