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Golden Eagle Trail: An Early May Hike

Continuing the tradition of hiking the Golden Eagle Trail every three years, this hike on the GET was done in early May. Spring was late in coming this year, but there were some spring flowers blooming on the trail. And of course the views from the Ravenshorn and the Beulah Land Vista always make this for a rewarding hike.

Trailhead: N 41° 26.35'
W 77° 30.60'
Total Elevation: 4382'
Trail Length: 9.2 miles
Hike Time: 5.5 hours
Hike Type: Loop
Difficulty Rating: 179
Near: On PA414 north
of Cammal and
south of Slate Run.

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The trailhead for the Golden Eagle Trail is located on route PA414. It can be reached, coming from the south, by taking route PA44 north at the intersection of US220 in Jersey Shore. Just past Waterville, you will take a right off of PA44 onto route PA414. Once you turn onto route PA414 set your odometer and drive for 11.2 miles. You will see a parking area on your left, directly after passing over a small bridge that spans Bonnell Run. If coming from the north, once you enter the town of Slate Run, travel for an additional 2.9 miles and you will see the parking area on your right.

This was my fourth hike on the Golden Eagle Trail. I won't go into details about the trail: you can find that on one of the other posted hikes. I will talk a bit about the hiking experience this time round.

As I stated earlier, this hike was done in early May. This year spring was a little late in coming and as such there was not a lot of greenery on the trees. That being said, the views were still breath taking. Also there is something to be said about hiking when there are no leaves on the trees. You get to see some views that are not visible will foliage present.

There was some spring flowers blooming at this time. We came across trillium along the trail, plus some other flowers that I did not know the names of. The undergrowth and brush was just starting to sprout and green up. I am sure that if we had done this hike a week or two later we would have been greeted by many different Pennsylvania wild flowers.

If you have never hiked the Golden Eagle Trail, then I can only strongly suggest that you add it to your hiking short list. The trail is a challenge, being a bit over 9 miles in length with two ascents. The steepest climb is that up to the Ravenshorn. I suggest you do this ascent first, hiking in a counter-clockwise fashion, while you still have energy and stamina. You can then take your leisurely time on the rest of the hike, enjoy the flowers, views, or whatever nature decides to throw your way.

The start of the hike.

The view from the Ravenshorn.

Hiking along Wolf Run.

One of the spring flowers on this hike.

The vista overlooking Beuhlah Land.

Near the end of the hike on Bonnel Run.

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  • any suggestion for lodge nearby?

    Arthur Bond on

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