page_title: Quehanna Wild Area
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Quehanna Wild Area / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: Late-day light, Mosquito Creek Gorge, Clearfield County, within the Quehanna Wild Area of Moshannon State Forest in Pennsylvania, USA.
context_page_description: Quehanna Wild Area is a wildlife area within parts of Cameron, Clearfield and Elk counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania; with a total area of 48,186 acres, it covers parts of Elk and Moshannon State Forests. Founded in the 1950s as a nuclear research center, Quehanna has a legacy of radioactive and toxic waste contamination, while also being the largest state forest wild area in Pennsylvania, with herds of elk. The wild area is bisected by the Quehanna Highway and is home to second growth forest with mixed hardwoods and evergreens. Quehanna has two state forest natural areas: the 1,215-acre Wykoff Run Natural Area, and the 917-acre Marion Brooks Natural Area. The latter has the largest stand of white birch in Pennsylvania and the eastern United States.
  The land that became Quehanna Wild Area was home to Native Americans, including the Susquehannock and Iroquois, before it was purchased by the United States in 1784. Settlers soon moved into the region and, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the logging industry cut the virgin forests; clearcutting and forest fires transformed the once verdant land into the "Pennsylvania Desert".
context_section_description: According to the DCNR, Quehanna Wild Area is for the public "to see, use and enjoy for such activities as hiking, hunting, and fishing". The main hiking trail on the Quehanna plateau is the Quehanna Trail, a 75-mile (121 km) loop trail that passes through the wild area and Moshannon and Elk State Forests. The main trailhead for most hikers is at Parker Dam State Park to the west of the wild area. From there the trail, which is blazed in orange, heads east to the southern part of Quehanna Wild Area, skirts Piper and the Boot Camp there, then turns north, crosses Wykoff Run and turns west again. After passing through Marion Brooks Natural Area, the trail leaves the wild area and completes the loop back at Parker Dam. The Quehanna Trail is considered a strenuous hike not just because of its length, but for its 9,700 feet (2,957 m) of changes in elevation. Two blue-blazed connector trails add 30 miles (48 km) to the system, and there are many side trails and small trails off the Quehanna Highway. Most trails are open to cross-country skiing in the winter. According to the DCNR, the Quehanna Trail "passes through some of the most wild and beautiful country Pennsylvania has to offer".
  Susan Stranahan's Susquehanna: River of Dreams reports that before Curtiss-Wright took over the area in 1955, Quehanna was considered "some of the best hunting land in the state". No hunting or fishing were initially allowed on the leased land, but by July 1959 fishing on Mosquito Creek was allowed again, as was limited hunting to help control the deer. In October 1963 hunting resumed throughout the wild area, four years before the state purchased the land back from Curtiss-Wright. As of 2010, the Pennsylvania Game Commission allowed hunting of the following species found in Quehanna Wild Area: American crow, beaver, black bear, black squirrel, bobcat, bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbit, coyote, elk, house sparrow, raccoon, red fox, ring-necked pheasant, ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and woodcock. The Mosquito Creek Sportsmen's Association has sponsored an annual coyote hunt each winter hunt since 1992. The club has also provided food plots for deer and elk, fed game animals in winter, planted and pruned fruit trees, stocked fish, and treated streams for acid rain. Fishing is primarily for trout.
  The Quehanna Wild Area is also seen, used, and enjoyed by bird watchers attracted by its status as an Important Bird Area. Audubon Pennsylvania and the DCNR have prepared the Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail guide which lists three sites in Quehanna: Wykoff Run, Beaver Run Wildlife Viewing Area, and the whole wild area. The DCNR has published a guide to Elk Scenic Drive which lists 23 attractions, four in Quehanna: Marion Brooks and Wykoff Run Natural Areas, and Beaver Run and Hoover Farm Wildlife Viewing Areas.
caption: Mosquito Creek gorge is used for hiking, fishing, and hunting.
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