Broken Tip Loop Out and Back

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Can make for a challenging start but very easy to moderate hike once above the second time you hit the powerline.

I've seen some maps that show the start of this trail a little further down towards Main Street, however I think that skirts or crosses private property. So I recommend parking at the Red Roof Inn (park out front, not in the back...no one parks back there and I'd fear having someone either mess with my car or management tow the car), hike around to the back. To the left of where the dumpsters are about 20 feet you can start up. Read the Description as to how to find the trail, pretty easy.

The trailhead for this is literally behind the Red Roof Inn. It looks like it could start in someone's back yard, but I don't like going across private property if I don't know the owner. Park out front of the Red Roof and hike around the back.

To the left of the dumpsters about 20 feet is the best place I could find. You'll hike straight and notice a very old double wire fence, follow that to the left where it ends and you should be able to see the wide indent that starts the trail. This is steep, not necessarily rocky but with leaf cover, makes it tricky.

When you come to the first powerline, go straight towards the tower ahead of you, skirt to the right of it and you'll see the trail pick up again. As below, the trail is wide and deep so even with tree cover you should be able to see it. There were some yellow blazes sporadically so you could keep an eye out for those, but honestly it'd be hard to get off the trail.

It gets very steep as you approach the second powerline. You'll come up to tower #9. For a view, head to the right about 0.2 of a mile to #10 tower and you'll have a great view over towards the river valley. Coming back towards #9, the trail skirts off to the left and parallels the powerline up. It's a beautiful trail through here, again easy to follow and in good shape. This part is pretty runnable.

You'll then come to Skyline Drive. Head right and keep an eye out on the left where you can hop over to hike under the power line there (parallels the road). If you hit a gravel section on Skyline, you missed the turn to the left. It's just a turn entrance and about 20 yards off the Skyline road.

Head up and you'll run into an old grassy road running from the left to the right...this is the Broken Tip Ski Trail. You can do it in either direction...I went right and did it counter clockwise. This trail is blazed blue and easy to follow, in very good shape.

You'll come to a trail from the right that heads down the hill and meets up with Skyline Drive much further down. You can take Skyline back up to join where you came up the trail but I didn't want to hike on a road more than I had to.

Continuing the loop, you come back to the wide access road under the powerline...take that back to Skyline then to where you came up and take the route back down.

Classic Pennsylvania hardwoods.