Warriors Path State Park

The Raystown Branch of the Juniata River reflects nearby trees and Saxton Mountain in late October.

I briefly mentioned Warriors Path State Park a while ago when I was writing a post about Pennsylvania state parks. I remember thinking how cool the name of the park sounded, but when you visit the official website for Warriors Path, this image shows up:

Maybe they're tailgating before the "Warriors" high school football game?

Warriors Path got its name because it's close in proximity to a path that was used by the Iroquois Indians for raids and wars against the Cherokees and other tribes, according to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website. You wouldn't have guessed that based off the photo of the four people eating lunch while sulking because they're being forced to engage in a social activity together.

The picture actually kept me from visiting the park for a while because it wasn't persuasive enough. I've lived in the Altoona area for two-and-a-half years, but it wasn't until this past October that I decided to check out Warriors Path for myself.

Here are a few background details about the place.

Warriors Path State Park sits in northeastern Bedford County just outside of Saxton Borough. It takes about 45 minutes to drive there from my apartment in Hollidaysburg. When you look at the park on a map, it appears downright dinky. It's essentially a spit of land surrounded by water on three of its sides. In other words, the park is a misshapen scallop that's wrapped in the bacon that is the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. About 3 miles of trails are scattered around the park, so I guess they're the Old Bay seasoning on the bacon-wrapped scallop? (I'm more hungry than creative at the moment).

This map shows Bacon-Wrapped Scallop State Park near Red Lobster Borough in Nantucket County. ... I really like seafood. (Map courtesy of DCNR)

Despite me comparing Warriors Path to seafood (which I love), I like to give any park benefit of the doubt. In addition, making the trip to Warriors Path set me one step closer to my life goal of visiting every state park in Pennsylvania.

I arrived outside the park about 2 p.m. in late October. As you know, the sun sets quickly by that point, so I only had about three good hours of sunlight at my disposal.

At first, I thought sunlight wouldn't be my only problem, because a locked gate blocked the main entrance into the park. I got out of my car and found a sign saying the gate would be closed for the season (coincidentally, the lockdown went into effect that day); however, the sign also noted that you could walk into Warriors Path if you parked your vehicle in a dirt lot right next to the gate. That didn't sound too unreasonable. Besides, I wasn't going to let a 45-minute drive result in a pointless trip.

I moved my car and got ready to walk into the park when I noticed a trail extending from the dirt lot. It looked like a trail that's been well-established and traveled by many other visitors, so I decided to take a detour and see what it was about.

I walked for about 10 minutes in one direction and didn't come across any sort of end point or a distinguishable landmark. The trail did run parallel to the Juniata River and provided some nice views at times, but the map didn't show where this trail went and for how long. I turned around and made my way back to the park, promising myself that I would search for the trail's name later.

While researching for this post, I found out the trail was an extension of the Huntingdon & Broad Top Rail-Trail, which is a partially finished bike trail that runs for about 10.6 miles from Riddlesburg to Tatesville, according to the Rails to Trails of Bedford County website. I'm sure it's a trail I'll visit in the future since I love bike riding. 

The walk into Warriors Path takes a while, but a paved road leads you to where many of its features are. I decided to take the River Trail Loop because I wanted to be close to the Juniata for some photo ops. I also brought a fishing road and tackle box with me, since the DCNR website says numerous fish frequent the river, including smallmouth bass, rock bass, muskellunge, walleye, catfish, eel, carp and suckers.

The River Trail Loop contains certain spots where you can walk to the riverbed and fish. The water was low at the time I visited, so there were parts of the river where the depth was likely no deeper than about 2 feet. Regardless, I cast my line a couple times. As expected, I had a better chance catching Bigfoot than any fish that day. Luckily I had my camera, so I figured I could snap some photos in the meantime.

The further upstream I went, the calmer the water was. From a photography standpoint, this worked well since the river reflected the trees and the cliffs surrounding it. The picture at the top of this post provides one example of this. Here are two more:

I haven't seen water this calm in a while where it created a mirror image of the scenery around it. Honestly, it frustrated me that I wasn't catching any fish, but I had more fun taking photos, anyway.

I eventually reached the portion of the park where the river and the trail curve back toward the main entrance. In the same spot, a paved road cuts through the middle of the park. The sun at that point in the day began dipping closer to the treeline, meaning I had limited sunlight to work with. I decided to take the high road (crappy pun intended) instead of the trail.

However, about half way back to the entrance, I came across a pavilion area where a large trail made its way into the woods. I looked on my map and found out it was the Warriors Trail Loop. Before walking along the riverside, I contemplated hiking the Warriors Trail and the Broad Top Trail loops but decided against it because they weren't close to the water.

Where I was currently located, both trails would take me close to the main entrance. I still had enough time before the sun set, and I didn't really get the chance to do real hiking since I kept stopping and going to fish and take pictures on the River Trail Loop. I chose to take the detour.

For how short in length the trails are (all 3 miles of them), they provided me with great enjoyment and relaxation. I went to Warriors Path State Park in October, so the foliage still existed at this point. The leaves in some areas were quite vibrant, while the sun peaked through the bare branches, giving the trees massive silhouettes.

Trees and leaves on the Warriors Path Trail Loop.

The sun silhouetted the trees on this portion of the Warriors Path Trail Loop.

One thing I should note is that, during the first 95 percent of this trip, I did not see another soul: no fishermen, hikers or even park rangers.

Warriors Path gave me the impression it was abandoned long ago as if it were the sight of some nuclear meltdown. That's why, at one point, it startled me when I saw some big animal running toward me. I stopped to see what it planned to do -- going by the Jurassic Park logic that "if you don't move, it can't see you."

Luckily, it was only a deer, though I've seen cases where deer have impaled people for no reason other than to prove that Mother Nature has a perverted sense of humor. I think the deer had the same sense of loneliness that I did, for it didn't seem to think anyone was around until it was within 30 feet of me and realized, "Holy crap, what is that?!"

Once the deer made that realization, it darted off in another direction and out of my sight. I figured that was the most interaction I would have with an organic lifeform while in this park, but about five minutes later, I saw a man walking with his dog.

Unlike the deer, the dog noticed me right away and decided to start charging at me. The owner looked on indifferently and hesitated to have the dog stop. The latter came within five feet of me until it came to a halt and stared silently at me like, coincidentally, a deer in headlights. I went to pet the dog out of the kindness of my heart, but the second I extended my arm, it bolted back in the opposite direction, right past its owner and into the void of trees. I felt kind of bad, until the man said, "Usually we don't see anyone on this trail, which is why he's probably nervous."

His statement only reaffirmed my idea that Warriors Path is a usually desolate place.

The man and I went after his dog, but the closer we got, the further it ran away. Eventually, the trail curved back toward the road, but the dog ran in a direction with no designated trail. I felt like apologizing for scaring the dog, but the man had already walked several feet away from me, calling the dog's name out into the woods. I figured for the sake of the dog, it was best if I just walked away from it.

I came back to the dirt lot where my car was parked, and this time at least three other cars were parked next to mine. Turns out I wasn't the only one walking around the woods that day, but where all these people were at, I couldn't tell you. A park ranger did pass me on the way out, but other than him, I only saw the man, the dog and the deer that day.

The tranquility of the park was nice for a change. I'm not a big fan of running into several people out in the woods because I'm seeking solitude to begin with. Besides, I can take photos without people getting in the ways of my shots, and I can catch no fish without other fishermen judging me.

If you choose to visit Warriors Path State Park, take a camera, leave your fishing poll and bring your mp3 player with a classical music playlist on it. It's like meditating, but without the yoga mats and $50-per-month classes. Do this, and you might sync up with your inner warrior.