I was home for the weekend and opted for a South-Central PA hike with my girl, Faith. The White Rocks Trail near Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, is a rocky 1.4 mile trail that begins on Kuhn Road and connects with the Appalachian Trail just south of Center Point Knob. The parking area holds about 10 cars and has a posted map of the trail.
The trail is marked by light blue blazes and is very easy to follow. The path travels uphill for .8 mile, with an elevation gain of little more than 450′. As the elevation increases, so does the size of the rocks. At the top of the incline, there is a large cluster of boulders and a lovely view of the valley below. The trail continues along the ridge line boasting many boulders for climbing over and through. Hikers have the options to skirt around many of the boulder clusters if climbing over the big rocks is not appealing.
At the 1.4 mile mark, the White Rocks Trail intersects with the Appalachian Trail. Heading 3 miles south on the AT leads to Whiskey Springs Road. I chose to head north, passing Center Point Knob, descending the mountain and walking to Leidigh Drive, my turn-around point.
The AT path was strewn with leaves and far less rocks. As we walked north, we crossed a tiny stream that we deep enough for Faith to get a drink and to lay down and cool off.
At the bottom of the mountain, the AT traverses farmland and continues to Boiling Springs.
We continued to Leidigh Road, turned around, and enjoyed a sunny view of the mountain.
We retraced the AT and White Rocks Trail and returned to the parking area in under 3 hours. The total elevation gain was 1,125′.
For information and a memory of the south-bound hike to Whiskey Springs Road, check out this blog: Hiking down memory lane en route to Center Point Knob
