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. Not many options nearby for food or fuel… 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 the 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 the 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 and Road 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 narrow single-track, somewhat rocky as it climbs a bit near the camp. It quickly becomes grown in and at one stretch is completely overgrown with blueberry bushes. If you get through that, it opens up a little. 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.
Brook Trail
We only covered this one from Horsefly to Fink Road, but that section was recently-mowed two-track. An easy ride!
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 significant elevation change.
Fink Road
This quiet gravel road has most of the stones pushed off the wheel tracks, making it easier on horse feet. An easy 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.
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.
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 and quite narrow and grown in. At one point it is grown over with blueberry bushes. Then it switches to waist high grass for a while! There is a bit of a two-track through the grass, thankfully. Once it meets Brook Trail it was recently mowed and easy. We took Brook Trail out to Fink to shorten the ride by a mile due to humidity (see ride above). We saw no cars at all during our ride. Almost the entire ride is in the woods.
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 a hitching rail. There are no toilets or water. There are two picnic tables and a fire pit. Nothing quite like Pennsylvania comforts!
The campsite gives direct access to Horsefly trail and is close to Over There trail and Kendig Road (trail). There is decent grass for grazing.
There is a small amount of parking for horse trailers along Tar Kiln Road near the camp site, giving day-use access to trails in that area.
Although there is a wooden gate at the camp site, it does not seem to lock. It’s possible you might get away with parking horse trailers in the camp site for a few hours, understanding that it’s probably against the rules! Hopefully rangers would understand how limited good trailer parking is in the area.
Horse Trailer Parking
Paradise Furnace Parking
The park has designated 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 just 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 except on a very busy day.
Less formal parking areas are scattered to the east and north of Paradise furnace. These will generally take 1-2 small trailers, or maybe 1 large trailer, but you may not be able to 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 descriptions below.
It would really be nice if the state forest could create at least 1 or 2 formalized trailer parking areas. 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 could 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 Trail. It’s big enough for 1-2 trailers, but at busy times it may be filled with cars for hikers and bikers.
Camp Site 8 / Tar Kiln Road Parking
There is a small parking area outside camp site #8 on Tar Kiln road, near Kendig Road (trail) and Over There trail. It’s big enough for two small trailers. There are pull-off areas nearby where you could squeeze another couple small trailers.
John Bum Road at Brook Trail Parking
(I think this photo location is now correct)
There is a small parking area on John Bum road at Brook trail. You don’t have to worry about blocking a gate here, because there isn’t one! There is another single pull-off spot nearby.
Coder Road and Over There Trail Parking
There is a parking for 2 or 3 small trailers 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 managed to pull 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 is a pain.
Cassville Road and Down Under Trail Parking
There is a small parking area for 1-2 trailers where Cassville road meets Down Under trail. A number of nearby pull-offs and wide shoulders to the road allow a few small trailers to park nearby.
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 food, and having enough fuel. Come prepared!
There is one 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 somewhat limited outside of peak summer season. It may be a madhouse during peak summer season due to the Raystown Lake boating and fishing crowds!
Cassville Country Store is to the east of the area on Seminary Street just before PA 829. It appears they have fuel pumps. We haven’t gotten there yet.