The best outfitters for local knowledge, equipment and experience in the PA Grand Canyon. Whether you are going biking, hiking, or boating with rafts, canoes, or kayaks, the professional team at Pine Creek Outfitters can assist you and have everything you need to make your trip safe and memorable. So if you’re taking a leisurely bike or E-bike ride on the beautiful Pine Creek Rail Trail or a full group River Rafting Adventure, let Pine Creek Outfitters be your guide.
Why visit the Pine Creek River Gorge Natural Area?
The Pine Creek Gorge Natural Area is the second largest natural area in the state, spanning 12,163 acres (plus additional adjacent state forest land).
The National Park Service says the Pine Creek Gorge “contains superlative scenery, geological and ecological value, and is one of the finest examples of a deep gorge in the eastern United States.” The gorge itself is over 40 miles long, 1,000 feet deep, and over a mile wide in some places.
If you saw a satellite photo of the northeastern United States taken at night, you would notice a large dark area in north-central Pennsylvania – very few people, few lights, and few signs of the 21st century. A look at a map will show you why: most of the land is State Forest and Gamelands. Almost half of Pennsylvania’s 2 million acres of State Forest are found here. Our region is the home of Pennsylvania’s only “Dark Skies” State Park, Cherry Springs.
This is one of the last and most extensive wilderness regions on the east coast. It is an area only hours away from most of the metropolitan Northeast, but is uncompromised by proximity to modern civilization. Enjoy the extensive forests, clean rivers, endless miles of hiking and biking trails, abundant wildlife, and unparalled scenery of Pine Creek.
Pine Creek is a combination of moderate class II whitewater, long quiet stretches of flatwater, and idyllic natural scenery. It is steady-flowing water framed by towering palisades and dramatic rock outcrops crowned with evergreen forests and cathedral-like hardwoods. It is a sanctuary of abundant wildlife – bald eagles, black bears, deer, and native trout.
The Pine Creek Gorge is listed as a Pennsylvania Scenic River and was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1968. The Pine Creek Trail served as a travel route for Indigenous tribes for centuries. Multiple tribes established seasonal encampments along Pine Creek and cultivated the fertile floodplain, called “Big Meadows,” in the Ansonia Valley. Pine Creek Outfitters is located in the scenic Ansonia Valley.