You have found your next adventure! Thank you for joining us for the “Visit Centre County” GeoTour as we show you some of our most favorite caching locations to include state parks, beautiful vistas, and historical points of interest! Our team of GeoTour planners have worked very hard to put together various cache types to keep the GeoTour interesting and challenging; however, no geocache should be beyond a 3/3.5 for terrain or difficulty! We are pleased to show you around our County and hope that you will enjoy the GeoTour and complete your passport to collect your custom GeoTour Geocoin (there is a minimum number of caches required to receive the coin)!
If you will caching with some young ‘uns, we have a Jr. Geocaching Passport available for children, 12 yrs. And under, with special prize for their hard work too! Caches will be marked as “family-friendly” and should correlate to the Jr. Geocaching Passport.
Download your “Visit Centre County” GeoTour passport and/or you Jr. Geocaching Passport or pick-up paper copies at the following coordinates: N40° 48.879; W 077° 51.274 (Happy Valley Adventure Bureau). You’ll return your passport to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau when complete and collect your prize if you meet the minimum requirements!
The “Visit Centre County” GeoTour is brought to you by Centre Region Parks and Recreation, the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, and Groudspeak, Inc. We are pleased that you’ll be joining us in Happy Valley soon! Bring on the Adventures!
Most hikers look forward to that moment when you emerge from the forest to a location where one just stands in awe at the majesty and beauty the world has to offer… one that that takes your breath away. Indian Wells Vista is exactly that kind of location and is highly regarded as one of the best scenic views in all of Central Pennsylvania. The centerpiece of the view is the Bear Meadows Natural Area in the valley below, but on a clear day one can see across the ridgetops of Rothrock State Forest for miles and miles.
Although Rothrock State Forest is a wonderful, year-round destination for outdoor recreation the forest roads are not maintained during winter. I highly recommend not attempting this cache during the winter months as the roads get quite treacherous and getting to the trailhead requires about 4 miles of driving on these roads up and down mountain ridges.
The quickest & shortest route to this cache is via the Keith Springs Trail, located along Bear Gap Road, to the Mid State Trail (MST). The trailhead is very well marked, not only with a signpost but the Keith Spring itself.
Your hike begins with a very slight uphill climb to the top of Big Flat. At approximately 0.2 miles, the trail terminates at the intersection with the Mid State Trail (MST). Follow the MST for approximately 0.5 miles to reach Indian Wells Vista. The cache itself is located on the far side of the vista in the woods in order to meet DCNR requirements. Please watch your footing while traversing the scree field and be mindful that this is the perfect habitat for snakes.
There is a wonderful “dry” campsite located about 0.5 miles into the hike and located very close to the Indian Wells Vista, so if you’re of the overnight camping type this is a wonderful location.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS
The shortest drive from the Boalsburg/State College area is via US Route 322 about ½ mile east of Boalsburg at the Tussey Mountain Ski Area. Follow Bear Meadows Road for about 1.5 miles, then turn right onto Laurel Run Road. Continue for about 3 miles up and over the ridge until you see Bear Gap Road on the left. Turn left onto Bear Gap Road & continue the ascent for approximately 1.4 miles to the top of Big Flat. The trailhead is located to the left. There are a couple small pull-off parking areas along the road in close proximity to the trailhead. In addition, there is a larger parking approximately 0.2 miles past the trailhead at the top of the ridge. Waypoints for all of these are provided.
***Bear Meadows Road Closure***
Bear Meadows Road between the Galbraith Gap parking lot to Laurel Run Road is scheduled to be closed from May 11, 2020 to September/October 2020 for two bridge replacement projects. The time period of this closure may change based on the effects of COVID-19. Please click here for the Bear Meadows Road Closure Map (PDF)
During this closure, the cache will still be accessible but the drive to get to the trailhead will take longer through the beautiful Rothrock State Forest. Here are some optional access routes (you should consult a map or utilize turn-by-turn navigation):
Route 322: Access via Colyer Lake
Taylor Hill Road to Church Hill Road to Bubb Road to Lake Road to Treaster Kettle Road to Bear Meadows Road to Laurel Run Road to Bear Gap Road
Route 26: Access via Whipple Dam State Park
Whipple Dam Road to Laurel Run Road to Bear Gap Road
OR
Whipple Dam Road to Laurel Run Road to Greenlee Road which turns into Bear Gap Road.
This cache has been placed with DCNR permission
