When you have 60+ miles of hiking trails to tend to, maintenance requires collaboration and effort between multiple groups and organizations!

"There is so much to do in and around Oil Creek State Park," shares Jenn Ulmer, KTA Manager of Trail Maintenance and Training, "As you might imagine, historical displays and information on the oil boom abound – the Oil Creek Valley is the site of the world’s first commercial oil well. There’s the Drake Oil Well Museum near Titusville and the 36-mile Gerard Hiking Trail loop which encircles/travels the length of the park on both sides of Oil Creek!"

This year, KTA will be heading to Oil Creek State Park with excited volunteers to join David Hallman, Park Manager at Oil Creek State Park, for a trail maintenance event! You can join us June 20-23, 2024!

The park has a long historic tradition of trail maintenance, much like KTA (we're in our 40th year!). David shared with us about a long-time special group of volunteers:

"Oil Creek is home to over 60 miles of trails. Thirty-six of those miles make up the Gerard Trail which loops around the entire park. The Gerard Trail is popular for several reason. One being our Adirondack backpacking shelters that hikers can reserve and spend the night. The other reason people enjoy this trail is for its sheer beauty and history. As you hike through the park you will have the pleasure of seeing remnants from the historic oil days, but you will also see how Mother Nature can heal herself and return to her former beauty. 

Maintaining such a trail system is a never-ending job and this is where our volunteer group the Over the Hill Gang comes in. For the past several decades the OTHG has done most of the work on this trail. They are a group made up of mostly “retired” gentlemen that meet every Wednesday to maintain this trail. They split up into groups and take a different section of trail to maintain. Work includes but is not limited to cutting fallen trees off the trail, fixing, building, and maintaining bridges, correcting drainage issues, blazing trail, and splitting firewood for our shelters. 

These are truly some of the best maintained trails in the State and it is all due to their efforts.This group of dedicated volunteers completes a tremendous amount of work for the park. Their selfless efforts free up our staff to complete other projects throughout the park. Without their help there would be no way we could keep up with the maintenance demands of these trails."

Come to Oil Creek State park with us! You can join us June 20-23, 2024!

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In 2023, KTA hosted a trail care event at Lancaster Conservancy's Wizard Ranch. At the time, their staff was working on clearing and creating the preserve's 247 acres. Travis Lyle, Regional Preserves Manager at Lancaster Conservancy was one of our point people during this project. Here's an update from him on Wizard Ranch's progress!

"Wizard Ranch has really progressed this year. We had our first prescribed burn which was successful and we are seeing almost too much regeneration in the area at this point. That is not really that bad of a problem compared to others like invasive control! 
 
I believe we are close to 2,000 native trees, shrubs, and grasses replanted in the restoration areas so far! The steam and wetland restoration plans are also moving forward which will be exciting to see. 
 
The trails that you and the rest of the KTA crew helped us open are small parts of the larger trail network that we are installing. To get the preserve opened to the public we used parts that were close together to make two small (approx 1 mile each) loop trails starting from the parking area. This winter and spring we will be working on getting the main portions of the outer perimeter loop trail completed. There are plans for a Trails Fest event to be held there in September 2024.
 
The Boy Scouts just had their once every four years event at the end of September with about 3,000 scouts, families and staff. It seemed like it went really well and it is a great opportunity for all of us to team up. The scouts helped do some planting and learned a lot from our community engagement staff. It is great seeing younger generations taking interest in nature and learning how they can contribute to the preservation and restoration efforts.  
 
There have been many volunteer workday events doing some trail brushing and lots of invasive removals. That work will continue into next year and beyond but it is already making a noticeable difference."​

Help us keep PA's trails safe and beautiful! Join us at a trail care event.

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Coming soon: a brand-new, first-of-its-kind hiking guide to the PA Wilds! Plus, you can submit your favorite trails to be considered for the book!

We could not be more honored and excited to be working with PA Wilds on this project! 

As the press release states, "Lace up your hiking boots! The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship has partnered with the Keystone Trails Association (KTA) to develop and publish a Pennsylvania Wilds-branded hiking guidebook for the Pennsylvania Wilds region."

Brook Lenker, KTA Executive Director, had this to say about the project under development: “KTA members have always valued the PA Wilds region because it is packed with some of Pennsylvania’s most beautiful hiking trails. The mention of names like the Black Forest, Susquehannock, and Quehanna – just a few of the signature footpaths in the PA Wilds – evoke excitement and anticipation for so many hiking enthusiasts. For decades, our volunteer-driven Trail Care Program, now in its 40th year, has helped to maintain these and other area trails and we will soon be hiring a Regional Trail Care Rep in the PA Wilds. Needless to say, we’re honored and excited to be part of this project and promote these hiking gems!”

Read the full press release here:
https://www.pawildscenter.org/blog/pa-wilds-center-keystone-trails-association-hiking-book-feedback/