A quite place nestled in an area known as The PA Wilds lays an abundance of magnificant views that can be discovered via a mountain bike.
This past tuesday I took a well needed day off work to enjoy what the state is advertising as "Get Outdoors PA". A little known fact... PA is one of only several States that have free usage of the state park systems. I have experiance a few states where it isn't so and I paid a fee just to enter. Why then are there not more people out Hiking Biking camping and fishing? Who knows but I was. The following is a story of my outdoor experiance at Sizerville State Park and Elk State Forest.
5:15 I'm picked up @ home by my cousin Jeremy who is the Park Manager @ Sizerville State Park which is located 6 miles north of Emporium PA. After our drive to the park he proceeds to the office while I suit up for a ride I had layed out with his assistance. Packing up my food & water I headed out into the chilly 42 deg morning. I had made the choice to start up a small logging road called Crooked Run Rd which climbs from 1300' to almost 2400' in a 4 mile distance and takes me out of the actual park property into the Elk State Forest. What a tranquil ride it was up the mountain, all that could be heard was my lonely breathing and leaves blowing in the slight breeze. Now Crooked Run Rd is named after the water way that it parellels, which had captured my attention during the time I pedaled upward in hopes of getting a glimpse of wildlife. Squirrels and chimpmunks where everywhere but I thought of the excitment of seeing something like a blackbear or possibly a fox or porcupine during this ride. As I proceeded toward the top my lungs where stinging from the crisp air that my body was requiring to function but eventually the "air bags" adjusted and I settled in to explore. While continuing I would stop and ride out some of the forestry roads which where marked for riding just to see a little deeper into the wooded mountain. Some would take me in a mile or so to some spectacular open areas and by open I mean larger trees with very little ground growth where one could see for great distances into the pines.
Still no bear but lots of animal tracks in the muddy parts of the trails. Once getting to the top and snapping the above photo @ the Vista I meandored out Ridge road to the north. During this time I passed a vehicle or two parked along the road with hints that they where archery hunters.
Once I made it to the intersection of Ridge Rd and Cowely Rd I only had a 1/4 mile or so before I turned up Fox Fire Tower Rd. This was simply an out & back (up & down) ride that I wanted to do. Once I had climbed to the top I found a clearing with nothing more than an outhouse looking structure standing on the edge of the woodline. I took in the moment but thoughts about how stupid I was for standing in the tall grass waiting to get bit by a snake started to enter my mind so I jumped back on the bike and rocketed down the climb I had just pedaled up.
The rest of this loop was a sceaming down hill on Cowely Rd straight back into the park. I tooled around the park a little until the Park Manager offered to assist me in taking some pictures and suggested we ride a small loop trail which was the Sizerville Nature Trail. I took him up on the offer, changed into some fresh clothes and we took off. Now this turned out to be awesome! First you climb and climb and climb up a grassy forestry road breathing like a whipped horse(1300' to 2040') for the first 1 3/4 miles, then it flattens off but the trail gradually bottlenecks from the forestry road to a singletrack trail littered with rocks and roots! Something that any true mountain biker likes!! Suddenly I found myself railing on the edge of being out of control down the twisting narrow decent to the bottom. Wow was that a goldmine of a trail and almost overlooked by me had it not been for the Park Staffs invitation.
All in all I really enjoyed my day in the outdoors of PA and I would highly suggest that others take some time to visit a state park and make sure you talk with the locals and staff. They really know their areas. In fact I got the opportunity to meet Greg Sassaman who is the Assistant Regional Manager for Parks Region #1 and in that conversation I learned of PA being in the small group of remaining states that do not charge for entry into state parks. His knowledge of the forestry area surrounding the park was impressive and he took the time to explain some of the places I could explore on my next trip. He even admitted to "mountain biking" himself, saying he and his wife ride the Crooked Run Rd on occasion.
You do not need to be an elite mountain biker to handle these trails/forestry roads. The morning loop I rode took me less than 3 hours with several stops to look around. Any level of bike rider could manage although it does have climbing. A State Park such as Sizerville offers many things for mountain bikers. With 23 camping sites, Emporium close by and the Elk State Forest this place would be a perfect location for a weekend of training or recreational riding right from the park.
Take some time and look at the information that can be found all over the web for example:
Pennsylvania Wilds is two million acres of public lands for hiking, biking, fishing, boating, hunting and exploration in northcentral Pennsylvania. Within the twelve-county region are; 27 state parks, eight state forest districts (1.3 million acres), 50 state game lands and Allegheny National Forest (500,000 acres). Highlights of the area are; elk watching, scenic Pennsylvania Route 6, Pine Creek Gorge (PA Grand Canyon), the darkest skies in the east at Cherry Springs State Park, and hundreds of miles of backpacking trails, bike paths and trout fishing streams. Go to VisitPA.com Pennsylvania Wilds
Sizerville State Park 199 E Cowley Run RoadEmporium, PA 15834-9608 Phone:814-486-5605 Manager: Jeremy Rekich E-mail: sizervillesp@state.pa.us
I would like to thank Our Parks System (DCNR), Greg Sassaman, Jeremy Rekich, the Bureau of Forestry, and mother nature all for hosting & contributing to my day.
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