PENNSYLVANIA

Your dog will not miss out on any of the best hikes in the Keystone State. The mesmerizing Falls Trail that trips past 22 named waterfalls in Ricketts Glen State Park? Check. The Youghiogheny River Trail through mature hardwoods and carpets of ferns in Ohiopyle State Park? Check. The dizzying vistas from the Loyalsock Trail in Worlds End State Park? Check. The 4,000 feet of elevation gain and four vistas on the Golden Eagle Trail? Check. You get the idea. The Poconos, The Laurel Highlands, the Allegheny National Forest - it can seem like Pennsylvania is one unbroken wooded wonderland for your dog. In fact, Pennsylvania timberland was America’s most valuable resource in the 19th century. the trees were all hemlocks and pines back then but after being cut down the Keystone woodlands have grown back as deciduous forest. Presque Isle, the most popular of Pennsylvania’s 121 state parks, sends your dog on a long beach hike on Lake Erie. Even America’s two most hallowed military grounds - Valley Forge from the Revolutionary War and Gettysburg Battlefield from the Civil War - can be explored for hours with your dog alongside.

The Best Day Hike You Can Take With Your Dog In Pennsylvania

Golden Eagle Trail
Tiadaghton State Forest • Slate Run

If your trail dog spends any time in Pennsylvania he is likely to hear tell of the Golden Eagle Trail being the ultimate day hike in the Keystone State. Seaman may find this curious as the hike is in an obscure state forest neither in the Pocono nor Allegheny mountains.

The statistics paint a crystalline portrait of what lies ahead: nine-mile loop, over 4,000 feet in total elevation gained, two ascents of 800 and 1,000 feet, and four vistas. Looping counter- clockwise gets the steepest climb out of the way early and deposits you on the much celebrated Raven’s Horn vista with 270-degree views of the Pine Creek Valley early rather than late. Timber rattlesnakes make their home in the rocks so keep Seaman from being too curious here.

The rocky slopes give way to a long draw up Wolf Run with many opportunities to get paws wet. White pines and old growth hemlocks keep things cool amidst the huffing and puffing on the trail. The abundance of flat rocks bears evidence to an old flagstone quarry. Three more vistas emerge, climaxing at the highpoint of the trail, the Beulahland Vista, elevation 2,180 feet. The view is of a long ago futile attempt to coax crops out of these mountains.

The loop finishes with a descent down Bonnell Run with more tail-wagging stream crossings and tiny waterfalls. With the tough going behind you assessments can be made on the Golden Eagle’s place in the Pennsylvania canine hiking pantheon.

HIKING TIME: 4-5 hours

(from the book 300 Day Hikes To Take With Your Dog Before He Tires You Out: Trails where you won’t be able to wipe the wag off your dog’s tail)