Tobecco Trail, Cook Forest
Jun 8, 2020 19:04:26 GMT -5
Post by anfhiker on Jun 8, 2020 19:04:26 GMT -5
On Saturday, June 6, I had a chance to hike a trail that I had first noticed on a map only a few weeks ago. The Tobecco Trail was news to me, as it runs on the south side of the Clarion River from Cook Forest to Clear Creek State Parks (via the Tadler Run Trail). I ran into some trail maintainers in Cook Forest who told me that it had been maintained last year and should be open for hiking. I set aside the day to hike from Cook Forest to Rt 899 at Clarington and then back. The trail does continue up Rt 36 and to the east further, where it intersects the Tadler Run Trail. My hike was about 7.5-8 miles one way, so it's probably 11 or so miles all the way to Clear Creek.
I began in the parking lot of the Gateway Lodge, where I talked to someone at the desk who told me to park in the guest lot and walk around the building (the Rt 36 side) to where the trail began. It was a pleasant morning, with some humidity in the air, but not too hot. It was to reach a high in the upper 70s. The trail begins up a short old grade that parallels Rt 36 before turning left and hitting the edge of the hill. It then makes a drop through a cool hemlock forest via switchbacks to the Clarion, where it spends the next several miles dodging around rhododendron, pine forests and some small riverside meadows. I walked up a short, steep grade onto a ridge that was sometimes a canyon of rhododendron that is sure to be beautiful come July. The trail crosses a small stream here, gets back onto a level away from the river with more rhododendron, then crosses an unnamed tributary of the Clarion River (where I spotted a doe and her fawn on the way out, and a brook trout on my return trip) before turning onto an old dug road headed up the gradient. It was here that, on my hike, I ran into a couple from the Warren, Ohio area. I talked to them for a while about the trail (they had just found out about it in the weeks before as well), repped the PA Wilds Trail, and then we parted.
The trail reaches the top of the hill near an open right of way, where I saw the first bloomed mountain laurel of the year (just one plant), and the trail turns and crosses the plateau for a while, before turning left on another right of way and dropping down a dry creek bed that would have some cascades if it was right after a rain. The trail then follows an old grade down to the Clarion again and passes and old foundation and a small stream. Another mile of walking along near the river ensues, and you pass a gas well and some interesting fern/hemlock habitat. The Tobecco Trail then moves up onto another old trail away from the river and generally rolls up and down, with pleasant walking, until you reach Rt 899. I do know the trail continues up the road and toward Clear Creek State Park, but since I had to walk back and 16 miles was my aim, I decided to eat a snack and turn around.
The Clarion was crazy crowded with canoes, kayaks and tubes the day I stopped by. That and the traffic noise from River Road which also parallels the Clarion on the other side of the river were about the only down sides. I would imagine in the fall or spring, or a weekday wouldn't be so bad. This is a very nice hike that is worth a visit. It's relatively well marked, and quite well used closer to the Cooksburg end, and isn't terribly difficult with the biggest climb only around 300 feet.
I began in the parking lot of the Gateway Lodge, where I talked to someone at the desk who told me to park in the guest lot and walk around the building (the Rt 36 side) to where the trail began. It was a pleasant morning, with some humidity in the air, but not too hot. It was to reach a high in the upper 70s. The trail begins up a short old grade that parallels Rt 36 before turning left and hitting the edge of the hill. It then makes a drop through a cool hemlock forest via switchbacks to the Clarion, where it spends the next several miles dodging around rhododendron, pine forests and some small riverside meadows. I walked up a short, steep grade onto a ridge that was sometimes a canyon of rhododendron that is sure to be beautiful come July. The trail crosses a small stream here, gets back onto a level away from the river with more rhododendron, then crosses an unnamed tributary of the Clarion River (where I spotted a doe and her fawn on the way out, and a brook trout on my return trip) before turning onto an old dug road headed up the gradient. It was here that, on my hike, I ran into a couple from the Warren, Ohio area. I talked to them for a while about the trail (they had just found out about it in the weeks before as well), repped the PA Wilds Trail, and then we parted.
The trail reaches the top of the hill near an open right of way, where I saw the first bloomed mountain laurel of the year (just one plant), and the trail turns and crosses the plateau for a while, before turning left on another right of way and dropping down a dry creek bed that would have some cascades if it was right after a rain. The trail then follows an old grade down to the Clarion again and passes and old foundation and a small stream. Another mile of walking along near the river ensues, and you pass a gas well and some interesting fern/hemlock habitat. The Tobecco Trail then moves up onto another old trail away from the river and generally rolls up and down, with pleasant walking, until you reach Rt 899. I do know the trail continues up the road and toward Clear Creek State Park, but since I had to walk back and 16 miles was my aim, I decided to eat a snack and turn around.
The Clarion was crazy crowded with canoes, kayaks and tubes the day I stopped by. That and the traffic noise from River Road which also parallels the Clarion on the other side of the river were about the only down sides. I would imagine in the fall or spring, or a weekday wouldn't be so bad. This is a very nice hike that is worth a visit. It's relatively well marked, and quite well used closer to the Cooksburg end, and isn't terribly difficult with the biggest climb only around 300 feet.