Little Pine State Park is a beautiful place to camp and explore. The park serves as a great base to experience the Pine Creek Gorge region. Little Pine also features a wealth of trails, with both the Mid State and Tiadaghton Trails passing through the park. On this hike, we followed the Mid State (MST) and Panther Run Trails; it is about 5.5 miles long and has a vertical climb of 1,000 feet. This hike featured narrow ridges, unique rock formations, old quarries, a view, streams, and views of the lake.
The MST is the longest in the state, stretching from Maryland to New York. The MST is also a component of the Great Eastern Trail, which goes from Alabama to New York.
We began at the large parking area on the left on the entrance road to the campground. We followed the MST to the right and crossed Little Pine Creek Road. The MST switchbacked up the slope, although the climb wasn’t terribly steep. Along the way we passed some old quarries. Once we reached the ridge, the climb eased and we were treated to some unique rock formations. As we hiked through this section, a strong thunderstorm hit and we retreated under one of the rocks for shelter. Lightning and thunder blasted all around us. Hail even began to fall through the torrential rains. Thankfully, the storm blew over after twenty minutes and we resumed our hike.
The trail made a gradual climb to the top of the plateau. It was a beautiful hike with pine, moss, and thickets of mountain laurel that still had some blossoms. The MST then turned right and descended into Wildcat Hollow. The descent was very steep and we had to watch for loose rock. The terrain eased and we walked along a small stream under a beautiful forest. We crossed a footbridge at a cabin; moss seemed to be everywhere. The MST turned left and followed an old grade away from the cabin, heading up another hollow as a stream tumbled off to our left. The trail then made a sharp right onto a narrow grade and made a gradual climb up to the ridge. At the top, we left the MST and turned right onto the yellow blazed Panther Run Trail.
The Panther Run Trail descended along a narrow ridge and we soon reached a nice view. We continued down on the trail, passing impressive rock outcrops and formations. The narrow ridge was beautiful with pine and moss, and we could see down both sides of the ridge. Another thunderstorm came and poured on us, but with nowhere to hide, we just kept hiking. We reached Little Pine Creek Road and crossed it. The Panther Run Trail ended at the road. We simply hiked across the mowed areas and around the picnic pavilions to get views of the lake. We followed the mowed area to the far end and hiked along the road. At the dam, where there is another place to park, we walked out to see the views of the mountains over the lake. This is a scenic view and popular with photographers. We continued down along the road to where we parked, ending our hike.
This hike is a workout, but no overly difficult. It features some beautiful scenery and is a nice introduction to the vast trail system in the Pine Creek Gorge region.
Parking is available at 41.351504, -77.355909. Pull off parking at the dam is at 41.355075, -77.356803.
Hike Pennsylvania with Jeff Mitchell 
I’ll be camping at LPSP from 6/4 through 6/6. I plan to hike this route with my seven-year-old son. We will detour, however, at Love Run and loop back to the camp ground. I figure that hike should be four miles long? Please comment.
Might be about 4.5 miles. If you and your son have the energy, I’d definitely include Panther Run Trail, it’s beautiful.
Well, I overestimated my seven-year-old’s ability to complete this loop. 91 degree heat and humidity, as well as the wicked rise starting at Mid-State Trail Section 9, beat down my son. He was gassed. Our goal was to bail out at Spike Buck. But the GPS on my smartphone was unable to pick up our tracks. I was unable to determine how close we came to it; just under a quarter mile. I do have a Garmin GPS, but it’s entry level / gray scale only and doesn’t display any topo. My son will only grow bigger and stronger in the months to come. I see us completing the 4.5 mile trek this autumn.