My sister and I have this saying, “that’s not a trail that’s just a big pile of rocks” and while we thought this was an extremely apt saying while hiking along large slabs of rocks on the Vermont long trail, but it was never more appropriate than on this hike up Mt. Nittany in State College PA.
I would like to start of by saying that I normally try to stay as far away from tourist trap hike as I can. I like to go into the woods to clear my head and recharge my introvert battery. While some parts of the mountain are packed with people there are definitely some great views and some quiet places.
The first few hundred feet up the trail it branches off in two directions. If you head to the right the trail (white blazes) is a series of switchbacks with some steps added in to make it easier to climb. The trail is still incredibly rocky and I would make sure you watch your feet. The climb is also still not super easy, this is a family friendly trail but you should know your limits and take lots of breaks if you don’t hike regularly. When you reach the top you will be able to see about 0.1 miles to your right a big lookout. This is by far the most crowded place on the mountain as it looks out over the Penn State campus. Despite how crowded it is it’s still worth checking out, but if you’re planning on doing lunch at the top of the mountain I wouldn’t do it here.
The left branch of the trail (blue blazes) is a little longer than the right branch but that doesn’t mean it’s less steep. This trail is flat for the first 0.2 miles or so but then it climbs up steeply on, you guessed it, a big pile of rocks. We made the mistake of going down this way and I think I nearly killed my mother. If you are going to go this way I would recommend going up this way and then down on the more well traveled route. Because of the challenges that this trail poses it was a lot less crowded than the white blazed trail on the other side. This trail brings you to the big pile of slate on top of the mountain. If you want you can throw another rock on top and make the mountain just a little bit taller. This area also has another great lookout that I personally preferred to the more popular lookout. This area looks out over Nittany mall and you can look out at all of the cars and the people from a little secluded area at the top.
This lookout connects to the white trail and the lookout over the State College campus via a blue blazed trail and it is definitely a short enough hike that it is probably worth it to walk along the ridge and see all of the different lookouts this beautiful mountain has to offer.
Mischief Managed 