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Sciotha Trail

  Sciotha Trail is a short foot trail in Buchanan State Forest, that parallels the Hinish Trail between Hiway 915 and Ross Road. Hiway 915 North intersects US Hiway 30 just under five miles east of Breezewood, a major stop at Exit 161 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. As such, you can drive to the the trail head within about fifteen minutes of exiting the Turnpike, going by an endless variety of restaurants and shops.

After leaving US Hiway 30 to go north
    on Hiway 915 (note that the intersection to go south on Hiway 915 comes first), you reach the trail head for the Sciotha Trail at about 2. 8 miles. There is a far better parking spot at the trail head for the Hinish Trail, which is
about 3. 6 miles from US Hiway 30.

Because these two trails are parallel, with several trails going between both, you have innumerable possibilities for walking north on one and returning south on the other, as well as ''figure-eight'' loops on one or the other.

Note that several un-marked trails also intersect the Hinish Trail. It is recommended that one stay only on the marked trails, as it is impossible to know where the un-marked one go to.

The
 
Hinish Trail is wide enough for a vehicle, and is noticeably flatter than the Sciotha. It is also lower in elevation, so, to reach the latter, you need to walk up a hill for a short distance on the intersecting trails.

The Hinish, Sciotha, and the intersecting trails are well marked on maps such as

www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/maps/fd02_map.pdf

have easy to note signs at intersections, and are not difficult to follow. However, none are blazed. Following this pdf map and the signs, along with a decent sense of direction, getting confused should be easy to avoid.

There is very little of visual interest on either trail. Both are along a well-forested part of this state forest, and so there is little to see other than forest. A nearby wildlife area is described

www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/buchananwild.aspx

as follows: ''Deer and turkey are plentiful in the area. Occasionally a native bobcat is spotted and black bear make infrequent appearances. The area is known to support a population of rattlesnakes. '' The area near the Sciotha would seem ideal for deer, but I spotted nothing during my mid-day hike during a bright October day.

Of minor interest along the Sciotha was a small pond, clearly artificial, near the trail's intersection with the Prop Trail. The water was crystalline, but the purpose of the pond was not clear to me.

The trails in the area would be useful for an easy, multi-hour, minimal hike, with flexibility built into the trek. If your original plan was more than you could handle (say, you're more out of shape than you thought), you can easily scale it back and really miss nothing.


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OUTDOORS_GUIDE
These outdoors activities are available near Sciotha Trail.
 Campgrounds Near Sciotha Trail:
Breezewood Campgrounds, Breezewood , 2 miles away
Brush Creek Campground, Breezewood , 9 miles away
Heritage Cove Resort, Saxton , 12 miles away
Putts Campground, Huntingdon County , 12 miles away
Peninsula Campground, Huntingdon County , 13 miles away
 Whitewater Near Sciotha Trail:
Sideling Hill Creek, Fulton / Huntingdon County , 1 miles away, Class I-II - 20 miles long (Pennsylvania Route 915 to LR31009)
Licking Creek, Fulton County , 11 miles away, Class I-II - 8 miles long (Knobsville to US Route 30)
Big Cove Creek, Fulton County , 12 miles away, Class I-III - 12 miles long (T379 to Licking Creek)
Great Trough Creek, Huntingdon County , 13 miles away, Class I-III - 6.3 miles long (T370 to Trough Creek State Park)
Yellow Creek, Bedford County , 18 miles away, Class I-III - 10.4 miles long (Loysburg to Raystown Branch Juniata River)
 Public Lands Near Sciotha Trail:
Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Harpers Ferry - WV , 45 miles away
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, McLean - VA , 45 miles away
Cacapon State Park, West Virginia , 31 miles away
Blue Knob State Park, Pennsylvania , 33 miles away
 Hotels Near Sciotha Trail:
Quality Inn Breeze Manor, Breezewood , 7 miles away
Econo Lodge Breezewood, Breezewood , 8 miles away
Holiday Inn Express BREEZEWOOD, Breezewood , 8 miles away
Best Western Plaza Inn, Breezewood , 8 miles away
Super 8 Hancock MD, Hancock , 19 miles away

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