The Alpine Club of Williamsport, PA, organized in 1953, maintains the 59.21 mile Loyalsock Trail (LT) and has trail care hikes and other outings. Hike offerings will appear on the Activity Schedule page of this web site. Alpine Club membership is open to anyone over the age of 18.
The Alpine Club invites you to hike the Loyalsock Trail in hopes that you will enjoy, explore, and protect the wild lands and places of natural beauty!
2023 Fun & Recreational Hikes
Rock Run/Sluice Exploratory Loop
Date: Sunday, October 15, 2023
Time: 9:00 AM
Meeting Location: Hunters Lake Boat Launch (Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission)
Distance: ≈ 4.5 Miles (?)
Highlights: Rock Run, Sluice, Hunters Lake
Leaders: Dave and Tuuk
Please note, the hike leaders have not explored Rock Run, the two unnamed tributaries and the Sluice! If you are not comfortable exploring unknown terrain, perhaps getting lost, this is not the hike for you!
Proposed Route: From the Boat Launch, we’ll walk Brunnderdale Road to Rock Run. Here’s where the exploring starts. We’ll ascend, paralleling Rock Run, to two unnamed tributaries. Ascending these part way, we’ll look for cascades and small waterfalls. Continuing on Rock Run, we’ll come to an old water impoundment. From here we’ll descend the sluice to Hunters Lake. A short road walk will take us back to the boat launch. This will be a slow paced hike!
The sluice we’ll follow is shown on the 1932 Edition of the Eagles Mere Quadrangle and the Falls & Views Loop’s Hillsgrove Map.
Dress for the terrain and weather. Bring snacks, lunch, water, and trekking poles. As it’s archery season for deer, you should be wearing something hunter orange.
Questions?
Dave Kowalewski
Rock Ledges Exploratory Hike
Date: Sunday, November 5, 2023
Time: 9:00 AM
Length: ≈ 5 Miles (?)
Meeting Location: Worlds End State Park’s Visitors Center
Highlights: Views of the Loyalsock Creek, Butternut Run Falls, Rock Scree, Butternut Run Vista, Rock Ledges, High Rock Run Falls
Leaders: Dave and Tuuk
Please note, the hike leaders have not explored the rock ledges between Butternut Run and High Rock Run! If you are not comfortable exploring unknown terrain, perhaps getting lost, this is not the hike for you!
The Proposed Route: We’ll ascend the Butternut Trail (Lower Road) crossing Butternut Run with a falls below the crossing. Starting a steep ascent on rock scree, we’ll stop to admire the view from Butternut Run Vista. Past there we’ll turn right onto the Red Pine Trail and ascend it to the Loyalsock Road. Here’s where the exploration part comes into play. We need to find the rock ledges and follow them to High Rock Run/Loyalsock Trail. Once (if?) we find the Loyalsock Trail, we’ll turn south to the Flynn Trail. Taking the Flynn Trail will return us to the Butternut Trail (Upper Road) which we’ll descend and then back to the Visitors Center. This is a slow paced hike and you’ll be required to stay behind the leaders!
Dress for the terrain and weather. Bring lunch, snacks, water, and trekking poles. A portion of our route is open to hunting. The hike leaders will be wearing something hunter orange, so should you!
If interested, I can email you a portion of the geologic map of the area we’ll be exploring. A few things to note: (1) Butternut Run is not labeled, (2) none of the trails we’ll be using are shown and (3) the rock ledges are shown as tick marks south of Loyalsock Road.
Questions?
Dave Kowalewski
Double Run Lower/Upper Impoundments
Date: Sunday, December 3, 2023
Time: 9:00 AM
Meeting Location: Recreational Trailhead at the intersection of Worlds End Road/High Knob Road (Loyalsock State Forest)
Distance: ≈ 5 Miles
Highlights: Double Run Lower and Upper Impoundments, Possible Waterfowl/Wildlife
Leaders: Dave and Tuuk
This slow paced loop hike will utilize a combination of Shanerburg Road, an Administrative Road, a benign bushwhack, Bridle Trail, Cross-Country Ski Trail, and the Yellow Arrow Trail. There are several wet areas. If you have a small lightweight pair of binoculars, you might consider bringing them.
Dress for the terrain and weather. Bring snacks, lunch, water, and trekking poles.
Questions?
Dave Kowalewski
Reporting Storm or Other Trail Damage or Issues
Please report any Storm Damage here
20th Edition of Loyalsock Trail Guide & Maps
The most recent Edition of our LT Guide and Maps is the 20th Edition. We recommend using this most recent Edition, if you are doing any longer-term hikes, especially thru hikes. Although the geographic and physical itinerary of the LT has not changed significantly, there have been some residually minor corrections to mileage and altitude, and the beginning Table of Contents has gone through some reorganization. The biggest change is that the Guide is now spiral-bound, with a plastic flip spiral at the top. This makes it much easier to more permanently move through pages of the Guide, as you navigate across the Trail. To order the new Guide from its various sales sources, please visit or Order Guides webpage: Order 20th Edition
Gas Well and Pipeline Activity on Allegheny Front
PGE gas is currently in the process of creating space for a gas pipeline and road on the Bryan Hay Trail (Road) which shares space with the Loyalsock Trail on mile 3.38 - 3.60. The LT in that area is currently a muddy mess and the trees that formerly held our LT markers are gone. The Alpine Club has placed new LT markers on both sides of the trail to aid hikers continuing on the Trail. When we have a better idea of what they are doing, we will put in a permanent reroute that will keep us away from the new gas road.
You may encounter an open 3 foot deep ditch.
Remember, trucks and equipment always have the right of way!
Be safe and enjoy your hike.
The Alpine Club of Williamsport
Current Alerts
Standing Alerts
NO FIRES are permitted anywhere on the LT from March 1 to May 25, from October 1 to December 1, and at other times when the fire danger is posted as High, Very High or Extremely High.
NO FIRES are permitted in the Haystacks Area at anytime.
Blazes used on the Loyalsock Trail
The LT is blazed with yellow disks having red LT letters in the center. Double blazes warn of an upcoming change in direction of the trail.
Still visible are old 2" X 6" rectangular yellow paint blazes with a 1" horizontal red stripe. Turns were marked with a yellow directional arrow.
Trail Guides
To purchase full Guide with directions, maps and additional info, go to: Loyalsock Trail Guides. It is recommended that you use the most current (20th) edition.
Loyalsock Trail
Alpine Club of Williamsport
The Alpine Club invites you to hike the Loyalsock Trail in hopes that you will enjoy, explore, and protect the wild lands and places of natural beauty!