Haystacks Hike in Loyalsock State Forest

I tucked away the bike and pulled on the hiking shoes this weekend. Friday, I rented a car and drove to north-central Pennsylvania, near an area known as the Endless Mountains. Leaving Friday gave me the opportunity for full day of hiking on Saturday. I hiked three trails that day. This post details the second hike, a 5.2 mile trek along a portion of the Loyalsock Trail to the Haystacks rapids.




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From the parking area, the trail quickly descended a rocky, forested hillside to an old railroad bed. Before heading west along this grade, I peeked at nearby Dutchman's Falls. Returning to the main trail, I did not benefit from the gentle grade of the railroad bed for very long—at most a quarter-mile—before the veered splintered off toward Loyalsock Creek, a fairly shallow, swift stream about 75-100 feet wide peppered with beige boulders in most places. The trail paralleled the waterway until it reached the Haystacks. Expecting a much larger feature, I hiked by it, only pausing for enough time to snap a quick picture. Just passed the Haystacks, I lost the trail. Thinking my destination lay relatively close, I pressed on before aborting the mission at a creekbend where where a half-dozen teenagers floated on inner-tubes. Bushwhacking my way perpendicular to the creek, I eventually found the old railroad bed which provided an easy path back to the car.

Trip Statistics
Length: 5.2 miles
Time: 2:20
Elev Gain: 302 ft.
Net Climb: 970 ft.
Max Elevation: 1,726 ft.

Elevation Profile








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Dutchman Creek flows under a culvert built for a railroad that served this area during the lumber boom in the late 1800s. Today, the railroad bed is a recreational trail.

















Dutchman Creek just before in plunges over Dutchman Falls

















Dutchman Falls

















Upstream view from a boulder in the middle of Loyalsock Creek

















Downstream view from a boulder in the middle of Loyalsock Creek.

















Though, I did not know it at the time I took this picture, these rapids are called the Haystacks. They are the reason I chose this hike.

















I would hike no further downstream that this bend. From here, I began a very difficult climb up a steep, rocky slope to regain the main trail. The group of teenagers brought innertubes to float down the rapids.


















Tough most of the hike to the Haystacks tracked the shore of Loyalsock Creek, I gladly used the old railroad, which was a much easier route, for the return trip.