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Section 4 - PA Rt. 309 to Port Clinton Displayed from North to South

Maintained by:
  Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club http://www.bmecc.org info @ bmecc.org Ashfield Gap to Bake Oven Knob Road and Tri-County Corner to Rausch Gap Shelter
  Allentown Hiking Club http://www.allentownhikingclub.org/ allentownhikingclub.info @ gmail.com Bake Oven Knob Rd to Tri-County Corner

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Mile
Marker
 
Hiker Rated
Parking Safety
Directions Comments Number of Vehicles  Map   &  
 Weather  
Source
0.0
Route 309: Restaurant Lot
   Poor           Great




On Rt 309 south of Tamaqua and north of Allentown the AT crosses Rt. 309. GPS N40.42.413 W75.48.516
At the crest of the mountain on 309 there is parking at the restaurant which is across the street from the game land parking. This parking is just north of the trail. Going south on the trail the hiking is fairly easy on a dirt road until you get to the Allentown shelter when it becomes rocky. There are no views 309 to Dresher Rd. The hiking is fairly easy from 309 to Blue Mountain House Rd. The trail becomes rocky beyond the Allentown shelter to the blue blaze to Dresher Rd..
20
  1

  1

at @ rohland.org
If coming from the east on I-78: Take Exit 49B and go north on PA 100. In about 9 miles this ends at PA 309. Go left on PA 309 7.5 miles to the top of the ridge. The restaurant parking lot is on the left.


If coming from west on I-78: Take Exit 35 and go north on PA 143. Near Wanamakerss this turns to the east. At 11.4 miles from I-78, go left (north) on Gun Club Road. In 2.5 miles this ends at PA 309. Go left (actually more or less straight ahead) onto PA 309. The restaurant is on the left in about 0.6 miles.


Click on the camera icon by B on the attached map and rotate to the southwest to see the restaurant parking area. AT hikers should park at the east end of the lot, the closest section visible in the view. Rotate the view to the south to see (barely) the southbound trail to Section 4. It goes south down some wood steps just to the left and behind the telephone pole.
Click on the camera icon by A and rotate the street view to the northeast to see the northbound trail to Section 3. The trail follows the road between A and B. 02/26/10

  1

 

David Cullen
0.0
Route 309: Game Land Lot
   Poor           Great




GPS location: 40.70790652447797, -75.8076945984358 (located right off heavily trafficked Route 309) Careful, the short dirt access road comes on you quickly, and the lot is hardly visible due to the tree foliage (when the leaves are down you can catch a glimpse of it). The perfect landmark is the Thunderhead Lodge (coming West on 309 the Lodge is just before the left turn onto the access road, coming East on 309, the lodge is just past your right turn onto the access road). The short path to the AT is across the dirt access road from the opening to the parking lot. NOBO stay to the left, SOBO stay to the right and cross Route 309. 03/31/21 20
  1

  1

WardandDA @ gmail.com
2.2
Fort Franklin Rd. /Blue Mountain House Rd.
   Poor           Great




GPS Parking Lot 40.6943, -75.8419 (our Garmin took us directly to parking lot)

Access available from either side of the mountain via Rte 748 or Rte 309.
This is an actual parking lot that holds at least 10 cars. Our GPS took us directly to the parking lot accessing via Rte 748 (however Fort Franklin/Blue Mountain House Road, which is gravel, goes down both sides of the mountain so you can also access via Rte 309 side too). Basically, the trail crossing seems to be the dividing line of the name of the road as Fort Franklin Road/Blue Mountain House Road. The Blue Mountain House Road side gravel road was in very good shape on our April 2022 visit (did not go down the Fort Franklin side).

The trail passes right through the parking lot (blazes are easy to spot). SOBO begins at far end of lot. NOBO crosses the road and heads into the woods. 05/04/22
10 or more
  1

  1

WardandDA @ gmail.com
11.5
Hawk Mountain Road/Trail Crossing
   Poor           Great




GPS: 40.63407263960175, -75.96068786786854 Using the GPS coordinates, the entire way was paved.

Pre-2021 (historical info that may be outdated) coming from the east on I-78. Take Exit 35 off I-78 and go north on PA 143 about 4 miles. Turn left on Hawk Mountain Road and go 5.3 miles to the trail crossing. This is about 0.5 miles east of the Hawk Mountains Visitor Center. A slightly shorter route is available if coming from I-78 from the west, but this is too complex to summarize here. In the past Hawk Mt. Sanctuary a short way (0.5 miles) up the hill has allowed parking in their lot. FYI this area is used for access to Dans Pulpit too and other popular trails, so it can get crowded.
There is a large AT sign indicating NOBO and SOBO directions where the AT crosses Hawk Mountain Road. You can pull off to the side of the road in multiple places near the trail crossing. I am not sure I would park here overnight mainly because even though you are pulled off the road, you are still rather near this well trafficked road. 03/31/21 (re-validated April 2022) 8 or more in various pull-offs
  1

  1

WardandDA @ gmail.com
12.4
Eckville Game Lands Parking Lot
   Poor           Great




From Hawk Mountain Sanctuary on Hawk Mountain Road, travel south on Hawk Mountain Road. The AT crosses approximately 1.5 miles from the Visitor Center. About 1/2 mile further you can turn right on Pine Swamp Road. Take Pine Swamp Road for about 1/2 mile and turn right into the State Game Lands Parking lot. This lot is much larger and safer to leave your car while hiking than on Hawk Mountain Road which has a lot of traffic. The lot is about 0.4 miles from the AT on a blue blaze trail (actually a service road). I just want to note that Pine Swamp Road is a very narrow (almost one lane) road. It is about a 5 mile hike to the Pinnacle from this point. 10/12/06 20-30
  1

 

at @ rohland.org
N 40º37.538 W075º57.216 South of Hawk Mt. Rd, SGL 106, near Eckville
  1

  1

H2oboyhike @ aol.com
If coming from the east on I-78. take Exit 35 off I-78 and go north on PA 143 about 4 miles. Turn left on Hawk Mountain Road and go 4.9 miles, then turn left onto Pine Swamp Road. In 0.5 miles, go right to the parking area .

The map attached here shows the trail route from the parking area (Marker A) to the AT (Marker B). This blue-blazed trail, an old route of the AT, follows a forest road for 0.4 miles to the AT. The northbound At goes right on a foot trail. The southbound trail goes straight ahead on the road. 02/25/10
  1

 

David Cullen
I have not been on this site for a while. I know from personal experience not to park overnight at the Eckville Game Lands Lot. I lost over 1000.00 dollars of equiptment back in 1989 parking there. Then about ten years ago I met some people there for a trip, but made everyone move their cars out to Hawk Mountain Rd. The next day we ran into peolple telling us about vandalism in the lot. Someone had used some kind of heavy equiptment to plow several cars into the woods, totally destroying at least 5 cars. Every time I am in the area I check this lot I always see fresh window glass on the ground. I would never park in this lot overnight. 08/06/10
 

 

bpmunley @ mccormicktaylor.com
Parked here for 6 days in Oct of 2020. No issues 12/01/20
 

 

sbaxtergreen @ yahoo.com
17.2
Blue Rocks Campground/ Yellow Trail
   Poor           Great




See next listing (Mile 19.5) for more information about Blue Rocks Campground and the trail system there. The yelllow-blazed trail leads 1.5 miles to meet the AT 0.4 miles trail south of the Pinnacle. The green arrow on the attached map indicates the approximate location of the trailhead. This was deermined from the map supplied at http://www.everytrail.com/fullscreen_php?trip_id=29481. The upper portion of the Yellow Trail is very steep. Coordinates at the AT are 40.60850 -75.9176. At this intersection the northbound trail goes right (east), while the southbound goes left (west). 02/24/10
  1

  1

David Cullen
19.5
Blue Rocks Campground/ Blue Trail
   Poor           Great




From I-78(Exit 35) take Rt 143 north. Turn left on Mountain Rd. immediately turn right on Sousely Rd. Campground is about 1/2 mile on left. The green arrow on the map attached here indicates the entrance to the campground. GPS N40.59037 W75.90983 From Blue Rocks Campground in Lenhartsville, you may register your car for $3 and climb a blue blazed trail to Pulpit rocks or a yellow blazed trail to Pinnacle. Both trails climb up the mountain. See previous listing for info about the Yellow Trail. The Blue Trail is about 1 mile long and intersects the AT at coordinates 40.59171 -75.92782. The northbound trail is to the right, the southbound trail is to the left. Pupit Rock is 0.5 miles on the northbound trail. A VERY approximate map of the campground and trails can be found at http://www.bluerockscampground.com/SiteMap.html . 10 - 20 depending on number of spots taken by campers.
  1

 

at @ rohland.org
The map attached here indicates the approximate location for the trail head for the Blue Trail. This was determined from the campground map. 03/23/10
  1

  1

David Cullen
20.8
Hamburg
   Poor           Great




IMPORTANT UPDATE: Overnight parking is now (8/11/2020) PROHIBITED. The Borough of Hamburg also instituted hours for this lot. At the time of this note, they are May through September 6am to 8pm, October through April 7am to 5pm 08/11/20 more than 20
 

 

justinalangston @ gmail.com
GPS: N40.5831951, W75.9418833...exiting from I78 the entire way was paved except for about .5 miles to the parking on Reservoir Road. That packed gravel road was in excellent shape.
The Hamburg Watershed Lands have very strict policies for parking on their lands both during the daytime and overnight hours. When allowed, overnight parking requires registration with the borough manager/secretary ahead of time at 610-562-7821 Monday through Friday between the 8AM and 5 PM. Visit website www.hamburgboro.com All violators will be cited.

This is a popular lot as it is also the trailhead for dayhikes to Pulpit Rock and The Pinnacle. That being said, On the day we parked, a beautiful weekend fall day, the lot was full and there were cars pulled off and parked along BOTH sides of Reservoir Road all the way back to the intersections with Mountain Road. We saw no tickets on any windshields. So the potential for abundant parking opportunities is there. You will walk up to the gated portion of Reservoir Road and continue for about .3-.5 miles to access the AT. Although blue blazed, I found there were not many of the said blue blazes, though there was no confusion. When you arrive at AT NOBO goes right (east) while SOBO goes left (west). 10/25/20
20
  1

  1

WardandDA @ gmail.com
25.9
Route 61 and Blue Mountain Rd.
   Poor           Great




Pick Up/Drop Off ONLY

GPS: 40.5744831,-76.0200137

Exiting from I-78 the entire way was paved
Just visited this access point after many years and it appears there is now no parking allowed on Blue Mountain Road. Large rocks have been placed on the shoulder and there are NO PARKING signs prominently displayed. I can’t say for certain that I would have been towed from the very limited space available, but it seemed pretty clear that they did not want to encourage parking in that location. 11/01/20 May 2023 update by DA Thomas: Per this post, I have passed this way multiple times over the last two years. Often there is one car that has decided to park in the limited space. I do not know if people are ticketed, but it is clear they want to discourage people from parking here. The PA 61 hiker lot is only .5 miles away (MM 26.4) 1
  1

  1

dkoma @ verizon.net
26.4
Port Clinton (Route 61)
   Poor           Great




Parking: 40.578505, -76.024088

Note: turn into parking lot only available going PA 61 South (so turn around in Port Clinton if driving North)

Trail Access: STEEP stone steps lead from NW corner of parking area to meet the AT. SOBO turns right and heads into Port Clinton / NOBO takes a quick jaunt to the right and an almost immediate left to head towards the river.
It should be made clear that a.) the direct route from this parking site to the trail involves a very steep set of stairs, some of which are a foot or more high (my wife and I were distressed to find this out after completing a three-day hike in extremely hot weather), and b.) the steps can get overgrown, and from a distance, they just look like rocks in the hill, so make sure to look straight at the embankment from the double blue blazes to find the trail. 11/21/08 (revalidated May 2023) 10 in lot and more along side of road
  1

  1

davidperry1980 @ comcast.net
26.7
Port Clinton (Railroad Bridge)
   Poor           Great




AT access at railroad tracks: 40.577464, -76.026111

NO PARKING at coordinates (Drop-off in town). You may be able to find in-town parking for day hike use.

Port Clinton is located off I-78. Take the PA 61N exit. For overnight parking use hiker lot on PA 61 parking (section 4 / MM 26.4)
Provided coordinates marks where AT Enters/Exits the woods at the train tracks. Map shows approximate path of AT through town. You can also see where the AT hiker lot is located on PA 61.

SOBO enters the woods and begins a VERY steep climb along a rocky section. NOBO crosses railroad tracks and heads into town.

Due to increasing rail operations, the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad is no longer able to accommodate hiker parking or drop-off on their property, either at the station/office off Broad Street or near the ball field on South Street. Hikers are still welcome to cross their property while following the A.T., however are requested to use the lot on PA 61 or where legal in town. Hikers should note there are no public facilities at the railroad station/office. 08/03/20 (revalidated May 2023 by DA Thomas)
0
  1

  1

bsickley @ appalachiantrail.org

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