In short…
Beautiful, rugged, remote park offers quite a few trails for horse riding. With luck you might be greeted by a Great Horned Owl! Expect some rocks, and roads getting there are slow. You may want to bring a picnic!
Rothrock State Forest covers a vast area and has lots of trails to ride horses. One of the more popular areas is the forest around Trough Creek state park. This is southern Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, at the south end of Raystown Lake. The area has one trail in the park and about 20 miles of designated horse trails in surrounding forest. Quite a few quiet dirt and gravel roads are also suitable for horseback riding or horse driving.
Note that part of this area is referred to as “The Barrens” and is a bit like Quehanna wild area: pretty high, pretty rugged, somewhat barren wilderness. Some of the hollows are a nice mix of pines and deciduous trees. The terrain is quite rugged and rocky in places. Overall it is a pretty area, and you aren’t likely to run into any crowds outside of the core of the park in summer; you may see no one at all!
When we tacked up there on a muggy July morning we were surprised to be greeted by a nearby Great Horned Owl, who wanted to know WHO WHO-OO WHO WHO was visiting his forest!
Overview
Waymarked Trails gives an overview of horse riding trails near Trough Creek state park.
Waymarked Trails: Horse Riding Trough Creek

Recreational Trail Guide

You can pick up a printed Recreational Trails Map for “Trough Creek Division” at the park office, or download it:
Rothrock State Forest: Trough Creek Division trails map
General Layout
Trough Creek state park along the creek is very cramped and NOT a place to take a horse trailer. Terrace Mountain road climbing from the creek is quite steep and very narrow, with large drop offs. Avoid the area along Trough creek between the park office and the Ice Mine. The park itself only has Nicholas Crum trail open to horse riding.
If you’re there to ride horses, you probably want to start in surrounding state forest, parking at Paradise Furnace (designated horse trailer parking area near the park office) or one of the small and less-formal parking spots scattered east and north of Paradise Furnace through the state forest (towards villages of Calvin and Cassville). Farther down this page we have photos of many parking spots.
Road Conditions
Be aware that the area is steep and rugged. Roads tend to be winding, hilly, and sometimes barely wide enough for traffic to pass. A few roads we were on are dirt and one lane, some have a lot of loose gravel. If you go there in a horse trailer, don’t be in a hurry and allow plenty of travel time! You are not getting anywhere fast on these roads. We suggest you plan on making a day of it, take a picnic, take your time, and enjoy a day at a slower pace.
Note that Coder road at the Fink road end is dirt, quite narrow, pretty rough. Fink road between Coder and John Bum is also narrow and rough. If you are accessing Coder Road, best to do it from the east end at village of Calvin.
Getting There
If you’re coming from the north (e.g. US 22), it is quite a bit easier to access the area containing most of the trails by taking PA 829 south rather than PA 26. Route 26 is a bit of a roller coaster with a number of slow areas. Route 829 is a pretty good road with one long climb and horse trails are not that far from the paved roads.
Water Crossings
Waymarked Trails shows a number of water crossings (fords) on the trails in the area if you zoom in all the way.
Trails we have ridden so far didn’t have any noticeable crossings. This is pretty high land, so unless it rains a lot, anything you encounter will probably be minor.
Trail Notes
Over There Trail
The stretch from Coder Road to Tar Kiln Road (near camp site 8) is a very enjoyable ride. Wide, grassy, shaded, it only has a few minor hills and good footing.
Horsefly Trail
North of camp site 8, this trail is a single-track, somewhat rocky as it climbs a bit from the camp. It soon becomes grown in and at one stretch was completely overgrown with blueberry bushes [improved July 2024!]. At a log landing (clearing) it widens but was waist-high grass with two faint tracks in it when we visited. It is passable, you just have to work at it.

While cutting blueberry bushes, horse flies visited numerous times, but we didn’t have any issues when we rode it.
Kendig Road/Trail
The start of this trail makes it look to be a two-track with grassy footing. It can take you to Pipeline Trail or Down Under Trail. We have not been back this trail yet.

Brook Trail
We covered this one from Horsefly to Fink Road, and that section was recently-mowed two-track. An easy ride! The end at John Bum Road also looks easy and maintained.

Down Under Trail
We’ve only seen the ends of this trail but it appears to be a wide two-track with mostly grass footing and should be an easy and enjoyable ride.

Horse Knob Fire Trail
This trail seems to be fairly popular with horse users. The west end departs Terrace Mountain road above Trough Creek park. The east end is reached by going a short distance down Terrace Mountain trail from the parking area at Fink and John Bum roads.

The section we looked at looks like a nice, grassy two-track, but we’ve been told parts of it get pretty rocky.
This is an out and back trail unless you wish to make a loop with Terrace Mountain and John Bum roads. Those roads gets more traffic than many in the park and have a lot of loose gravel and a fairly steep climb; in our opinion it’s not the best road to ride in the park.
Terrace Mountain Trail
While PA state forest maps show this as a multi-user trail which should be open to horse riders, the Army Corp of Engineers website says horses are not allowed on any of their properties. This does not make me like the Army Corp very much.
So mountain bikers get their own entire trail network to overuse and abuse, but horses aren’t allowed on even one trail at Lake Raystown? That seems like bullshit.
Road Notes
Most of the roads in the forest are suitable for horse riding or driving, though they may not be as scenic or enjoyable as the trails.
Coder Road
This quiet road is mostly sand and dirt, with some small gravel. In summer 2024 parts of it were graded, but it’s still pretty easy footing for horses. It does have a noticeable elevation change.
Fink Road
This quiet gravel road has gravel pushed off the wheel tracks in many areas, making it easier on horse feet. The end near John Bum Road is more dirt, narrower, and has numerous low branches if you have a big rig. An easy riding connection between trails.

John Bum Road
This road is a bit busier than some of the others and some areas have larger gravel. It may be a bit hard on feet depending which section you ride.
Note that John Bum descends quite a bit along Horse Knob Fire Trail, so if you do a loop with that trail you will have a healthy climb home.
Loop Trails
We scouted out the following loops in 2023 and rode one in summer 2024. We expect to ride more at Trough Creek in fall 2024.
Over There – Fink road – Horsefly
Our shortest loop trail for horse riding is 3.5 miles, with a stretch on Fink road. There are several spots outside Camp Site #8 where you can park, and several along Fink Road.

Kendig – Pipeline – Down Under – Tar Kiln road – Over There
4.3 mile loop around #8 camp site, with a bit on Tar Kiln road. There are several spots outside Camp Site #8 where you can park. Over There Trail is an enjoyable ride.

Over There – Coder Rd – Fink Rd – Horsefly
4.8 mile loop around #8 camp site. Might be easier to ride clockwise rather than as we’ve shown, due to long climb on Coder Road. There are several spots outside Camp Site #8 where you can park, and several along Fink Road and Coder Road.
See following loop for some comments on conditions!

Over There – Horsefly – Brook – John Bum Rd – Fink Rd – Coder Rd
Close to PA 829 at Calvin, so easily accessible. Starts at small parking at Coder Road and Over There Trail (see photo below). This 5.9 mile loop offers the option to cut off a mile by taking Brook Trail direct to Fink Road and skipping John Bum. Going clockwise makes this a relatively long and easy climb. Descent on Coder Road back to trailer is considerable, but road is mostly dirt. While a good bit of loop is on roads, they are dirt or gravel and don’t get much traffic.
We rode this clockwise in July 2024. Over There Trail is very pleasant, wide and grassy with a few modest hills. Camp site 8 makes a great rest stop with grass. North of site 8, Horsefly trail is a somewhat rocky climb for a bit and gets quite narrow and overgrown. At one point it was completely grown over with blueberry bushes [somebody just went out 7/28/24 and cut them back 🙂 ]. North of the log landing it switches to waist high grass for a while! There is a faint two-track through the grass, thankfully. Brook Trail was recently mowed and easy. We took Brook Trail out to Fink to shorten the ride by a mile due to humidity (see shorter ride above). We saw no cars at all during our ride, despite being on several roads. Almost the entire ride is in the woods.

Cassville North Loop 1
This 6.3 mile loop has only about 430 feet of elevation change (900 up and down) and gentle slopes, so it is a pretty easy ride for this area.
It includes a fairly short section on Tar Kiln Road and Fink Road. Tar Kiln has pretty wide shoulders and you can probably ride them and avoid the gravel. Fink Road is a bit narrower (photo above).
Over There, Down Under, and Kendig road trails all appear to be easy and wide trails through mature woods. Not sure about Pipeline Trail… we will let you know soon!
There is a fair amount of parking where Down Under trail meets Cassville Road, and nearby (see photo below).

Horse Camping
Rothrock State Forest motorized camp site #8 on Tar Kiln road is recommended for camping with horses and is located to have access to a number of trails. Reservations are required, and made through the Pennsylvania park reservation website (not through the local park office).

Really the only provision to make it “suitable for horses” is a couple tie-line poles and 2 hitching rails. There are no toilets or water. There are two picnic tables and a fire pit. Nothing quite like Pennsylvania comforts!

The campsite directly accesses Horsefly trail. Over There trail and Kendig Road (trail) both start nearby. There is decent grass for grazing.
A small amount of parking for horse trailers is along Tar Kiln Road outside the camp site, giving day-use access to area trails.
Although the camp site has a wooden gate, it does not lock. You might get away with parking horse trailers in the camp site for a few hours, understanding that it’s probably against rules! Hopefully rangers would understand how limited good trailer parking is in the area.
Horse Trailer Parking
Paradise Furnace Parking
The state park designates horse trailer parking next to the iron furnace (Paradise furnace) on Trough Creek Drive near the park office. This is the head of Nicholas Crum trail. Unfortunately Crum trail doesn’t really go anywhere, it climbs up the mountain a few miles and dumps you on John Bum road, without connecting directly with other trails. You could fit a bunch of trailers in this area. If you organized a group ride this is about the only place you could park!

Less formal parking areas are scattered east and north of Paradise furnace. These will generally hold 1-3 small trailers, maybe 1 large trailer, but you generally cannot turn around. Some are shown on the forest map and some are not. There really aren’t any lots (besides Paradise Furnace) that would take more than 3 trailers of any size. See parking descriptions below.
We wish the state forest would build 1 or 2 larger trailer parking areas out near the trails. Nothing fancy, but just big enough to fit into and turn around!
Remote Parking Areas
Terrace Mountain Road at Horse Knob Fire Trail Parking
At Terrace Mountain road and the west end of Horse Knob Fire Trail there is a small lot which will hold 2-3 trailers. As discussed elsewhere, Terrace Mountain road is not suitable for trailers west of here (down to Trough Creek). If you want to park here, get on Terrace Mountain road via John Bum road!

John Bum Road and Fink Road Parking
There is a small gravel lot at John Bum and Fink roads, at the access point to Terrace Mountain Trail and Horse Knob Fire Trail. It’s big enough for 1-2 trailers, but you might find it filled with cars for hikers and bikers. So far we have hardly seen anyone at all in the entire region, but it appears to get some use.

Brook Trail and John Bum Road Parking
A small parking area for 1-2 trailers is at the north end of Brook Trail where it meets John Bum road.

Kendig Trail / Camp Site 8 / Tar Kiln Road Parking
A small parking area is outside camp site #8, where Kendig Road (trail) and Over There trail meet Tar Kiln road. It’s big enough for two small trailers. There are pull-off areas nearby where you could squeeze another couple small trailers.

Fink Road Parking
A small parking area is on Fink road between Over There trail and Brook trail, where you could pull in 2-3 trailers. You don’t have to worry about blocking a gate here, because there isn’t one, just some big rocks! There is another single pull-off spot nearby. This parking does not directly connect to a trail; you have to ride Fink road to a trail.

Coder Road and Over There Trail Parking
Parking for 2 or 3 small trailers is at Coder road and Over There trail. Note that Coder road is pretty narrow, dirt/mud, and not at all smooth. If you are going there, you may want to come in from the Cassville end (PA 829) rather than Fink road, as the road is better that way.
We pulled in a 3h GN and 2h BP here, but turning around was a pain. There is a pretty good dip coming in off the road too, so backing out while turning isn’t easy.

Down Under Trail and Tar Kiln Road parking
A small parking area for 1-2 trailers is where Down Under Trail starts on Tar Kiln Road.

Down Under Trail Parking and Cassville Road
A parking area for 1-2 trailers is where Down Under trail meets Cassville road. A number of nearby pull-offs and wide shoulders to the road allow a few small trailers to park nearby.

indicates parking areas marked on the Rothrock State Forest “recreational trails” map available from the park office or online.
Facilities
A nice picnic pavilion and restrooms are in the park at Paradise Furnace, across from designated horse trailer parking area on Trough Creek Drive. This area has easy access to Trough creek and substantial areas for grazing, picnicking, and just chilling with your horses.
Unfortunately this parking area only gives direct access to Nicholas Crum trail in the park. You could also ride on road past the park office and access Old Forge Road (a gated road). Or ride from one of the remote lots in surrounding state forest first, then come here to picnic and go wading in the state park.

There are no other restrooms easy to access when driving a horse trailer. The park office does not have public restrooms.
There is a trailer dump station adjacent to the park office which does have a water hydrant. It is not safe drinking water, but you probably could use it to hose your horse off if there aren’t a bunch of people waiting with RVs.
Amenities
The area is remote. Figure on bringing drinking water and snacks, and having enough fuel. There are a few options with a 15-20 minute drive from the park.
Cassville Country Store is about 5 miles to the east of the area, on Seminary Street (take Cassville Road) just before PA 829. They have a sizeable menu including breakfast at reasonable prices, sit-down dining, covered picnic tables outside, Ritchey’s ice cream, groceries, hardware, plumbing, electrical, sporting goods! They have rest rooms. They are open 6a-8p seven days. Breakfast until about 11am, restaurant hours are 7-7. You can circle the building with your rig and find extra parking space in back.
359 Grab & Go (whatever that means) is a more typical rural convenience store, across the street. It has gas and diesel pumps and soft serve ice cream. There is plenty of space for trailers.
There is a store about 7 miles west of the park at routes 994 and 26 (Entriken). They have fuel, a few pre-made sandwiches, and restrooms. Hours are limited outside of peak summer season. It may be a madhouse during peak summer season due to the Raystown Lake boating and fishing crowds, but the lot is plenty big. It appears there also may be food and ice cream in an RV park across the street from it, but that’s probably summer only.