Peters Mountain Ridge via Appalachian Trail is a 4.2 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Halifax, Pennsylvania that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
Nice hike on the Appalachian Trail to reach the top of Peters mountain. The trail starts just past the railroad tracks and is a somewhat steep climb up. As you skirt the side of the mountain on the way up, you will have wonderful views of the Susquehanna river below. Once you get so far up, it will start to flatten out. As you near the edge of the mountain, the trail again starts to get steep. You will encounter a few switchbacks and vistas as you near the summit. The trail continues north on the mountain top from here. As always look for the white blazes.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy http://www.appalachiantrail.org
Proper footwear, proper clothing, water. Great views of the Susquehanna river. Parking is available just across Rt.147 from the sign. GPS signal is affected as you are in the shawdow, but strengthens at the top.
The other tips to go counter clockwise were spot on. I would not want to do the rocky and steep switchbacks of the Appalachian Trail going down, especially since the Blue Trail going downhill was fairly easy and not all that rocky. The very top of the loop on the ridge was more difficult than I expected since you have to skirt and scale the rock ledge as part of the trail. My friend and I took it slow, and we each had a hiking stick, which came in handy when navigating the very rocky and uneven terrain. Finally, crossing the railroad tracks to start and end the hike was interesting for us since there was a train parked in the siding and there was no clear indication of how exactly to cross the tracks or what to do. We ended up walking down a bit to cross around the train. A word to the wise: NEVER crawl through the train, even if it’s stopped. Norfolk Southern shuffles cars around here, meaning they could move at any time and in any direction without warning.
Great trail definitely be ready to climb but has great views. Would highly highly recommend.
This is such a special hike, I highly suggest to all levels. Nice variety of terrain, the climb is very forgiving and a fun scramble or two at the top. Then, a beautiful walk along the ridge - keep your eyes to the skies for eagles and other awesome bird spotting! - and a nice meandering relaxed trip down to the parking lot. We do it counterclockwise so the harder blue trail is first. Ample parking at the trailhead. Very dog friendly. Trail in great condition on 4/3/21 and the leaves haven’t filled in yet so spectacular views throughout. I can’t recommend this one enough!
It seems I went the opposite loop of everyone else on the mountain. Still plenty of ice on the mountain.. plan accordingly! I was so thankful for my spikes. Noticing several groups of people struggling to get down the mountain. I caught the most beautiful sunset however that meant me having to detour straight down some of the mountain to utilize the light I had. Worth it even with the deer pee scent on my clothing haha.. If you look at my map that was the reasoning and not due to being lost. The route is well marked in white. Have fun and stay safe out there!
A nice loop with a climb in the beginning. Great views, lot of snow, a fun.
Fun, fairly challenging climb up the switchbacks (counter-clockwise as others suggested - harder since carrying my 4yr old on my shoulders most of way), then lots of rocks to climb on while enjoying the nice overlooks of the Susq. River & distant mountains at top of trail! Gradual descent was nice (glad to have hiking shoes though for all the rocks), and even had freight train resting at the trailhead to walk by!
Nice hike! Pretty rocky at some points. I also lost the trail for a second but I had luckily done the hike before so I knew to keep heading in a certain direction. The rocks make it just a bit challenging which was nice if you like that. Could be a bit tricky with dogs so just watch out for that!
Very challenging, but not so much so that it’s bad. There were some tricky spots over the rocks that were slick and icy, but otherwise recommend! App says 4 miles, however it is a bit under.
Great hike with nice elevation. Second time doing it and it’s definitely a great hike.