We setup camp at Canyon Country Campground, which was a private campground located about 15 minutes outside of charming Wellsboro, PA.

We both arrived at the campground in the late afternoon, and it took us some time to set up camp, so we decided to just hang around the campsite for the first evening. The campground was within walking distance to an old, 100 foot tall, fire watchtower. This was definitely a tourist trap as it cost $3 to ascend the tower to get views of the surrounding valley. At first, I was a bit hesitant to pay to walk up an old steel structure. After a moment of reflection, I decided to donate a few bucks to the cause and climb up the tower.

I was the only adventurous one to do so out of the three of us. I was also given a hard time due to the fact that this old-looking, almost abandoned structure in the middle of the woods, only took a credit card. My friends were sure my bank account would be depleted before I made it to the top of the tower. The credit card machine seemed like it hadn’t worked in 25 years. Much to my surprise, I swiped my card, and the turnstile buzzed open. I was sure to check my account later in the week to ensure only $3 had been deducted!

As I started to climb the tower I remembered that I am not the biggest fan of heights. I started to either feel the tower start to sway or my legs get a bit soft, maybe a bit of both. Either way, I was glad when I got to the top to check out the views of the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, the early evening was still a bit hazy, and the pictures are only so/so of the surrounding area. I took more than I posted here, but you can get the idea as you scroll along.

I could see this tower as being a potential spot to take some shots of either sunrise or sunset. Perhaps on my next visit, I will donate another $3 and collect the gumption to climb the tower again. None the less, it was still a fun experience. I felt my donation will go to a local company to preserve the tower and I’m ok with spending $3 for that.

Luckily for us, this campground also had a trail that connected to Leonard Harrison State Park. This was one of the state parks set up to enjoy the PA Grand Canyon.

The second night, Teresa and I decided to take a quick hike over to this adjoining park to check out the scenery, while Brian stayed back with the dogs. You can see we timed this adventure a bit better than the tower evening and we were able to start to see the colors of the sky change for sunset.

The local visitors center had told us the best time of day to take pictures was in the morning, where there could be a potential of a low lying fog. I would have loved to have grabbed some sunrise shots at Leonard Harris State Park. In earnest, each morning I had my alarm set to 4:30 am, before the sunrise, to head back out to Leonard Harrison State park for such views. However, the whiskey from each night before prevented me from having the will power to get out of my tent.

The gallery below is a compilation of the first two nights at the campground: the overlook tower and the evening hike to Leonard Harrison State Park. Teresa and I were able to capture some nice shots of the sun beginning to set as well as some large birds (eagles?) flying within the valley. It really was a peaceful, breathtaking place that I’m not sure the pictures capture well, but I was glad I got to experience it.

The next day, we loaded the pups in the car and headed to the other side of the canyon to check out Colton Point State Park. The parks are set up such that Leonard Harrison is on the east rim of the canyon, and Colton Point is on the west rim. Colton Point State Park was our original preference for camping, but it only offered first-come, first-serve, campsites, and we were worried about driving all the way out there and not being able to secure a campsite.

Our first hike around Colton Point was the very simple, family-friendly, Barbour Rock trail, whose highlight was an overlook of the canyon. This trail was very easy and relaxing. We were able to take in the beauty of the woods where old, tall trees surrounded us. The shade from these trees cooled us on this warm June day. We also saw groves of ferns nestled on the forest floor. We spotted some mountain laurel, flowers I had not seen in quite some time.

All in all, this was quite an enjoyable walk that ended with a great view of the canyon from above.

Next, we got a bit adventurous and headed down the road to the Turkey Path trailhead. This trail is a mile and a half long descent down the mountain to the canyon floor and to the creek thank runs through the middle of the canyon. As the trail isn’t a loop, that mile and half down the mountain then turns into a mile and a half trek back up the mountain. The total trip was three miles.

The trail itself was a bit challenging but certainly doable and worth it. About halfway down the trail, we were greeted with a 70-foot waterfall cascading down the mountain. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my tripod with me, so I couldn’t take any cool shots of the water flowing down the mountain. In lieu of a cool waterfall shot, I’ll offer you an iPhone-shot video of the falls. As I am no videographer, please be gentle:

Once we got to the canyon floor, we gave ourselves, and the tired dogs, a much-deserved rest. We sat on the banks of the Pine Creek and enjoyed the sound of the water along with the views of the canyon from below. As I reflected upon my childhood, I remembered quite often not only relaxing on the banks of a creek but rather, wading right into it. In fact, a childhood friend and I would spend countless summer days playing in a local creek providing me with fond memories to this day.

I couldn’t let an opportunity to relive a childhood shenanigan pass me by, so I immediately took my shoes off, and headed into the creek, along with the camera, to capture a few shots from the middle of the water. Age seemed to have stiffened my reflexes, and I also don’t remember the rocks being so slippery or jagged at the same time. Needless to say, it was a slow-going walk to the center of the cool water. I especially didn’t want to drop my camera in the water. That would have made for a lousy day. Things we think of as grownups that never would have crossed our 14-year-old minds.

Fortunately, my camera stayed dry, and I was able to bring back the following shots of the hike and the canyon from the middle of the creek:

The last evening, after our grand hikes up and down the canyon, I ventured out on my own to capture some sunset shots. My friends and their two puppies were beat from the days’ hikes. I mustered up some energy as sunsets are by far my favorite to shoot. Before I returned to Colton Point State Park, I couldn’t help but notice the scenery of the countryside around me.

This was a part of Pennsylvania I had never been to, in almost 39 years of living in the state. It was rustic, relaxed, and quite beautiful. I had to stop and capture a few shots of it.

As I drove, I’d simply pull the car over on the country road, hop into the middle of the street, and take some pictures. Certainly something I wouldn’t do in the more populated areas of Pennsylvania, but the only folks to give me strange looks here were the farmers putting their tractors away for the evening. No one on the roads to give me a hard time.

This time of night had perfect light, as the sun was just beginning to set, and it was providing a magical array of colors set against the color of wheat, green grass, and farm buildings.

And now for the grand finale: sunset over the canyon. For those of you that have made it this far down the post, thank you. I’d send you a cookie, but that seems a bit impractical.

I’m a sucker for a good sunset. While it turned out to not be the most colorful of sunsets, it still had some pretty hues of purple, yellow, and red to work with. I wound up walking back to Barbour rock at Colton Point State Park to capture these shots of the sunset. I figured it was a quick hike to the canyon from the parking and my time was limited.

I was impressed with the crescent moon, and the fact I was able to capture it lying low over the trees made me happy.

I look forward to heading back to the PA Grand Canyon, perhaps in the fall to check out the sights with the pretty colors of the trees. Given the days are shorter in the fall, I may also get to see some sunrises and more sunsets.

Definitely worth a trip out if you’ve never been.