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Happy Valley Vista
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| Why this hike? |
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| What you'll need |
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| Total Time |
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This hike is on Tussey Ridge, about a 20 minute drive from downtown State College, PA.
I like it because you get all the advantages of ridge hiking without having to climb the mountain. It's also an excellent first hike in this area. The only trouble, in my opinion, is that you'll bump into quite a few people up here. If you venture past the roman tower, though, you're likely to find more bears than people :-)
From State College, start out by taking route 322 business (Atherton Street) west to Boalsburg, about 5 miles.
Continue through Boalsburg, staying on Rt 322 business, which merges with Rt 322. About 3 1/2 miles west and you'll see signs for Tussey Ski Resort and Bear Meadows Road. Take this right and continue into the state forest, about a mile.
The first right in state forest area is Laurel Run Road. This road looks scary the first few times you drive it, but it's really not that bad. Just take it slow, and honk when you get to the blind curves. Remember, the worst that can happen by driving off the road is that you'll get stuck in the trees!
Continue up Laurel Run Road to the top, where you'll see a gated jeep road. This is actually Shingletown Fire Road, which used to be traversable until vandals made gates necessary. That's ok, because it makes for a nice start to the hike.
From the intersection of Bear Meadows Road and 322, it's about 4 3/4 miles to the top of the ridge. Total time from State College is about 30 minutes to this point.
You will be hiking a section of the Mid State Trail North to South, and if you have a trail guide, you'll find this in section 2, map 203 of the 1995 edition. The 1995 edition is getting a bit dated, so if you plan on exploring the MST, do your homework. It's easy to follow, but there are changes from the guide, as with any trail. This is an easy hike by anybody's definition.
You'll be hiking on the Eastern side of the road (the side with the gate) and start out on a relatively grassy road.
Watch for the double orange blaze on your right as you walk up Shingletown Road. The path is clearly marked, but if you're distracted, you could miss it. If you find yourself going downhill, stop and turn around.
From here on, follow the orange blazes. The trail is very well marked, and you'll pass a dry (meaning there is no water source) campsite and signs for the Sand Spring Trail, which leads down Tussey Ridge to the Shingletown Gap area. Shingletown gap used to be a nice place to hike, but it is so overrun with people, bikes and dogs that it has become more of an annoyance than a place to relax. If you really want to get some exercise, though, you can climb up from there and it's not a bad hike once you start up the mountain.
Past the Sand Spring Trail, the path gets a bit rocky, and you may have to look around a bit for the blazes over the rock fields. Don't panic, the ridge is only a few hundred feet wide here, so just remember that the trail tends toward the northern edge, and you'll pick it up soon enough.
After about a half hour, you'll see signs for the 1-2 link trail, which is an interesting side route if you're spending a day up here. For this hike, though, you'll stay to the ridge.
Just past the 1-2 link signage is the Happy Valley Vista. This is a breathtaking view of the Happy Valley. Most of the urban development is hidden behind Bald Knob, a hill to the north of Tussey Ridge. Its a nice hike in its own right, but you'll not find it on many maps.
If you're short in time, or you're already tired, stop here and head back the way you came. If you've got more time and you're up for a little more exercise, then continue on to the Roman tower.
The trail up to now has stuck to the ridge, but here it descends the southern side for a bit. I haven't bushwhacked to the ridge from there, but it does look like a fairly rough knife edge on the top.
After a kilometer or so, you'll reach the Roman Tower. Follow the signs and you can't miss it.
I'm not sure who built this tower, but it is a nice piece of work, and obviously took a bit of time to construct. Personally, I would rather have chopped down a few trees, but then again, I'm not a hyper-ecologically minded maniac like many in the hiking community. I suspect the tower was the work of either the Penn State Outing club or one of the hiking associations in the area, like the Mid State Trail Association, Keystone Trail Association or the Ridge and Valley Outing Club. If I ever find out, I'll put the answer here. My best guess is the Tom Thwaites had something to do with it. Tom Thwaites is a retired PSU professor and father of the Mid State Trail. Every hiker that uses the MST should tip their hat to his many years of dedicated work.
If you are looking for something a bit more interesting and challenging, you can continue this trail for the next 8 miles or so, and you'll come out at the Jo Hays vista on PA route 26 near Pine Grove Mills. I've taken the hike, and it takes about a full summer's day. I stuck to the ridge top and used the Jackson Trail (see my description) instead of the MST, which descends Tussey Ridge in order to get water. There are some exceptional views past the Roman Tower, and a very nice raptor lookout.
Since you can pack in all the water you need, I would stick to the ridge--there's really nothing much to see down the valley, and the terrain is extremely rocky. If you are not a 'vista person' and you want to see what's in this valley, there is a better route to take starting from the Jo Hays vista and ending in Stone Valley Recreation Area. See my hike from August 20th, 2000 for that hike.
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