First Day Hike | Hikes and Hops

Laurel Highlands, PA

We had a snowy first day hike on the Laurel Highlands Hiking trail! Despite how many times I’ve been hiking in the LH region, this is actually my first time on the 70 miles LHHT. While this short section didn’t have any major views or points of interest, it was incredibly peaceful walking through woods blanketed in fresh snow. After our group hike, we moseyed out to Forbes Trail Brewing in Stoystown for some delicious brews in a cozy taproom.

THE HIKE: Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (31-29)

Length: 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 600 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2 hours (due to snow)
Trail use: Foot traffic only
Parking: Space for about 30 cars at the Route 31 parking area. No facilities

Find the Parking lot: 40.06082620624829, -79.27375174542976. Turn right off Route 31 onto Fire Tower route, there will be a sign for Forbes State Forest and Laurel Ridge State Park. The parking lot will be on the left just under a mile down the road. Be aware that this road is unpaved and likely won’t be maintained in the winter.

Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail

The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT) is a 70.3 mile backpacking trail in western pa that stretches from Ohiopyle to Seward. This trail is known for its incredible beauty but also its challenging and rugged terrain. If you’re considering a thru hike, be sure to check out Tory’s awesome guide at Mytrailsaremany.com. However, this is also a fantastic trail for section day hikes too! There are many trailheads and access points along the 70 miles to pop on for a few miles.

The LHHT is maintained by the PA DCNR and the majority of the trail runs through Laurel Ridge State Park. If you’re looking for a full map of the trail, check out the PA DCNR website.

The Hike

For this group first day, we met at the Route 31 parking lot for the LHHT. Interestingly, this was also near mile 31 of the trail! There were at least 50 people on this delightful hike led by Kim, an educator at Laurel Ridge SP.

Especially in the winter, it can be easy to lose your way on trails. Be sure to look for the yellow blazes on the trees. This trail also has a stone mile marker every mile so you’ll always know how far you’ve gone! Many sections of the LHHT, including this one, cross over roads from large ones to wooded access roads. Always look for a band of yellow on the trees that indicates a road crossing!

Remember, the LHHT is point to point trail so make sure you have a game plan of when to turn around and head back to your car!

THE BEER: Forbes Trail Brewing

Address: 6108 Lincoln Hwy, Stoystown, PA 15563
Distance from Trail Head: 36 mins, 25 miles
Website: http://www.forbestrailbrewing.com/
Food?: Food truck & BYOF
Details: Outdoor seating, pets outside

Forbes Trail Brewing opened on Lincoln Highway less than a mile from the Flight 93 memorial in 2022. One of the owners had been homebrewing for nearly a decade then working professionally as a brewer, before his dream of opening a taproom became a reality! Along with his wife and former homebrew supporters turned business partners, Forbes Trail Brewing has quickly become a staple in the Laurel Highlands region. Although it was cold and snowy when we visited, I was impressed with the huge outdoor space complete with firepits that complemented the cozy indoor taproom. We popped at a seat at the bar and instantly felt like part of a family as the owners and other drinkers looped us right into their conversation. Although it’s a bit of a drive from the Burgh I cannot recommend this brewery enough and I know we will definitely be back!

A fun history fact: the brewery’s name refers to the early road that linked forts Duquesne, Ligonier, and Bedford during the French and Indian War. This road was pioneered by British General John Forbes and eventually became the Lincoln Highway (Route 30).

Our Beer:

Taste the Rainbow – Sour – 5%
Haze Lawdy Mama – NEIPA – 6.5%
Edmunds Swamp: Peppermint – Oatmeal Stout – 5%
Trail Rider Pale Ale – Pale Ale – 6%

Loving the Laurel Highlands craft beverages? Be sure to get a Pour Tour Passport from the GO Laurel Highlands!

Looking for more hikes & hops in the Laurel Highlands? Check out Wolf Rocks & Helltown, Ohiopyle & Yough River , Duff Park & Devout, Powdermill Nature Reserve & Four Seasons, and Linn Run & Unity Brewing .

Clarion, PA

One of my absolute favorite hiking traditions has been getting out for a First Day Hike. Whether you go on your own or join a group, this is the perfect way to kick off the New Year and set some intentions for the rest of the year. We joined a First Day Hike in Cook Forest State Park that had a surprisingly large turnout! It was great to see so many different people joining in. This hike started at the Ridge Campground and included Seneca Viewpoint and the Firetower. We then went on a walk along the Clarion River on the North Country Trail.

Looking for more adventures in Pennsylvania and beyond? Check out my new book: Beer Hiking Pennsylvania and New Jersey

THE HIKE: Fire Tower, Seneca Viewpoint & River Trail – Cook Forest SP

Length: 4.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 1100 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2.5-3 hours
Trail use: Hiking, Leashed Pets
Parking: Large lot at trailhead with pit toilets
H&H: 4/5

This holiday and work season ended up being rather busy for us. We didn’t do much hiking in December and honestly didn’t see each other a lot. So we decided on a whim to book a cabin in Cook Forest State Park for the New Year. The cabin had a wood burning fireplace, no wifi, and very little cell signal. It was perfect!

There’s actually a lot to explore in the Cook Forest area, including the nearest large town of Clarion. One thing to be aware of though is the camping season. Since we went in January and on a holiday, a LOT of places were closed. Make sure to do a little research before you leave to see what might be open! Some things are very spread out so I’d hate for you to make the drive only to find out that a certain place is closed for the season! Thankfully, the great outdoors is never closed! However, make sure to always be prepared for the weather. Luckily, our visit coincided with a warm spell that brought temps in the low 50s and melted a lot of the snow and ice. I was surprised though how much ice there was still on the forest floor! You never know when you’ll wish you brought crampons!

So as I mentioned, this was our first day hike! If you’ve never done one before, a lot of parks will have a ranger-led hike on January 1st to get people outdoors together. I couldn’t believe how many people showed up for this loop! Special thanks to the Friends of Cook Forest for leading this hike. This was an easy loop that meandered along the Fire Tower road up to the Seneca viewpoint and then to the Firetower. We parked at the Ridge Campground where there were several spots right by the first pavilion. Walking along the dirt and gravel road was easy but if you’re looking for a different route, you can also get on the Baker/North Country Trail and follow that to the viewpoint area. It might be a little longer though since you have to start in the Forest Cathedral area. This is probably the trail we would have chosen if not joining the first day hike group.

The total loop along the Fire Tower Road was around 3 miles. We lingered at the Seneca Overlook and J was even brave even to go up the Fire tower! That was a no thank you from me. From there, we left the group and continued along the baker/North Country Trail down to the Clarion River. Despite how warm it had gotten, it was crazy to see the ice chunks floating down the river! I can only imagine how frozen everything was over Christmas. This trail was so peaceful and we only saw one other family. My absolute favorite part though was seeing a beaver on the trail!! I’ve only ever seen evidence of their chomping so it was so cool to see the actual animals on the trail. He slunk away as we got closer and disappeared into the water.

From here you can really continue along as far as you want. We followed the trail to the Henry Run Sawmill Waterfall. This is a really unique feature that doesn’t appear on the park map! Henry Run is a small tributary of the Clarion River and this section was dammed during the logging boom of the late 19th century. Although the mill no longer exists, the rock wall from the dam is still standing and creates a beautiful little waterfall. Around this time it has started to get misty, so we decided to turn around before we got too soaked. On the way back, we got on the River Trail which leads back up to the Fire Tower Road without going all the way back to the overlook area. Beware though, this is a really steep climb back up! Our hearts were definitely pumping by the time we made it back to the road.

There’s also an alternative way of visiting these sites, which I learned of thanks to Tory at My Trails are Many and Jim at UncoveringPA. You can come at these trails from a different way if you park at the trailhead on Gravel Lick Road. We wanted to go this way but Gravel Lick road was closed for the winter! From there, you just get on the Baker/North Country Trail and go along the water. From this way, the waterfall will be the first site you encounter. From there, you can continue along until you see the Fire Tower and Seneca Overlook. This would be a great place to take a break before turning around! This would end up being about a 5-mile out and back trek to see the waterfall, fire tower, and overlook. Check it would below:

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/henry-run-falls-fc03d48?u=i

Stay tuned for more of our hikes in Cook Forest!

THE BEER: Clarion River Brewing Company

Address: 600 Main St, Clarion, PA 16214
Distance from Trail Head: 30 miles, 50 mins
Website: http://clarionriverbrew.com/
Food?: Full Menu
Details: Outdoor seating (seasonal)

After spending the day hiking along the Clarion River, it almost feels inevitable that you should grab some food and a beverage from Clarion River Brewing Company! This brewpub is located in downtown Clarion right on the main street. The venue is split into two sections: the bar area and a large dining room, although you can have a meal in either. With hearty sandwiches and burgers, I’m sure this is a popular place when school is in session! We were lucky to pretty much have the place to ourselves when we were in town. Clarion River brews in house but also features other local brews on their taplist. Unfortunately when we visited, they were in between brewers so they didn’t have any of their own headliners on the menu. No worries, we were able to get a flight of all their in-house stuff and sampled some other local brews too.

Their food was filling and just what we needed to warm up. Like most breweries with a full kitchen, I wouldn’t say it was stellar but it got the job done! I hope that their hunt for a new brewer moves forward without a hitch so they can get their taplist back! Overall, Clarion River Brewing was worth the stop if you’re in town, but I would definitely suggest including it as part of brewery crawl so you can sample the other area offerings

Our Beer:

Betta Weatha – Cream Ale – 5.1%
Fuzzy Wuzzy Was A Beer – Peach Milkshake IPA – 6.5%
Ol’ Chap – ESB – 6.1%
Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut, Sometimes a Stout – Vanilla Coconut Stout – 5%

SUM UP: Cook Forest State Park is a great weekend getaway from Pittsburgh. The area is full of campsites and cabins and has lots of little restaurants during the season. The state park is a beautiful area for hiking, famous for its old growth forest. This hike takes you to the old Fire Tower, a beautiful lookout at Seneca Rocks, and a secret waterfall! The 5 mile loop is rated moderately challenging due to some steep sections and proper footwear is recommended. Check the weather before heading out! Afterwards, warm up with a brew a burger at Clarion River Brewing if staying in Clarion or the Clarion River Lodge if camping or staying in a cabin in the State Park. You can’t go wrong with a weekend in the PA Wilds!