PA Grand in a larger map
Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon: East Rim
Leonard Harrison State Park
Turkey Path (east) and Overlook Trail
Round-trip distance: 2.6 miles
Elevation gain: 850 feet
The entrance to Leonard Harrison State Park includes an overlook with beautiful views of Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon. The Turkey Path starts here and winds steeply down the slopes of Little Fourmile Creek Canyon, all the way to the Pine Creek Trail, a gravel road along Pine Creek at the base of the main canyon. Though steep, the trail is very walk-able, well-maintained and popular, and includes wooden walks and staircases on some of the steeper sections. There are some waterfalls along the creek and the path allows good views of them, though on this particular day there was hardly any water so the waterfalls were unimpressive.
Along the trail
We probably missed the peak of tree color by a couple of weeks, but some of the leaves were beginning to change. Our dog Hunter practically dragged us down the mountainside; he probably would have slid the whole way down the slopes had we not leashed him! The walk up was much easier from that perspective, though it provided a hefty 25-minute workout with 800 feet of elevation gain in one mile.
Views
The 0.6-mile Overlook Trail was much easier--a simple loop trail to "Otter View." From here we had a good view southward into the canyon. With that we had effectively hiked all the main trails of the small Leonard Harrison State Park