Outdoor Fun at raystown.org

Our most recent addition to the trails in Huntingdon County are the Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake Recreation Area. Named after the ridge on the west side of Raystown Lake, the Allegrippis Trails are 32 miles of stacked-loop trails for use by mountain bikers, hikers, and cross-country skiers. The trails were built by the International Mountain Bicycling Association through a unique partnership headed by the non-profit Friends of Raystown Lake. The Allegrippis Trails will be officially open in May, 2009.

Nearly a quarter of all of the land in Huntingdon County is publicly owned and accessible. Over 139,000 acres of land in Rothrock and Tuscarora State Forests; Canoe Creek, Greenwood Furnace, Penn-Roosevelt, Trough Creek, Warrior’s Path, and Whipple Dam State Parks; State Game Lands; Federal Recreation Areas; Penn State University’s Stone Valley Experimental Forest and Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center; and community parks, is available year-round for all sorts of Alleghenies Adventures.

The Raystown Lake Region is the best place in Pennsylvania to experience the “indoor outdoors.” “What is the indoor outdoors?” you may ask. Huntingdon County is home to Pennsylvania’s largest concentration of caves and caverns with over 150 known karst sites. The Raystown Lake Region plays host to one-third of all of the caves in Pennsylvania.

If you are new to spelunking, we recommend starting with one of the three commercial show caves in the region: Indian Caverns, Lincoln Caverns, or Penn’s Cave, where no special equipment is needed for guided tours. Even experienced cavers can find great points of geologic and historic interest in these caves. Other caves in the area can be found by contacting the National Speelogical Society, and its local chapter or “grotto,” the Huntingdon County Cave Hunters.

You can’t talk about the outdoors in Huntingdon County without mentioning its namesake: HUNTING! Hunting is a year-round draw to the Raystown Lake Region. Wild game that can be hunted here are whitetail deer, black bear, coyote, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, fox, ruffed grouse, duck, coot, merganser, canada goose, altlantic brant, snow goose, pheasant, dove, woodcock, snipe, rail, moorhen, gallinule, feral swine, groundhog, bobwhite quail, raccoon, opppossum, skunk, weasel, bobcat, and crow. A valid Pennsylvania Hunting License is required, and some game may require special permits from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Each game type has a specific hunting season in Pennsylvania, check www.pgc.state.pa.us for hunting regulations and seasons.