**Note hunting is allowed at Cove Mountain - hunters wear orange, you should too! Dawn to dusk ONLY here!
Welcome to the newly completed BLUE trail at the Cove Mountain Preserve! In 2017, The Nature Conservancy purchased roughly 350 acres of Hamer Woodlands at Cove Mountain, representing TNC’s first nature preserve in central Pennsylvania along the Kittatinny Ridge. In February 2021, the PA/DE chapter closed on a land deal to expand Hamer Woodlands at Cove Mountain. The purchase of 1,200 acres of land adjacent to the existing preserve quadruples its size and—most importantly—fills a gap between existing conservation lands, creating a 14-mile stretch of protected land along the Kittatinny Ridge, helping to ensure this chain of forests in one of the most important landscapes for climate adaptation in Pennsylvania and the Appalachians will remain connected, healthy and more climate resilient into the future.
I found a vastly different and more expanded trail map at the trail head sign than what I found online, which tells me there's now a newly added orange trail that goes another two miles...hmm, looks like more great spots for caches!
From parking I took the pink trail for a short distance, the green trail to its end, then the blue all the way to GZ. Roughly 1.2 miles from the parking lot and 500' of elevation gain, but this view is WORTH it. Rare spot where you can see the Susquehanna off boths sides of the trail due to the curve in the river! Hint is a complete spoiler as I don't want DNFs, so don't look at it first if you want to search!
Hope you enjoyed the hike and are liking the view. If you keep going on the blue trail from here, expect a rocky (but awesome) hike!