Hiking & Biking Through the Region

First things first. Grab a homestyle breakfast and coffee at Donna's Family Restaurant off Route 22 - you’ll need your energy for Raystown Lake. The massive freshwater lake is the largest within Pennsylvania with 118 miles of unspoiled shoreline for visitors to explore. Adjacent to the Raystown Lake Visitor Center is a 2-mile walk along the Greenside Pathway rubberized trail (easy on the knees!) and a half-mile walk along the Hillside Nature Trail. Later you might stroll along the 4-mile loop of the Old Logger’s Trail and look at exhibits on forest management practices or test your strength on the 26-mile Terrace Mountain Trail around the eastern length of the lake. 

Prefer mountain biking? Ride the acclaimed Allegrippis Trail System. The 36 miles of single-track trails were designed by mountain bikers and built by the International Mountain Bicycling Association. The Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake is a premier single-track mountain biking trail system offering a fun, flowy bucket list of trails for all skill levels. 

After a lunch in downtown Huntingdon at one of nearly a dozen restaurants in a 6-block area, head for the massive flagpole overlooking the town for a hike or mountain bike ride on the Flagpole Hill Trail system that connects to Juniata College's Elizabeth Baker-Evans Peace Chapel. The Peace Chapel is an open-air stone circle designed by world renowned architect Maya Linn for meditation and finding harmony with the natural surroundings.

Now relish some afternoon relaxation at Juniata Riverside Retreats in Huntingdon, where nature meets downtown convenience. These two apartment Airbnbs are nestled between two parks overlooking the Juniata River and are walking distance to all the downtown restaurants and shops. Fishermen and kayakers love the close access to the river. Tubes for the river and fishing gear are provided for use by guests. There is also free and plentiful boat parking onsite.

Wet your whistle at the nearby Village Tavern Bar & Grill, with sandwiches, homemade soups, pizza, salads, wings and more. Free pool Sundays!

Keep the good times flowing with a nightcap at nearby Juniata Brewing Company. JBC is featured in the Alleghenies Tasting Trail, so don’t forget to get your free mobile pass, and check in to earn points to unlock themed prizes! 

Ready for something a little more hard core? Two of Pennsylvania's "Trails of the Year" have significant distance along Huntingdon County's ridges and valleys. The 80+ mile Standing Stone Trail connects Cowans Gap State Park in the south to Greenwood Furnace State Park and the Rothrock State Forest in the north. The most popular segment of the SST is the Thousand Steps between Mapleton and Mount Union. These hand-laid stone steps climb Jack's Mountain on the north rim of Jack's Narrows, one of PA's deepest gorges. The steps themselves were first established by quarry workers in the 1930s as their daily commute to work from the communities along the Juniata River up to the ganister rock quarries at the top of the ridge. The SST was awarded PA's Trail of the Year status in 2016.  

Near the Thousand Steps at Jack’s Narrows is the deepest gorge in Pennsylvania. This area offers renowned paddling, hiking and history, all within a 3-mile stretch! In 2018, two new community-owned river access projects opened convenient public launch areas to this historic portion of the Juniata River in Huntingdon County. These two launches bookend the gorge. The peaks of Jack’s Mountain on the south side of the gorge is just over 2,120 feet in elevation, and 2.9 miles away on the north of the gorge is just over 2,320 feet. The river surface of the Juniata River drops from 566 feet above sea level at Mapleton to 545 feet above sea level 3.3 miles downstream at Mount Union. That makes the gorge nearly 1/3-mile deep! The launches provide access for paddlesports, fishing and leisurely inner-tube floating. This stretch of the Juniata River is gentle and easily navigated by paddlers of all experience levels. 

Wrap up your paddling excursion at Bricktown Kickn' Chicken! Serving delicious,  chicken and classic comfort sides Bricktown Kick’n Chicken delivers mouthwatering bites that keep locals and visitors coming back for more!

The 2019 Trail of the Year is the Mid-State Trail, which snakes a path the entire breadth of Pennsylvania from the Maryland line to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. This ambitious backpacking trail traverses about 50-miles through Huntingdon County mostly following the ridge of Tussey Mountain until it intersects with the aforementioned Standing Stone Trail in the lush Rothrock State Forest before continuing northeast through Centre County.