Through forests of oak-hickory, pine and mountain laurel, the north-south Tuscarora Trail wends its way along mountain ridges and valleys through four states as a loop off the Appalachian Trail. The 250- mile trail connects with the Appalachian Trail near Front Royal, Va. and Carlisle, Pa. This trail eventually will become a component of the Great Eastern Trail which will extend from Alabama to the Finger Lakes in New York state.

The Tuscarora Trail got its start in 1963 when a committee of interested persons from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (then known as the AT Conference) the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and the Keystone Trails Assopciation in Pennsylvania made plans for this alternative route to the AT in response to growing development around the AT. When the AT received federal proection in 1968 under the National Scenic Trails Act, the PATC and KTA decided to maintain the trail as a side trail to the AT.

The northern half of the trail in Pennsylvania and Maryland was called the Tuscarora Trail by the KTA and the southern half in Virginia and West Virginia was called the Big Blue, named for the color used by PATC for blazing its side trails.

In the 1980s, after several years of gypsy moth defoliation, drought and other factors, there was heavy tree mortality along the ridges of mountainous south-central Pennsylvania.  With the loss of tree canopy, the Tuscarora Trail was exposesd to full sun, resulting in explosive growth of blackberry, greenbriar, poson ivy and other thicket-like plants and bushes. The change in the forest, coupled with a loss of trail maintainers, caused much of the Tuscarora Trail to grow closed.

In the early 1990s, the North Chapter of PATC was asked to help a KTA maintainer to open a particularly bad section of the trail south of Pennsylvania Route 16. After several years of work the section was again open and in excellent condition.

PATC’s District Trail Managers Charlie Irvin and Jack Danner spearheaded the effort to fully reopen the trail. They were instrumental in locating the old trail route, getting support for the few active maintainers and finding new overseers to take on the remaining trail sections. After several years and many work trips, the trail was passable in October 1994 and officially reopened in late summer of 1995. For their extrordinary efforts, Charlie Irvin and Jack Danner received the American Hiking Society Volunteer of the Year award for Pennsylvania in 1994.

In 1997, the 110-mile Tuscarora and the 142-mile Big Blue trail were unified to become a single trail--the Tuscarora Trail under the care of PATC, the KTA deciding it could no longer maintain its section. The Pennsylvania/Maryland section of the trail which was blazed orange was reblazed blue which is the color used by PATC for side trails.

The trail today is undergoing intense renewal and redevelopment. The trail continues to be a premier extended hiking experience with a sense of wilderness. Shelters are planned for every ten miles and are under construction. A cabin for trail crew use has been erected in Pennsylvania near McConnellsburg and another cabin for trail crew use is planned for the Virginia area.

Want to Help out?

Everyone is invited to join a trail crew and help revitalize this trail. Opportunities for hard work and satisfaction are available nearly every weekend. The crews are setting new paths, clearing brush, cutting back the undergrowth and constructing shelters. Please check our activity schedule for dates of our Tuscarora hikes and work trips. The full schedule is included on the chapter web page. We hope to see you on the trail. Pictures and route information can be found using Joan M. Johnson’s trail data.

Hiking the Trail

If you hike the Tuscarora Trail, please be aware the that the trail traverses a significant amount of land that is privately owned and you are advised to respect the owners’ rights and privleges of ownership-- including the right to hunt on and operate motorized vehicles over their private property. Remember that we are guests and it is the owners’ kindness that allows hikers to follow the Tuscarora Trail through their property.

There are maps of the trail and a guidebook set covering the entire trail available from the PATC online store. Maps J and K cover the north half of the trail and Maps F, G and L cover the south half. The two guidebooks divide the trail into the North Half and the South Half.

view the Tuscarora Trail management plan: click here