Raystown Lake, trails through a gorge, and traces of canal history offer different ways to explore Huntingdon County. When planning your visit, it helps to first choose what you want to focus on: time on the water, hiking trails and natural features, or places where the region’s history comes to life.
Raystown Lake: Beaches and Activities
Raystown Lake is the largest man-made lake located entirely within Pennsylvania. There are two public beaches along its shore, open seasonally. If you’re planning a beach visit, check in advance whether the beaches will be open during your stay. Seven Points Recreation Area serves as the lake’s main activity hub, offering a useful starting point for activities around Raystown Lake.
Hiking Trails and Natural Features
The Allegrippis Trail System consists of numerous individual trails arranged in stacked loops. Hikers can choose their distance and difficulty level and start and finish at the same trailhead. This lets you choose your preferred distance without having to plan different starting and ending points. The Standing Stone Trail is now more than 80 miles long.
Trough Creek State Park covers 541 acres. Its landscape includes a scenic gorge: Great Trough Creek cuts through Terrace Mountain before flowing into Raystown Lake. Trails lead to Balanced Rock and Rainbow Falls. Ice Mine offers a unique experience, too: visitors can descend into it in spring and summer and experience winter-like cold. A boat launch for hand-carried, non-motorized canoes and kayaks provides access to the calm waters of Raystown Lake.
Greenwood Furnace State Park covers 423 acres and includes a six-acre lake, a campground, hiking trails, and a historic district. A short trail in the park provides easy access to an accessible fishing pier and loops around Greenwood Lake to the historic dam. The National Park Service established the Greenwood Furnace Historic District in 1989. Nature and history come together here within the same park.
Portstown Park on Penn Street also offers several ways to enjoy a break outdoors: it has a loop trail, a skate park, and a fishing pier. These amenities differ from the trails and natural features in the state parks, offering another option for planning your stay.
Canal History in Huntingdon County
In downtown Huntingdon, canal-themed murals celebrate the city’s heritage and culture. In Blair Park, the Stone Arch Bridge marks the site of a former canal aqueduct. Both places make the area’s canal history visible in the cityscape, while the Hartslog Heritage Museum brings together historic objects: its collection includes more than 4,000 artifacts, including canal relics such as boat windows and a model of a lock.
The Huntingdon County Historical Society is located in the William McMurtrie House. The house is home to an active historical and genealogical research library as well as a Victorian House Museum. For visitors especially interested in the region’s past, these institutions provide further ways to explore its history, alongside the murals, the bridge, and the Hartslog Heritage Museum’s collection.
The landscape at Jacks Narrows near Mount Union also tells a story of quarrying. In the 1950s, quarry workers carved steps there and removed much of Jacks Mountain to mine ganister stone for the production of silica bricks. The Juniata River Canal Driving Tour, a 125-mile scenic driving route, offers another perspective on Pennsylvania’s heritage. The tour explores the state’s history over a longer route, while many of the museums and historic sites mentioned can be visited individually.
Whether you’d rather spend your time at the lake, on hiking trails, or exploring cultural and historical sites, the options described offer different experiences. Their specific differences—such as customizable trail distances, distinctive natural landmarks, and historic collections—can help you plan a stay that suits your interests.
Explore more destinations: Northumberland, Elk County, Juniata, Centre, Adams, Luzerne, Clinton County
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