| Route: | State Game Lands 176 Trail Map |
| Mileage: | Various |
| Hillage: | SGL
176 has relatively tame hills compared to other wooded runs in the
area. The elevation change from the lowest point in The Barrens, near
the Shooting Range to the highest point on Gatesburg Ridge is under 300
ft. Most trails take you over rolling hills with elevation changes well
under 200 ft. |
| Description: | This
map is not for a single run, but is meant as a guide for you to start
exploring the Game Lands. The best thing to do if you're new at the
game is go on one of the Weekend
Group Runs
when one is schedule for the Game Lands. If you want to start exploring
on your own, park at one of the two lots and throw a little caution to
the wind. But please retain some
caution. Specifically, remember that the Game Lands are paid for by the
hunters of Pennsylvania, who can hunt there pretty much all year. Most
times of the year, there are few hunters in the woods. The gunshots you
here are probably coming from the shooting range on Range Rd. But you
should be aware of the major hunting seasons, for deer, for turkey, and
for bears. There are rules that you should familiarize yourself with.
And particularly during rifle season for deer, you should stay out of
the Game Lands, and if you go you must wear blaze orange. The
information you need to know about regulations, hunting seasons, etc,
are summarized on the NVRC web site: http://www.nvrun.com/gameland-cautions.html. The two lots shown on the map below are the easiest to access from neighborhoods near State College. The Greenbriar lot is more of a small turnout on Sleepy Hollow Rd. It's on the right at the sign for the Greenbriar development. The CIrcleville Rd lot is a small parking lot in the woods on the west side of the north-south running section of Circleville Rd, about a quarter mile south of Circleville Park. The two lots are about a mile and three-quarters apart by car and just over a mile separated by trail. Once you get to know the Game Lands a little, you'll also want to start exploring them from the many small turnouts on Range Rd. Just drive into the Game Lands from the little village of Scotia (Range Rd. runs into Scotia Rd about a quarter mile west of Scotia and Circleville Rds.) Be careful, because the first half-mile or so of Range Rd is usually quite pitted, especially in the Spring. The various turnouts each mark a Game Commission jeep road, or a trail. Here's sample beginner's exploratory run: From the Greenbriar lot, follow the trail into the woods up the hill, bearing right at the fork at the start of the trail. About 2/3 mile up the hill, the trail comes to a T. Go left. The trail soon starts to head down hill. Just after it starts to go downhill, there is a fork in the trail. If you continue downhill, you will end up at the Circleville Rd. lot, about 1.1 miles from your start. You can then turn around and go back, for a total distance of 2.2 miles. If instead you take a sharp left at the fork, you can really start exploring. From the fork, head up the hill and the trail opens up on a field. Continue on the trail as it bears left at a crabapple tree (the field hooks to the right). At this point the trail is a jeep trail. Continue on it for about a third of a mile. You will come to a point where the trail branches in three directions ("three trail intersection" on map). Going straight or to the right takes you into the woods. The trail to the right goes almost straight back to the Circleville lot, from which you can head back over the hill to Greenbriar. The center trail goes downhill through the woods to Range Rd, about 2/3 of a mile away. If you instead go the left, you will go down a broad open cut in the woods ("Broadway" on the map). If you follow this jeep trail for almost a mile, you will end up on Range Rd, a gravel road that leads from Scotia Rd, to the north east, to the Game Commission Shooting Range and beyond to the south and west. At this point you are about 2.4 miles from Greenbriar. Your first time out, you might want to just turn around and head back the way you came. Or you can go right on Range Rd. If you go right, there is a small paved road on the right that accesses some buildings about a quarter-mile or so up the road. Continue another quarter-mile to a turnout on the right. There's a trail close to the road at this turnout that heads back up the hill. In fact it's the wooded center trail at the "3 trail intersection" mentioned above. Follow this trail up the hill, then head back to Greenbriar. The distance for this route is about 5 miles. |
| Remarks: |
I've been running in the Game Lands for several years, but only recently have I set out from the familiar roads and jeep trails. For Christmas of 2007, I got a a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Runner's Watch. I decided as a project to map all the trails I knew about using the capabilities of the watch. Since Christmas 2007,I’ve filled in a good bit of the northeast quadrant. SGL 176 is huge, about 10 square miles. But this map has many of the trails that are easily accessible within two miles of the two Game Lands entrances most used by the regular Weekend Groups. TheDangers: And now a note about the dangers of the Game Lands. I've already mentioned hunters (see above). The basic idea is, for your safety, and as a courtesy to the hunters, stay out of the Game Lands during the major hunting seasons, and be curteous to hunters at other times. It's their spread. As for the animals: You are very unlikely to be harmed by an animal in the Game Lands, but be cautious. Whenever I go to the Game Lands, I see plenty of birds, chipmunks, and occasionally deer and turkeys. But there are also bears and snakes there. The bears will leave you alone if you don't startle or harrass them, or threaten a cub. You're unlikely to see a Timber Rattlers, but stay alert. Probably the most dangerous animals you'll encounter are the lowly groundhog and the even lowlier tick. Mostly the trails are free of groundhog holes, but stay alert, especially in open meadows. Ticks abound in the Game Lands. Check your body for them after a run. Finally, the trail itself can be the biggest danger of all. Trail running is fun, but challenging. Rocks, tree roots, holes, can all lead to a nasty spill. Be alert! (Did I say that already?) |
| Map: (Click on the map for a much larger zoomable view) |
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| Profile: | Various |