Tuscarora Trail
252 mi long · across 4 states · centroid 69 mi from Washington
The Tuscarora Trail runs 252 miles from Shenandoah National Park through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, originally conceived as a relocation route for the Appalachian Trail when private-land threats made the AT's permanent route uncertain. Now a permanent trail in its own right, it offers a quieter alternative through the same Mid-Atlantic ridges.
- States
- Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia
- Length
- 252 mi
- Trail type
- Long-distance trail
- Network
- Regional (rwn)
- Centroid nearest city
- Washington, DC · 69 mi · ~2.0 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 39.5108°, -78.0664°
- Official site
- patc.us
- OSM relations
- 2 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap
Termini
Southern terminus: Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
Northern terminus: Pennsylvania-New Jersey state line.
Plan your hike
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 Tuscarora Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Tuscalachian Loop
11 miles from this trail's centroid
ADT - Maryland - Seg 4
19 miles from this trail's centroid
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
25 miles from this trail's centroid
Catoctin National Recreation Trail
32 miles from this trail's centroid
Pine Grove Trail
44 miles from this trail's centroid
ADT - West Virginia - Seg 1
48 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
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.