- Tuscarora Trail
Infobox Hiking trail
Name=Tuscarora Trail
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Length=252 mi; 405.5 km
Location=EasternUnited States
Start/End Points=South:Appalachian Trail inShenandoah National Park inVirginia
North:Appalachian Trail nearHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Use=Hiking
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Hazards=Severe WeatherThe Tuscarora Trail is a long-distance hiking trail that splits off from theAppalachian Trail inShenandoah National Park inVirginia , passes throughWest Virginia andMaryland , then rejoins theAppalachian Trail nearHarrisburg, Pennsylvania . It is 252 miles long, and includes both the 110-mile trail section formerly known as the Tuscarora Trail in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and the 142-mile trail section formerly known as the Big Blue Trail in Virginia and West Virginia.The Tuscarora Trail (including the Big Blue section) was built as a speculative alternative route for the Appalachian Trail. It was built further west, in a more wild corridor, because it was feared that development would force closure of the AT, before the Federal effort to conserve that trail.
Much of the trail in Pennsylvania was closed in the 1980s because a
gypsy moth onslaught had killed much of the surroundingoak forest. The trail became overgrown withbramble s,briar s and other vegetation to become impassable. The trail has since been re-opened and is now maintained by thePotomac Appalachian Trail Club .The Tuscarora Trail is today an official side-trail of the Appalachian Trail and is blazed in blue.
External links
* [http://potomacappalachian.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=43 The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club]
* [http://gorp.away.com/gorp/publishers/mcgraw-hill/through-hikers-guide/tuscarora-intro.html Gorp Guide]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/yorkhikingclub/tuscarora.html York Hiking Club page including map]
* [http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/FORESTRY/hiking/tuscarora.aspx Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]
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