Showing posts with label PA Clear Creek State Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PA Clear Creek State Park. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Clear Creek State Park, PA - Tobecco/Tadler/Truby Loop

ABOUT THE PARK: 
Clear Creek State Park - Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
This sign is in the kiosk at the parking area but I am not sure why because I found this part of the Tobecco Trail to be very easy to follow, well-blazed with easy creek crossings and other than a few downed branches that I removed, in very good shape.

DIRECTIONS: 
GPS Coordinates 41.32440, -79.13074
Tobecco Trail parking off of Route 899.  It's a grassy, rutted area, probably not suited for low clearance cars.

TRAIL MAP: 
Clear Creek State Park Trail Map - Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources


HIKE DISTANCE:  6.1 miles

THE HIKE:  
This is hike 3 of 3 on the second day of the drive from Missouri to New Jersey.
Heading into the woods from the parking area, a creek crossing and some litter that I would pack out on the way back.  Fortunately that was the only litter seen the entire hike.
Nicely blazed and wide open trail.
We turned left on the Tadler Trail, which is a continuation of the Tobecco Trail, and would be returning from the right.
This is now very wide woods road all the way.
This dark-eyed junco is apparently in no hurry to return to Canada for the summer.  It's still been in the 20's at night and 40's during the day here so he might be confused.
The trail starts to follow along the Clarion River.
This hike was nothing like our previous two hikes from this trip but it was a gorgeous day, very quiet, not another person around - perfect!
The Tobecco/Tadler Trail comes out at the campground where there were a couple of campers in the distance but no humans to be seen.
Clarion River
We made a right on the paved road at this intersection ...
... then a right on the Truby Trail.  I would have loved to have explored other trails in the park but I was still almost 5 hours from home and would not be getting home until 11 PM as it was so unfortunately, no time for adding on to the planned hike.
One of the seasonal overlooks.  The river can barely be seen below.
At the second bench the trail continues to the left but a side trail, also blazed yellow, to the right leads to a second seasonal overlook.
Not too much to be seen here either but I could not linger because Brodie had honed in on some critter off to the left.  I could hear it moving around but could not tell what it was so time to more along.
Back at that bench, continuing the loop to the right.
A left to retrace the first part of the Tobecco Trail.
Back at the parking area ...
... where I picked up those two plastic bottles that now reside in my recycling can at home.

With temperaturs still too cold in this area, wildflowers were far behind from what the other hikes had so this was all that was seen: