March 10, 2020|Hike Review, Hiking PA, Outdoor Activities
This was my kind of hike! You know that any hike that requires travel on a dirt road just to get to the trailhead has to be good. This hike is about a half hour from downtown Harrisburg and worth the trip.
-Easy (flat!!)
-Pet and kid friendly
-Peaceful
This was my second hike from 60 Hikes within 60 Miles Harrisburgby Matt Willen. It is hike #11 on page 64, Rattling Run Town Site. This was much nicer then yesterday’s hike (Wildwood Lake Loop). It is an out and back with the opportunity to hike up 13 miles (I did 6 miles).
Only about 15 miles from downtown Harrisburg, it takes 30 minutes due to the last 7 miles (small country road followed by dirt road). One thing you will learn about me is I LOVE dirt roads. That sometimes gets me in trouble ;). Athena and I traveled the bumpy road to the parking area. There is plenty of parking. While I had the whole area to myself (on a dreary weekday), I think it gets pretty busy on weekends.
The path reminded me of the C&O Canal, nice and wide, combination of dirt and gravel, and FLAT! I really liked that it was flat :). You can hike just over 5 miles before any real elevation changes. Another thing I love is pine trees. There were lots of beautiful pines, moss covered rocks, and water, lots of water. The hike meanders along Stony Creek, which you can hear even if you don’t see it. There are cascades all along the trail and water running under the rocks.
The most amazing part of the hike was the porcupine!!! I have never seen one in the wild and almost missed it. Athena and I walked right by it before we realized that it was there. We turned around and kept a respectful distance to observe it. Those things are so darned cute! He just kept eating as if we were not there. I guess he got tired of an audience so he turned and flared his butt. We made a hasty retreat.