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Outdoor Life · Hiking

Hiking in Schuylkill County

Trails across Schuylkill County — the Appalachian Trail at Port Clinton, state-park loops, rail-trails, and ridge overlooks.

Before you go. Fees, hours, and seasonal rules change — confirm the current details with the managing agency before you travel.

Places

  • Landingville Marsh Trail — Marsh loop / birding trail
    A flat loop circling the Landingville Marsh — a noted Schuylkill County birding site with a documented 211-species bird list — incorporating a developed section of the John Bartram Trail along the Schuylkill River.
  • Locust Lake State Park — State park (campground, lake & trail system)
    Schuylkill County's classic family lake campground — 282 wooded sites split into tent-only and trailer sides around a 52-acre lake with swimming, boating, fishing, and a trail system near Barnesville.
  • Owl Creek Reservoirs — Borough reservoir recreation area (two reservoirs)
    Two restored former drinking-water reservoirs at Tamaqua, managed by the borough as a catch-and-release, electric-only bass and panfish fishery with loop trails for walking and mountain biking.
  • Sweet Arrow Lake County Park — County park (lake, trails & day-use)
    A ~183-acre county park near Pine Grove around a 60-acre lake — paved lakefront paths, a waterfall walk, the natural Berger Dam Trail, disc golf, and year-round fishing stocked each spring with trout.
  • Tuscarora State Park — State park (cottages & yurts, lake & trail system)
    A lake-centered state park around 96-acre Tuscarora Lake near Barnesville — roofed camping in cottages and yurts (no drive-in campground), an electric-only fishing lake, and a 5.5-mile perimeter trail loop.
  • Appalachian Trail — Port Clinton — Long-distance trail (in-county section) · straddles the county line
    The Appalachian Trail passes through Port Clinton, a noted thru-hiker town; a steep stair-and-rock side trail climbs west from town to the Blue Mountain ridge and its overlooks.
  • Hawk Mountain Sanctuary — Private raptor sanctuary & trail system · straddles the county line
    A private Kittatinny-Ridge sanctuary famous for autumn raptor migration, with a network of rocky ridge trails and two lookouts; established in 1934 — widely recognized as the world's first refuge for birds of prey.
  • John Bartram Trail — Riverside rail/dirt trail (point-to-point) · straddles the county line
    A flat dirt riverside trail along the Schuylkill River connecting Kernsville Dam toward Port Clinton, crossing the Appalachian Trail and State Game Lands.
  • Swatara State Park — State park (rail trail & creek valley) · straddles the county line
    A linear creek-valley park between two I-81 interchanges near Pine Grove, with a 10-mile rail trail and the rolling Bear Hole Trail, combinable into a 10-mile loop via the historic Waterville Bridge.
  • Pulpit Rock — Appalachian Trail ridge overlook · serves the area (just outside the county)
    A cliff-edge Appalachian Trail overlook near Hawk Mountain, reached from the Hamburg Reservoir just over the Schuylkill County line, often combined with The Pinnacle in a ridge loop.
  • The Pinnacle — Appalachian Trail ridge overlook · serves the area (just outside the county)
    A dramatic quartzite outcrop on the Kittatinny Ridge with a sweeping Appalachian Trail panorama, reached from the Hamburg Reservoir just over the Schuylkill County line in Berks County.

More local trails

Smaller borough and township walking paths and rail-trails on the Schuylkill County trails directory. We don't yet have a verified coordinate for these, so they link out rather than carry a map pin.

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