Editing Tuscarora Trail

{{short description|Long distance eastern U.S. hiking trail}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox hiking trail
 |name=Tuscarora Trail
 |photo=Tuscarora trailhead shenandoah national park 20201015 132246 1 crop.jpg
 |caption=The southern terminus of the Tuscarora Trail at Shenandoah National Park.
 |length_mi=252
 |location=Eastern United States
 |trailheads='''South:''' [[Appalachian Trail]] in [[Shenandoah National Park]] in [[Virginia]]<br/>{{coord|38|17|34|N|78|40|45|W|region:US-VA_type:landmark}}<br/>'''North:''' [[Appalachian Trail]] near [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]]<br/>{{coord|40|17|39.9|N|77|5|26.9|W|region:US-PA_type:landmark}}
 |use=Hiking
 |website = [https://hikethetuscarora.org hikethetuscarora.org]
 |elev_change_ft=
 |highest_ft=3440
 |highest_name=Southern trailhead, [[Shenandoah National Park]]
 |lowest_ft=380
 |lowest_name=[[Potomac River]], [[C&O Canal National Historical Park]]
 |difficulty=Strenuous
 |season=
 |sights=
 |hazards=Severe weather, uneven and wet terrain, rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, ticks, black bears
}}
The '''Tuscarora Trail''' is a {{convert|252|mi|km|adj=on}} [[hiking trail]] in the eastern United States, following the [[Appalachian Mountains]] through portions of [[Virginia]], [[West Virginia]], [[Maryland]], and [[Pennsylvania]]. Its route is roughly parallel to, and to the west of, the [[Appalachian Trail]].<ref name="Lupp">{{Cite book |last1=Lupp |first1=Thomas| title=The Tuscarora Trail: A Guide to the North Half in Maryland and Pennsylvania |last2=Brown |first2=Pete |publisher=The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-915746-73-6 |edition=5th |location=Vienna, Virginia |page=1}}</ref>

== History ==

The Tuscarora Trail was originally conceived as an alternate route for the [[Appalachian Trail]], which had been built in the 1920s-30s. By the 1960s, and before it was protected as a [[National Trails System|National Scenic Trail]],<ref>Seaborg, Eric (July/August 1984), "The Road Less Traveled". ''National Parks''. '''58''' (7/8) :34–35</ref> a number of segments of the Appalachian Trail were being encroached upon and sometimes closed by private and commercial landowners. To ensure the trail's continuity, the [[Appalachian Trail Conservancy]] began to consider alternate routes that could be used to bypass those threatened segments of the AT, with the goal of avoiding high-demand areas and maximizing [[public land]] usage.<ref name="Cramer">{{Cite book |title=Pennsylvania Hiking Trails |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2008 |isbn=9780811734776 |editor-last=Cramer |editor-first=Ben |edition=13th |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania |page=3-4}}</ref>

The alternate route was originally built in the late 1960s as two separate trails: the 142-mile Big Blue Trail in Virginia and West Virginia, and the 110-mile Tuscarora Trail in Maryland and Pennsylvania, which were separated by an unofficial crossing of the [[Potomac River]].<ref name="PATC_web1">{{cite web|title=Tuscarora Trail|url=http://www.kta-hike.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128&Itemid=65|access-date=2014-03-29|publisher=[[Potomac Appalachian Trail Club]]}}</ref><ref name="Lupp_p2-4">Lupp and Brown, p. 2-4</ref> By 1997, a crossing of the river via a road bridge had been approved, and the two trails were combined to form a continuous 252-mile route known as the Tuscarora Trail,<ref name="Cramer" /> because it largely traverses ridgetops above the [[Tuscarora Sandstone]] formation.<ref name="Lupp1">Lupp and Brown, p. 1-2</ref>

During the 1980s, several segments of the Tuscarora Trail in Pennsylvania had to be closed due to damage from [[Lymantria dispar dispar|gypsy moth]] infestations.<ref name="Mitchell">{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=Jeff|title=Backpacking Pennsylvania: 37 Great Hikes|date=2005|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=0811731804|location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|page=82}}</ref> After several years of rehabilitation, those segments were reopened.<ref name="Lupp_p2-4"></ref> In the early 2000s, the Tuscarora Trail was named as a component of the [[Great Eastern Trail]], which will extend for more than 2,000 miles from Florida to New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maps & Trail Descriptions - Great Eastern Trail|url=http://www.greateasterntrail.net/maps.html|access-date=14 April 2018|website=www.greateasterntrail.net|date=May 20, 2014 }}</ref> A loop consisting of the Tuscarora Trail and the Appalachian Trail between their two junctions has been dubbed the Tuscalachian Loop, which is 435 miles in length.<ref name="Mitchell" />
== Route ==

The southern terminus of the Tuscarora Trail is at a junction with the Appalachian Trail in [[Shenandoah National Park]] in Virginia, on top of [[Blue Ridge Mountains|Blue Ridge]]. Traveling northbound, the Tuscarora Trail diverges from the AT to the northwest and traverses [[Massanutten Mountain]] and [[Great North Mountain]] through Virginia for about its first 106 miles.<ref name="Lupp1"></ref> North of the town of [[Siler, Virginia|Siler]], the trail passes into West Virginia and for about the next 37 miles crosses that state's [[Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia|Eastern Panhandle]] region. The trail crosses the [[Potomac River]] via the road bridge for [[U.S. Route 522|US Route 522]], and enters Maryland at [[Hancock, Maryland|Hancock]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.patc.net/PATC/Our_Store/Tuscarora_Trail.aspx |title=Tuscarora Trail |publisher=Potomac Appalachian Trail Club |access-date=20 February 2022}}</ref> 

The trail then shares its route with the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park|C&O Canal Towpath]] for about eight miles, then heads north for about six additional miles in Maryland. It then crosses the [[Mason–Dixon line|Mason Dixon Line]] and spends the next 95 miles in Pennsylvania, traversing [[Tuscarora Mountain]] then [[Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania)|Blue Mountain]].<ref name="Lupp1"></ref> The northern terminus of the Tuscarora Trail is at another junction with the Appalachian Trail, plus the [[Darlington Trail]], on Blue Mountain about 10 miles north of [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]].<ref name="Lupp27">Lupp and Brown, p. 27-93</ref> 

For planning purposes, the Tuscarora Trail is divided into 22 sections, ranging from 6 to 18 miles in length, with section names displayed prominently in guidebooks and on some trail signs.<ref name="trailsections">
{{cite web |url=https://www.hikethetuscarora.org/hike-the-tuscarora |title=Hike the Tuscarora |publisher=The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club |date=2017 |access-date=2020-10-16}}
</ref>[[File:Tuscarora trailhead marker 20201015 132147 1 crop.jpg|thumb|A stone marker at the southern terminus of the Tuscarora Trail. |left|232x232px]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{MarylandTrails}}
{{PennsylvaniaTrails}}
{{VirginiaTrails}}
{{WestVirginiaTrails}}

[[Category:Hiking trails in Maryland]]
[[Category:Hiking trails in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Hiking trails in Virginia]]
[[Category:Hiking trails in West Virginia]]
[[Category:Great Eastern Trail]]
[[Category:Long-distance trails in the United States]]