Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Pennsylvania / Allegheny National Forest

Hickory Creek Trail (Hickory Creek Wilderness)

Hickory Creek Wilderness, Allegheny National Forest (Bradford Ranger District)

The Hickory Creek Wilderness covers 8,663 acres of the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County. Created in 1984, it is one of only two designated wilderness areas in the forest, according to Wikipedia. Backpacker notes that the other is a collection of tiny river islands and calls Hickory Creek “the only designated wilderness in Pennsylvania with trails.”

Its one maintained trail is a loop on the high ground between the East and Middle forks of Hickory Creek, promoted as an overnight for beginning backpackers.

The hike

The trailhead is on Hearts Content Road, just north of the driveway to the Hearts Content Scenic Area lot. Wikipedia describes a 0.5-mile entrance trail west to the loop, hiked clockwise. It crosses a Hickory Creek tributary at 1.5 miles and Coon Run at 3.8, then follows an old railroad grade beside Jacks Run. Near 7.8 miles it crosses a saddle with views over the East Hickory Creek valley, then rejoins the entrance trail at 11.1 miles for a total of 11.6. Backpacker’s 2017 guide gives a longer approach and a 12.8-mile total, and suggests going clockwise for a longer first day.

The terrain is rolling, between about 1,460 and 1,900 feet, according to Hiking Project. Backpacker describes eastern hemlocks up to 60 feet tall and a stream-side stretch before the Jacks Run meadow at mile 7.1, then sparser forest and sandstone formations on the way back. Its 1999 story recommends the camping “beneath stout hemlocks” along the meadows of Coon Run and sums up the place: “Slow is natural for the state’s only designated wilderness area.”

Navigation is the main challenge. The trail is kept primitive under federal wilderness rules, with only occasional blazes, Wikipedia says, and Hiking Project reports infrequent, faded yellow or white blazes, encroaching brush, and many fallen trees. Backpacker says to bring a map and compass. Dark Skies Fly Fishing, writing in 2021, warns that cell reception is poor or nonexistent: “Do not rely on your cell phone.”

The wilderness has history underfoot. Wikipedia says the loop crosses an old World War I artillery range where cannons were tested, and unofficial trails along the creeks follow old railroad grades, some made impassable by a 1985 tornado. Both forks hold small native brook trout. Hunters use the area heavily in late fall and spring, Hiking Project notes.

For a shorter Allegheny overnight with a campground at the trailhead, see the Minister Creek Trail. The North Country Trail also runs through this part of the forest; see Route 59 to Red Bridge.

Tips

Camping

No permit is required, according to Backpacker (2017) and Dark Skies Fly Fishing. The forest-wide stay limit is 14 days in any 30-day period (Order 09-19-17-01), and camping and fires are banned in the Hearts Content Scenic Area next to the trailhead (Order 09-19-17-13). No wilderness group-size limit was found on an official page.

Hikers report plenty of sites. One Hiking Project user counted at least six campsites between miles 5 and 8, and another camped near Jacks Run. Dark Skies Fly Fishing notes the loop crosses several creeks with places to camp.

Inside Intel: Backpacker’s 2017 guide recommends the small meadow at Jacks Run, at mile 7.1, with room for a tent, two trees for a hammock, black-eyed Susans in summer, and reliable water in the brook just north.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Hot coffee under the hemlocks:

The Jacks Run meadow sits halfway around a loop with no services, just brook water to boil. See the camp stoves testers rate.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.