About HikingPA

Pennsylvania Hiking, Without the Fluff

HikingPA is a field-researched guide to Pennsylvania trails, state parks, and wild places. Every guide is written by someone who has walked the route, checked the parking, and come back with opinions.

We cover 35+ trail guides, 15 state parks, and 8 regions across the Commonwealth, from the glacial potholes of the Poconos to the old-growth hemlocks of Cook Forest and the AT corridor through South Central PA. If there is something worth hiking in Pennsylvania, it is on this site or it will be.

The Story

HikingPA started because Pennsylvania's trail resources were either too generic or too outdated to be useful. AllTrails tells you a trail exists. Google sends you to a 2014 forum post. Neither tells you where to park, what the footing is actually like in mud season, or whether the waterfall is worth the two-hour drive in July.

The site launched in South Central PA, covering the Appalachian Trail corridor, Pine Grove Furnace State Park, and the Harrisburg-area trails that locals have been hiking for decades without a reliable guide. It has grown from there into a statewide resource covering everything from Ohiopyle State Park and Ricketts Glen to the remote waterfall hollows of Northwest PA and the industrial ruins of the Coal Region.

The Writer

Oscar is the founder and lead trail writer for HikingPA. He is based in South Central Pennsylvania and has spent more than a decade hiking, photographing, and documenting trails across the Commonwealth.

He has logged hundreds of miles across Pennsylvania's state forests, state parks, and backcountry routes, with a focus on waterfall photography, geological formations, and the kind of logistical detail that makes or breaks a day on the trail. He has personally hiked every trail covered on this site.

His background is in field photography and outdoor writing. He launched HikingPA after years of watching hikers drive hours to trails based on outdated or inaccurate online information, and deciding someone should fix that.

Specialties include waterfall photography, abandoned and historical places, Appalachian Trail logistics, and state park access planning.

Read more about Oscar and see all his trail guides.

Our Editorial Standards

Field-verified. No guide goes live without a personal visit. We do not synthesize content from other websites.

No sugarcoating. If a trail is genuinely hard, we say so. If a parking lot fills by 9 AM on fall weekends, you will know before you drive two hours. If a waterfall is underwhelming in summer, we say that too.

No affiliate padding. We are not recommending gear packs or booking hotels. We are telling you how to find the fossils at Ferncliff Peninsula and where to park at Hawk Mountain before the lot fills.

Cited information. Trail distances, elevations, permit requirements, and fee information are sourced from DCNR, AllTrails, and official park sources. When information is unverifiable from field experience, we say so.

Explore the Site

• Trail guides by region and difficulty
• State park guides with logistics and trail breakdowns
• Regional hiking guides for planning multi-stop days
• Best waterfalls in Pennsylvania
• Abandoned places in PA

Get in Touch

Have a trail update, a condition report, or a question? We read everything sent to hello@hikingpa.com and try to respond within 48 hours. You can also use our contact page.

For information on how we handle data, see our Privacy Policy.