There are places you visit because there’s something to do.
And then there are places where the drive, the water, the mountains, the small businesses and the slower pace are the experience.
Pine Creek Valley is one of those places.
If I were planning a day here, I’d start near the southern end of the valley and make my way north along Route 44.
START WITH THE SCENIC DRIVE
Take the Pine Creek exit and head north on Route 44.
Roll the windows down. Follow Pine Creek. Take your time.
This stretch through Waterville, Cammal, Cedar Run and Slate Run is one of those Central Pennsylvania drives where the scenery alone is worth the trip.
GET ON THE PINE CREEK RAIL TRAIL
You really can’t talk about the Pine Creek Valley without talking about the trail running through it.
The Pine Creek Rail Trail stretches 62 miles from the Jersey Shore area north through the Pine Creek Gorge toward Wellsboro, following Pine Creek for roughly 55 miles.
Today it draws more than 44,000 visitors every year and generates an estimated $5+ million in local economic impact.
But before bicycles were traveling this corridor, trains were.
The railroad began carrying timber through the valley in the 1880s, helping move lumber, coal and hemlock bark through communities like Cammal and Slate Run. The last train traveled the corridor in 1988.
Today, that former railroad is one of Pennsylvania’s premier outdoor recreation destinations.
Bike a few miles. Walk it. Run it. Or just find a trailhead and explore.
STOP SOMEWHERE LOCAL
Part of spending a day in Pine Creek is choosing where you’re going to eat, and there are plenty of places that have become part of the valley itself.
Heading north, you’ll pass places like:
The Venture Inn
Wheary’s Pine Creek Inn
The Waterville Hotel
Mountain Top & Provisions
Hotel Manor in Slate Run
And if your Pine Creek day turns into more of a Route 44 adventure, keep going toward places like The Black Forest Inn.
Some are restaurants. Some are inns. Some are both.
But they’re the kind of businesses that give this rural stretch of Pennsylvania its character.
THEN PICK YOUR VERSION OF OUTSIDE
Maybe that means fishing Pine Creek.
Maybe it’s kayaking or floating when the water conditions cooperate.
Maybe it’s hiking.
Maybe it’s spending another few hours on the Rail Trail.
Or maybe it’s doing absolutely nothing beside the creek.
OR DON’T MAKE IT A DAY TRIP AT ALL
This valley was made for camping.
There are public campgrounds and privately operated campgrounds scattered throughout the Pine Creek corridor, including places like Pettecote Junction Campground in Cedar Run, where Pine Creek and the Rail Trail are both right there.
Add in cabins, camps, inns and vacation rentals throughout Waterville, Cammal, Cedar Run and Slate Run, and it’s very easy for one day here to turn into a weekend.
And maybe that’s the point.
Pine Creek Valley isn’t really somewhere you rush through.
It’s somewhere you spend the day outside, eat somewhere local, lose cell service for a while and remember exactly why people travel to this part of Pennsylvania in the first place.
And for those of us lucky enough to call Central PA home?
It’s practically in our backyard.
📍 Pine Creek Valley | Central Pennsylvania
📸 Aerial photography: Chris Fravel
Tasha Walters, REALTOR®
CENTURY 21 1st Choice Realty
(570)295-0484 | (570)398-0690 | reallifeandrealestate.com