Long-distance trail · Cooke Township, Cumberland County
Appalachian Trail
The Maine-to-Georgia footpath crosses about 230 rocky miles of Pennsylvania; at Pine Grove Furnace, near its halfway point, an old gristmill houses the Appalachian Trail Museum.
What you will find
- Hiking trails
- Scenic views
- Camping
Make a day of it
Nearby
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Appalachian Trail Museum
Set in an old stone mill at Pine Grove Furnace, close to the trail's halfway point, this small museum honors hikers such as Earl Shaffer, who made the first recorded thru-hike in 1948.
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Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Near the Appalachian Trail's halfway point, with an old iron furnace, the Appalachian Trail Museum, swimming in Fuller Lake, a flooded ore pit, and a second, larger lake with a beach and boating.
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Michaux State Forest
South Mountain's big working forest, where Pennsylvania's first forestry school took root, crossed by the Appalachian Trail and dotted with rocky overlooks and charcoal hearths from the old iron-furnace days.
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Kings Gap Environmental Education Center
A stone mansion from the early 1900s crowns South Mountain and looks out across the Cumberland Valley, while miles of year-round trails wind down through the oak forest around it.
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Caledonia State Park
The rebuilt stack of Thaddeus Stevens' iron furnace, burned by Confederate troops on the road to Gettysburg, anchors this South Mountain park, with the Appalachian Trail, a big pool and summer theater.
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Carlisle
A handsome Cumberland Valley county seat of limestone and brick, home to Dickinson College, the Army War College and its Army Heritage museum, and big classic-car shows at the fairgrounds.
