State College, PA is a beautiful city located about an hour and 45 minutes northwest of the Appalachian Trail. It is the home of Penn State University and many beautiful parks and walking trails. Because State College is in the Appalachian Mountains, there are too many hiking trails to list in a blog. The below-named trailheads are ones that are closest to Penn State University.
- Jackson Trail – Rocky with very little change in elevation. Easy hike. Trailhead is located on Jackson Trail off of McAlevys Fort Rd / Hwy 26 southwest of State College.
- Mount Nittany – Rocky, steep trail up to the Mount Nittany Nature Preserve. Not an easy hike. Trailhead is on Mt Nittany Rd off of Pike Street, northwest of State College.
- The Arboretum – $1 parking fee. An Easy loop hike in the Arboretum grounds on the Northwest boundary of State College.
- Musser Gap – Not an easy hike. Steep sections. Connects to other trails. Trailhead on Hwy 45 / Shingletown Rd south of State College.
- Benner Springs Trail – Creekside, easy hike about a mile long. Not a loop. Located off Rock Road, Bellefonte, PA. Northwest of State College.
Again, because of the abundance of trails in the State College area, this is a very short list of trails that are easy to get to from Penn State.
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