Pennsylvania

Horse-Shoe Trail

143 mi long · in Pennsylvania · centroid 42 mi from Allentown

Horse-Shoe Trail is a 143-mile hiking trail in Pennsylvania maintained by Horse-Shoe Trail Conservancy. This page summarises what we have from public sources (OpenStreetMap and trail-association data); always verify current conditions and trail status with the maintaining organisation before heading out.

Horse-Shoe Trail
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Length
143 mi
Network
Regional (rwn)
Maintained by
Horse-Shoe Trail Conservancy
Reference
HST
Centroid nearest city
Allentown, PA · 42 mi · ~1.2 hr drive
Centroid coords
40.2627°, -76.1363°
OSM relation
1596895
From Wikipedia: The Horse-Shoe Trail is a 140-mile (230 km) hiking and horseback riding trail in southeastern Pennsylvania, United States. It begins at Valley Forge National Park and ends at a junction with the Appalachian Trail near Harrisburg. Most of the trail is in an agricultural region with gently rolling topography, where it generally follows rural roads and old country lanes, but the western end is much more mountainous and rugged. A 17-mile segment of the trail in Chester and Berks counties has been designated as a National Recreation Trail. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Horse-Shoe Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Horse-Shoe Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Allentown, PA — 42 miles away (~1.2 hr drive). See accommodation in Allentown on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

6 nearby

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.