Backpacking the Mosquito Creek Trail Loop-Quehanna Wild Area

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Backpacking the Mosquito Creek Trail Loop-Quehanna Wild Area

Sunset from Crawford Vista

Length: My route was about 20 miles.

Parking: At Beaver Run Dam, 41.261214, -78.258028

Difficulty: Easy to moderate

Trail conditions: Overall, they were good. You do need to keep an eye out for some turns.

Blazes: Most trails are yellow. Quehanna Trail is orange.

Choose your own route: I chose this route because I never hiked Mosquito Creek Trail or the cross-country ski trail. There are many other options you can take.

Highlights: Meadows, isolation, wild elk, creeks, views, diverse forests, wildflowers, large boulders, some good campsites, ferns.

Direction of description: Counterclockwise from Beaver Run Dam.

Description: This loop explores some lesser used trails in Quehanna. It makes for a relatively easy hike with some great scenery. It can also be a good option for beginning backpackers.

From the parking area, walk up the road you drove in on, turn left onto a yellow trail and hike through scenic pine forests with moss. Turn right onto the East Cross Connector (ECC) and cross the Quehanna Highway. Enjoy more pines and meadows. I turned right onto the Teaberry Trail to see two views and returned to the ECC. The trail went through laurel and came out on an old forest road. I then turned right onto the Cross Country Ski Trail. This trail was more brushy with laurel, but was still easy to hike. I crossed a meadow and reached a road. I turned left and then right onto Deible Road. This is a more rugged jeep road. Watch where the road turns left. The yellow trail leaves the road, continuing straight, and intercepts the Quehanna Trail (QT). Turn left, or straight on the QT.

The QT veers left into a fern and hardwood forest and then wraps around some large boulders. Reach a yellow trail to the left. There was no sign, but it is the Mosquito Creek Trail (MCT). Before following it, follow the QT a few hundred feet to Deible Run Vista and a campsite.

Now follow the MCT. It was a very nice trail, meandering through the woods and then following a jeep road. It turns left off the road and enters a scenic moss and spruce forest. Cross the Quehanna Highway and follow a jeep road among towering spruce and moss carpets. The MCT turns left and leaves the jeep road. Enter the woods with a small creek, hardwoods, ferns, and meadows. It was an enjoyable hike with an isolated feel. Cross mowed meadows and veer right onto a jeep road. Cross a creek with wetlands and continue on the jeep road. Watch for a left turn off the road. Return to the woods and hike above McNerney Run. The creek has boulders and cascades. Cross Mosquito Creek on a high bridge and a campsite.

Follow the Bridge Trail. I took a side trail up to Crawford Vista to camp and enjoy the sunset. I heard elk bugle at night. The loop continues on Bridge Trail, crossing vast meadows. I turned left onto the ECC with more meadows and views. A beautiful section. At the Beaver Run pond, I turned right, crossed the dam and followed the gated road back to the car.

Quehanna Wild Area is a backpacking wonderland. Get out and enjoy it!