Bald Eagle State Forest is an incredibly remote and beautiful place to explore. Dozens of official and unofficial overlooks dot the rugged landscapes of this state forest, with almost all of them offering views that go out for miles. The lake at Poe Valley State Park is within a rugged creek valley and offers scenic vistas on its shores of the rugged mountain landscape.
The Chocolate Drop Vista is located on Pine Swamp Road, when you turn off of Poe Valley Road near Poe Valley State Park. You can't miss this spot. You can see it on a curve as you go up the hill. If you continue on this road, then follow the signs to "Vistas" and turn right, you will head up to Penn's View Overlook, and the others on that road, which only get better as they go along.
Chocolate Drop Vista Coordinates:
40.832362, -77.451150
CeCe enjoying the Chocolate Drop Vista
Penn's View Overlook is one of the finest in the state. It offers sweeping vistas of the mountains, plateaus, valleys, and meandering creeks of the area, along with views of farms and old rail bridges. On the first day we went up there, a group of birders had their binoculars out and a nice little fire going. While all of these overlooks are nice, this one is just fantastic. The best thing about it though is getting to it requires going by all of the other scenic overlooks and vistas, and this one is the capstone of the journey. The elevation in this spot is about 1740, and you can see the village of Coburn out in the distance.
Penn's View Overlook
Coordinates:
40.842546, -77.452578
This is the first overlook that I went to in a while that I wanted to take out a bunch of lenses for. There is just so much going on. Any single view would be fantastic as a scenic overlook, but the 180 degree views are just fantastic in this spot. I used my wide angle, mid telephoto, and fisheye lenses in this spot. If you are camping in the area or spending a lot of time in the state forest, this spot will have your phone buzzing a few times as it is one of the few spots with decent phone coverage. Make sure you have a paper map and save the Google Maps data into your phone to ensure you are able to navigate if you need to. In this spot, both sunrise and sunset should be visible.
Just a breathtaking spot.
Just a half mile further down the road, you run into three more overlooks, Ingleby View, and the Raven's Knob East and Raven's Knob West Views. These spots are pretty self explanatory to see. Just keep going on the road as you pass Penn's View and you will run right into them. Ingleby View is off of a pretty outcrop and gives a portion over view just around the corner from what you see at Penn's View, though it is more obstructed. The road beyond this point is called "Road Trail" and it is not maintained. I would not recommend driving on it, even if you have a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle.
Raven's Knob East and West give views from both sides of the mountain. Our adventure dog CeCe loved every minute of it.
Bell's Majestic View
Coordinates:
40.829736, -77.508941
We visited this spot once before enroute on an west to east drive. This is is a stunning view that is about a 15 minute drive across the rocky forest roads from Penn's View. You can't miss it if you are headed up to Millheim, up and out of Bald Eagle State Forest. Our first visit was at sunset and it was breathtaking. You get a view over several sets of mountains here, the remainder of the state forest, and out to the valley in a strong agrarian setting. I always love central PA overlooks, and this one is no different.
Big Valley Vista
Coordinates:
40.784399, -77.514830
Catching this one is blue hour is fantastic. Any fog or haze sort of hangs in the valleys and the view of each set of mountains is just fantastic. It looks like something straight out of a Bob Ross painting. While the view is not as widely expansive as Penn's View, the view itself is just so awesome. It is about 15 minutes south of Bell's Majestic View.
New Lancaster Valley Overlook/Ridge Road Vista
The New Lancaster Valley Vista gives a stunning view about twelve miles down the New Lancaster Valley to where Jacks Mountain and Thick Mountain meet. The view is so incredible. Central PA's topography is so amazing.
In the more eastern reaches of Bald Eagle State Forest, (remember this state forest is about 194,000 acres, and it takes more than an hour to reach from end to end) There are at least two labelled scenic overlooks, The
New Lancaster Valley Scenic Overlook, Coordinates: 40.79362, -77.31011 which gives an incredible view that goes for at least 12 miles, and the
Chimney Rocks Overlook, coordinates: 40.84599, -77.29787
Both of these overlooks are a solid hour from the rest that we covered. We have hit them in passing on road trips and did not hit them on this trip. They are well worth the effort, especially the New Lancaster Valley Overlook.
Overall, Bald Eagle State Forest is a tremendously large place with ample scenic and outdoor exploration opportunities. It is well worth exploring. All of these listed overlooks are roadside, and even more are available with some exploration in this beautifully rugged setting.
We have released our 2022 Pennsylvania Calendar!
It features views of:
-Independence Hall in Philadelphia
-Sunrise in Downtown Pittsburgh
-Knoebels Amusement Resort
-Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway
-Millersburg Ferry across the Susquehanna River
-Tank Hollow Overlook above the Lehigh Gorge in the Poconos
-The Reading Pagoda
-Kennywood Park
-Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge in Chester and Lancaster Counties
-Academia-Pomeroy Covered Bridge in Juniata County
-Ohiopyle State Park
-A holiday scene in Pittsburgh
The calendars open up to be 17 inches tall by 11 inches wide (8.5 by 11 pages)
It makes for a great gift for someone or for yourself. It is available for purchase through the PayPal dropdown menus at the top of the page and the bottom of this article.
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