The Abigail Trail in Michaux State Forest is a perfect half day hiking destination for families featuring easy trails through a stunning lakeside pine forest.
The Abigail Trail is an excellent half day hike in the heart of Michaux State Forest. We explored the shore of Long Pine Run Reservoir then climbed a ridge to add some elevation and complete a circuit. There is a parking pull off near the mouth of Birch Run at 39.95067, -77.44361 that can accommodate half a dozen vehicles. Adjacent roadside parking can accommodate the same number. If this is full, the Rocky Knob trailhead at 39.95041, -77.44499, just across the bridge, can accommodate another half dozen vehicles.
The Abigail Trail enters the woods at 39.95062, -77.44377. The pine forest that rings the reservoir was an immediate delight. We relished the pine scent from the sap just beginning to flow in early spring.
This portion of the Abigail Trail closely parallels the shore of Pine Run Reservoir. The water was low, so we enjoyed a walk along the shore.
Views of the lake through the trees attended most of the hike. The trail here is a flat, easy walk on a pine needle carpet, with occasional fallen branches to step over. After about 0.9 miles the trail exits the woods at the dam. Before continuing the Abigail Trail up the side of the hill, we turned aside to cross the dam breast on a gravel road.
The gravel road leads to the emergency overflow channel and spillway. On previous trips the flow at the bottom of the spillway created a waterfall. However, on this adventure, the channel was completely dry. As the end of the gravel road, we took a path up an earthen ramp that led through the trees to point on the lake shore. The point affords the best view of the hike. Looking across the length of the lake, Rocky Knob rises prominently above the mouth of Birch Run.
After taking the lakeside views and mountain landscape, we backtracked across the dam breast and picked up the Abigail Trail at 39.93834, -77.44432. The heretofore easy trail became rocky in spots as it climbed the hill. The trail followed the contour of the hill making the incline easy to moderate difficulty. The portion of the trail along the reservoir had pink/red blazes, but most of them were painted over. Here, hoverer, the trail was blazed red.
The trail leveled at the top of the ridge. There were intermittent sections of cleared trees that grew larger and more frequent as we proceeded on the ridge. We first thought it was storm damage, but it became clear as we progressed that the ridge was being logged. The trail was easy to lose in spots on account of the swaths of fallen trees. But in each case, we were able to find it again, thanks to red blazes and blue ribbons.
At 39.95439, -77.43150, we turned left at the intersection to take the trail down the side of the hill toward the Long Pine Run Reservoir. Even on an early spring day with temperatures in the mid 70’s, the sun beat down on us through the logged portions of the ridge. The cover provided by the dense forest of young white pine was refreshing. We encountered a fork at 39.95475, -77.43653, and kept left. This led to the dam access road at 39.95002, -77.44163, which we followed until the turnoff onto the path at 39.94868, -77.44256. The path returned us to the trailhead.
Overall, the loop we took was 4.8 miles, including crossing the dam.
The route is given in lime green. Noite that the trail along the Long Pine Run Reservoir runs between the dam access road and the reservoir.
Trailhead parking is at 39.95067, -77.44361.
The ease of the terrain and scenic beauty of the secluded lake and surrounding mountain ridges makes this an excellent adventure for families. There are some rocky spots on the ridge ascent near the dam, but they are not difficult. Unfortunately, the recently logged area at the top of the ridge detracts from the overall hike, but in our opinion, it is still worth it.
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