HARRISBURG, PA - Roll the windows down, enjoy the scenery and breathe in the fresh air.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s driving tours through state game lands are just up the road.
Nine tours are scheduled for 2024, the first of which will be held Sunday, Oct. 6. Other tours will be held on Sunday, Oct. 13 and Sunday, Oct. 20.
The tours provide a good example of the opportunities available on game lands statewide, while showcasing how habitat work being done on these tracts benefits wildlife.
All tours are free, held rain or shine and open only to vehicles licensed for travel on public roads.
The tour schedule follows:
Sunday, Oct. 6
- State Game Lands 12, Bradford County, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – This 28-mile, self-guided, circular driving tour will take about two hours to complete, and highlight habitat enhancements, infrastructure improvements and hunting opportunities. The tour will showcase what Game Commission wildlife habitat crews, as well as dedicated volunteers from several conservation organizations, have accomplished on this game lands consisting of nearly 24,480 acres. The tour will start at the game lands parking lot on top of Wheelerville Mountain off state Route 154, just south of Canton. Vehicles with good ground clearance are recommended. The route travels east to the Barclay Cemetery, then down the hill to Laquin before turning west onto the railroad grade to Wheelerville. The tour ends at the intersection with state Route 154 in Wheelerville. From there, those on the tour can travel north on state Route 154 to Canton, or south to Shunk in Sullivan County. The tour goes by Sunfish Pond County Park, so a picnic lunch may be the order of the day! Those taking the tour will find the local history of the mountain and the Game Commission’s refuge system intriguing. A pocket guide with historical information and photographs will be provided to each vehicle at the start of the tour. The first 200 vehicles will receive a free bag of tree seedlings courtesy of Chesapeake Energy.
- State Game Lands 311, Elk County, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This roughly 3.5-mile self-guided driving tour provides a peek behind the curtain on the elk range. The tour will start at the Winslow Hill Viewing Area in Benezette, then enter the game lands at the bottom of Dewey Road, continuing to Porcupine Road. Game Commission staff will be posted along the tour route. Among other highlights, the tour will showcase elk habitat management including the planting and maintenance of forage plots and the use of prescribed fire, early successional and aspen forest management, acid mine drainage treatment, grassland bird and American kestrel management, and recent infrastructure improvements including two different styles of Game Commission bridges. As a reminder, the tour is open only to PennDOT-registered vehicles. ATVs/UTVs are not permitted.
Sunday, Oct. 13
- State Game Lands 26, Bedford County, Noon to 3 p.m. – The public is invited to tour State Game Lands 26, a 12,000-acre tract situated in Blue Knob. The tour begins off Route 869 near the Bedford/Cambria county line and covers approximately 7 miles. Participants will find ample opportunity to enjoy the historical aspects of the game lands and the quality habitat improvements conducted by Pennsylvania Game Commission habitat crews in partnership with cooperating organizations such as the National Wild Turkey Federation. Work by the Game Commission’s forestry staff also will be showcased through with the viewing of vast timber production brought forth through timber sales and timber stand improvements.
- State Game Lands 57, Luzerne and Wyoming counties, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Game Commission personnel will be on hand to explain points of interest, including wildlife habitat-improvement projects on this 45,000 acres of state game lands. Four-wheel-drive vehicles with high clearance are required for this self-guided driving tour. The tour will pass habitat-improvement projects completed by the State Game Lands 57 habitat crew with help from the National Wild Turkey Federation, Whitetails Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited. Representatives from the Game Commission and conservation organizations will be on hand to explain the projects and answer questions. The 14-mile tour will start at the game lands parking area on Mountain Springs Road just off of state Route 487. Each vehicle will be provided with a map and brief explanation of wildlife habitat management programs being carried out on this magnificent tract of public hunting land.
- State Game Lands 108, Cambria County, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. – This tour will be a 7.5-mile, self-guided, one-way, driving tour and will highlight mountainous terrain and early fall foliage on the Allegheny Front on this 23,086-acre game lands. The tour begins at the game lands access road three-tenths of a mile north of Frugality, along state Route 53, in White Township. Look for the sign. The tour will conclude on state Route 865, near Blandburg in Reade Township. Items of interest along the tour route include a rehabilitated strip-mined area that has been converted to small-game habitat, where the Game Commission releases pheasants. The area also serves as a study area for grassland nesting birds, including the Henslow’s sparrow, a grassland species of special concern. Endangered northern harriers and short-eared owls also inhabit the study area. There are also several forestry projects to improve habitat for wildlife, new road maintenance projects to improve access, and herbaceous openings that have been planted to provide food for wildlife along the tour route.
Sunday, Oct. 20
- State Game Lands 67, Huntingdon County, Noon to 3 p.m. – This driving tour of a 5,700-acre tract begins off Route 913, between Coalmont and Dudley (look for the sign) and covers approximately 7 miles. Participants will find ample opportunity to enjoy the historical sites, quality habitat improvements conducted by Game Commission habitat crews in partnership with cooperating organizations such as the Huntingdon County Conservation District and the Shoup’s Run Watershed Association, as well as controlled-burn and quality forest management areas. The Game Commission presently is exploring the possibility of creating an app that would allow tour-takers to hear accompanying audio as they navigate the route. Information about this component of the tour will be updated as it becomes available.
- State Game Lands 110, Berks County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – This tour begins at the Mountain Road gate approximately 5 miles west of Hamburg Borough and ends at the state Route 183 gate, 4 miles north of Strausstown. State Game Lands 110 offers over 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat in Berks and Schuylkill counties. In addition to hunting opportunities, the historic Appalachian Trail runs through the game lands paralleling much of the driving tour. This forested ridge is an important corridor along the Kittatinny Ridge that tens of thousands of hawks use every fall to migrate south along their migration route. Game Commission personnel will be stationed along the tour route to provide site-specific information and answer questions.
- State Game Lands 211, Dauphin County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Known as the Stoney Valley Tour, this tour begins at the Ellendale Forge gate, located 6 miles east of Dauphin Borough, along Stoney Valley Road, and ends at the Gold Mine gate. This more than 44,000-acre state game lands bridges three different counties including Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill. The tract has an abandoned railroad bed that traverses the entire game lands from west to east. The Appalachian and Horse-Shoe Trails run through this game lands, providing excellent opportunities for hiking and other recreational opportunities in addition to hunting. Game Commission personnel will be stationed along the tour route to provide site-specific information and answer questions.
- State Game Lands 51, Fayette County, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. – This tour will be a 5 mile, self-guided, one-way driving tour and will highlight mountainous terrain and early fall foliage on the Chestnut Ridge and this 16,945-acre game lands. The tour will begin on the game lands road across from the Game Commission Crew Headquarters at 268 Dunbar Ohiopyle Road, Dunbar, PA 15431. The tour will conclude where the game lands road meets Green Brier Road in Wharton Township. Items of interest along the tour route includes several forestry projects to improve habitat for wildlife, herbaceous openings that have been planted to provide food for wildlife, native pollinator fields, and areas where the Game Commission releases pheasants. Habitat crews, biologists, foresters and game wardens will be on hand to answer any questions. Visitors will be able to see the equipment the Game Commission uses to manage the game lands for wildlife.
MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau - 717-705-6541
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