| West Rim Trail | |
|---|---|
 Pine Creek Gorge looking south from a West Rim Trail vista | |
| Length | 30.5 mi (49.1 km) |
| Location | Lycoming and Tioga Counties, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Trailheads | North: Colton Road, 0.5 mile south of U.S. Route 6, near Ansonia South: Pennsylvania Route 414, 1.8 miles south of Blackwell |
| Use | Hiking |
| Elevation change | Moderate |
| Highest point | 2,080 feet (630 m) |
| Lowest point | 850 feet (260 m) |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Season | Year-round |
| Hazards | Uneven and wet terrain, rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, ticks, black bears |
The West Rim Trail is a 30.5 mi (49.1 km) linear hiking trail in Lycoming and Tioga Counties in north central Pennsylvania.[1] The trail mostly follows the edge of Pine Creek Gorge, also known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, which is up to 1,000 feet (300 m) deep and about 2,000 feet (610 m) wide from rim to rim in the area traversed by the trail.[2] The trail is entirely within Tioga State Forest and is known for its large number of vistas overlooking the gorge, which is a National Natural Landmark and one of the deepest gorges in the eastern United States.[3]
The West Rim Trail follows several old logging railroad grades, which remain from the late 1800s when Pine Creek Gorge and its surrounding plateau areas were almost completely clear-cut.[4] The trail also visits several significant side gorges and small waterfalls that were formed by differential erosion as glaciers melted at the end of the last ice age, plus occasional stretches on top of the Allegheny Plateau, which itself was cut by Pine Creek Gorge.[5][6] The West Rim Trail was chosen by Outside magazine as its "Best Hike in Pennsylvania" in 1996.[7]
- ^ "West Rim Trail". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ "Tioga State Forest Wild and Natural Areas". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
- ^ Mitchell, Jeff (2005). Backpacking Pennsylvania: 37 Great Hikes. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. p. 134. ISBN 0811731804.
- ^ Owlett, Steven E. (1993). Seasons Along The Tiadaghton: An Environmental History of the Pine Creek Gorge (1st ed.). Petaluma, California: Interprint. ISBN 0-9635905-0-2.
- ^ Cramer, Ben, ed. (2008). Pennsylvania Hiking Trails (13th ed.). Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. p. 178-179. ISBN 9780811734776.
- ^ Thwaites, Tom (2001). 50 Hikes in Central Pennsylvania (Fourth ed.). Woodstock, Vermont: Backcountry Publications. p. 158. ISBN 088150372X.
- ^ "The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania". Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved March 31, 2008.