Spooky Hikes with Purple Lizard Maps

THE BAT BUNKERS OF QUEHANNA

The Bat Bunkers in the middle of the Quehanna Wild Area are about as Halloweeny as it gets. These former military jet engine testing sites are now home to thousands of bats, and if you're there at dusk you'll see them fly out for the evenings activities. Which most certainly include finding helpless humans to bite and thus become vampires. We recommend wearing a jacket with a thick collar you can turn up, and wrapping your neck with scarf. Or duct tape and canvas depending on your level of belief in vampires.

You'll find these bunkers to be all treat and no tricks. Bring a flashlight because they are windowless, concrete bunkers and the lights were turned off a long time ago. The spray paint graffiti changes with the seasons, it's an industrial relic sitting on the Wykoff Run Natural Area within the larger Quehanna Wild Area. Literally, the bunkers are dead center to the Wild Area, the perimeter defined by the distance the military thought the jet engines may reach if they broke loose from their moorings and jettisoned across the plateau. History doesn't get much wilder than that.

You'll find the bat bunkers on your Moshannon-Quehanna Lizard Map. They are a short walk off of the Quehanna Highway on former roads. There are many other options for a longer hike nearby - the Hoover Farm Viewing Area is always worth a visit and we really like hiking in to the Kunes Camp Lizard Spot, which is a really neat relic of a camp built in a couple of boulders. The trail takes you right through the old living room.

Here's a short clip from Day Hike Dave's adventures to the Bat Bunkers

Here's our blog that shows you Kunes Camp

HELL HOLLOW

Right next to Little Pine State Park you'll find Hell Hollow. The Mid State Trail takes you thru a small section of Hell Hollow, but for the full experience you'll want to follow Love Run Trail. We truly love the juxtaposition of Love Run, the stream, spilling out of Hell Hollow and hopefully neutralizing all the bad energy as it empties into Little Pine Lake. Historically we do not know the history of these names, they go back to the old USGS topo maps and probably have origins in local folklore. 

You'll find Hell Hollow on our Pine Creek Lizard Map adjacent to the lake at Little Pine State Park. You can park at the main lot and cross Little Pine Creek Road and hike up Love Run Road/Trail on a dirt road which meets the Mid State Trail. Love Run Trail splits from the MST and it's a pretty hike to explore upstream a bit. Our preferred route is to find your halfway point and return to the MST, follow it up to the ridge (lizard spot!) and then take Panther Run Trail back to your car. The hike will be about 5 miles depending on how far you decide to walk up Love Run.

HAUNTED MINE TRAIL

The Anna S. Mine is an underground mine just north of Morris, PA. It ceased operation in 1937, a casualty of the Great Depression. It was resurrected later as a surface mine, and in the 1970s reports started to come in that men on the night shift saw the ghosts of dead miners climbing out of the old mine shafts. Some said they were holding their mining picks and swinging lanterns. 

You'll find the Anna S. Mine Vista as a lizard spot on your Pine Creek Lizard Map overlooking Route 287 above Morris, PA. There are several ways to get there. To be Halloweeny, park at the lot on Rt. 287 and hike up Haunted Mine Trail. It follows the old tram route but isn't particularly easy because most of the trail is baseball sized rocks that move underfoot and the crossing of Haunted Mine Falls can be very wet.

The more scenic and easier route is to park at the lot on Rattler Road and follow the Mid State Trail about 1.5 miles to the vista. This section of trail gets interesting, or terrifying, depending on your adventure level meter. There are several places where you will step across large fissures, vertical cracks in the rocks, and you most certainly do not want to miss a step here. If this is outside of your comfort range, you can take the Rock Bypass Trail. The vista is worth the trip no matter how you get there.

DEAD MANS CURVE

Not the one in California made famous in the 1960s song by Jan and Dean, this Dead Mans Curve is in Tuscarora State Forest just south of Fowlers Hollow State Park and, honestly, it's not much of a curve. But it marks the final ending between a CCC worker and a bulldozer in the 1930s, so the macabre level is high. There's not much to see other than the stone marker. The real treat lies just east in the Frank Masland Natural Area where the North Branch Trail will take you to some really beautiful areas along Laurel Run. That's why we put a lizard there!

You'll find Dead Mans Curve and the Masland Natural Area on our Tuscarora Lizard Map in the middle of Perry County. You can get there a variety of ways and all will be extremely scenic drives. It's north of Shippensburg, west of Carlisle, south of Lewistown and west of Orbisonia. Needless to say, bring your Tuscarora Lizard Map and make your own adventure - there are no bad roads in this part of Pennsylvania. Perry County is very remote, very rural, with beautiful long valleys and long ridges waiting for you to find. It's a perfect day trip destination waiting for you to find!

Want endless adventures? Check out all the Purple Lizard Maps!