Driving tours return to Pennsylvania state game lands

Harrisburg — It’s time, once again, to get off the beaten path and go for a drive on state game lands. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is offering the opportunity to explore several state game lands from the comfort of vehicles.

These driving tours provide a good example of the opportunities available on game lands statewide, while showcasing how habitat work being done on these tracts benefits wildlife.

All tours are free, held rain or shine and open only to vehicles licensed for travel on public roads.

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The tour schedule follows:

Sunday, Sept. 21

State Game Land 51, Fayette County, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – This is a 5-mile, self-guided, one-way driving tour highlighting mountainous terrain and early fall foliage on the Chestnut Ridge and this 16,945-acre game land.

The tour begins across from the State Game Land 51 maintenance building at 268 Dunbar Ohiopyle Road, Dunbar.

Items of interest along the tour route include several forestry projects to improve habitat for wildlife, herbaceous openings that have been planted to provide food for wildlife, native pollinator fields, and areas where the Game Commission releases pheasants.

The tour will conclude where the game lands road meets Green Brier Road in Wharton Township.

Sunday, Sept. 28

State Game Land 12, Bradford County, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – The 28-mile, self-guided, circular driving tour through State Game Land 12 will take about two hours. Vehicles with good ground clearance are recommended.

SGL 12 consists of nearly 24,480 acres. The route will start at the game lands parking lot on top of Wheelerville Mountain on state

Route 154, just south of Canton.

This tour will highlight habitat enhancements, infrastructure improvements and hunting opportunities. The tour goes by Sunfish Pond County Park, so a picnic lunch may be the order of the day!

Those taking the tour will find the local history of the mountain and the Game Commission’s refuge system intriguing. A pocket guide with historical information and photographs will be provided to each vehicle at the start of the tour. The tour ends at the intersection with state Route 154 in Wheelerville.

State Game Land 108, Cambria County, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. – This is a 7.5-mile, self-guided, one-way driving tour highlighting mountainous terrain and early fall foliage on the Allegheny Front within this 23,086-acre game lands.

The tour begins at the game lands access road three-tenths of a mile north of Frugality, along state Route 53, in White Township (look for the sign). The tour will conclude on state Route 865, near Blandburg in Reade Township.

Items of interest along the tour route include a rehabilitated strip-mine area that has been converted to small-game habitat, where the Game Commission releases pheasants.

The area also serves as a study area for grassland nesting birds, including the Henslow’s sparrow, a grassland species of special concern. Endangered northern harrier hawks and short-eared owls also inhabit the study area.

State Game Land 311, Elk County, 9 a.m. to noon. This roughly 3.5-mile self-guided driving tour provides a peek behind the curtain on the elk range.

The tour will start at the Winslow Hill Viewing Area in Benezette, then enter the game lands at the bottom of Dewey Road, continuing to Porcupine Road. Game Commission staff will be posted along the tour route.

The tour will showcase elk habitat management including the planting and maintenance of forage plots and the use of prescribed fire, early successional and aspen forest management, acid mine drainage treatment, grassland bird and American kestrel management, and recent infrastructure improvements including two styles of commission bridges.

As a reminder, the tour is open only to PennDOT-registered vehicles. ATVs/UTVs are not permitted.

Sunday, Oct. 12

State Game Land 26, Bedford County, Noon to 3 p.m. – The public is invited to tour State Game Lands 26, a 12,000-acre tract situated in Blue Knob. The tour begins off Route 869 near the Bedford/Cambria county line and covers approximately 7 miles.

Participants will find ample opportunity to enjoy the historical aspects of the game lands and the quality habitat improvements conducted by Game Commission habitat crews in partnership with cooperating organizations such as the National Wild Turkey Federation.

This tour will also include an audio component through the STQRY app. You must go to your phone’s app store and download the STQRY Guide app ahead of time. Once you install this free app, download the “Pennsylvania Game Commission SGL 26” tour prior to arriving for the tour.

State Game Land 110, Berks County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – This tour begins at the Mountain Road gate approximately 5 miles west of Hamburg Borough and ends at the state Route 183 gate, 4 miles north of Strausstown.

SGL 110 offers over 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat in Berks and Schuylkill counties. In addition to hunting opportunities, the historic Appalachian Trail runs through the game lands paralleling much of the driving tour.

This forested ridge is an important corridor along the Kittatinny Ridge that tens of thousands of hawks use every fall to migrate south along their migration route. Game Commission personnel will be stationed along the tour route.

State Game Land 211, Dauphin County, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Known as the Stoney Valley Tour, this tour begins at the Ellendale Forge gate, 6 miles east of Dauphin Borough, along Stoney Valley Road, and ends at the Gold Mine gate.

This more than 44,000-acre state game lands bridges three counties, Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill.

The tract has an abandoned railroad bed that traverses the entire game lands from west to east.

The Appalachian and Horse- Shoe Trails run through this game lands, providing excellent opportunities for hiking and other recreational opportunities in addition to hunting. Game Commission personnel will be stationed along the tour route.

Sunday, Oct. 19

State Game Land 67, Huntingdon County, Noon to 3 p.m. – This driving tour of a 5,700- acre tract begins in Saxton, on Burma Road off Little Valley Road.

It covers approximately 7 miles and ends on Route 913, between Coalmont and Dudley. Participants can enjoy the historical sites, quality habitat improvements conducted by Game Commission habitat crews in partnership with cooperating organizations such as the Huntingdon County Conservation District and the Shoup’s Run Watershed Association, as well as controlled-burn and quality forest management areas.

This tour also will include an audio component through the STQRY app. You must go to your phone’s app store and download the STQRY Guide app ahead of time. Once you install this free app, download the “Pennsylvania Game Commission SGL 67” tour prior to arriving for the tour.

Sunday, Oct. 26

State Game Land 252, Lycoming and Union counties, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – This 9-mile tour begins at the State Game Land 252 Habitat Crew Building at 2495 Alvira Road, Allenwood.

This tour is unique in that it includes historical sites from the town and U.S. Army Depot that existed there prior to the commission acquiring the property and even an opportunity to visit one of the many TNT bunkers from the World War II era.

Participants will get to see varied habitats this game lands has to offer, including managed water impoundments, managed dove fields, woodcock management areas, warm-season grasses and old field management areas. All-wheel drive vehicles are recommended, as some areas can become muddy in wet weather.