Allegany State Park, at 65,000 acres, is the largest state park in New York.  There are two developed areas, Red House and Quaker.  Both areas offer sandy beaches, picnic areas, museums, over 90 miles of hiking trails and naturalist walks. Walkers and bicycle riders take advantage of the 5 miles of paved trails around Red House.

The Art Roscoe Ski Touring Area has some of the finest groomed cross country skiing and mountain bike trails in the Northeast. Snowmobilers are attracted to Allegany State Park for its 90 miles of groomed snowmobile trails and over 150 winterized cabins. Other activities include bird watching, picnicking, fishing, hunting, snowshoeing, canoeing, and horseback riding.

Visitors looking for anything from a weekend retreat to an extended vacation are able to choose from Allegany State Park's 424 campsites, 375 cabins and three group camps available for rental. There are year round vacation rental cottages that are fully equipped with the latest conveniences located in both the Red House and Quaker areas.

The Red House Area is the northern half of Allegany State Park. The Red House area's attractions include Stone Tower, the Summit Fire Tower, Red House Lake, Bridal Falls, and the Art Roscoe Ski Area. This section also contains 5 miles of paved bike trails and 130 camp sites. The Red House area is the location of the Administration Building for the park.  The Summit Fire Tower doesn't actually give any views since the surrounding trees have grown higher than the tower.

The Quaker area is the southern section of the park. Its attractions include Quaker Lake, the Mount Tuscarora Fire Tower, hiking trails, Science lake, Bear Caves, Thunder Rocks, the Quaker Amphitheater, and of course several campsites. The Cain Hollow campground is located on the Quaker side of the park.

Directions

• From I-86/NY 17 (Southern Tier Expressway): Red House Area - exits 19 & 20; Quaker Area - exit 18.
• From US 219: Follow US 219 to I-86/NY 17 west; or from Bradford, PA, take interstate Parkway to the Quaker Area entrance.

Fall colors at Allegany State Park

 

Hiking trails

Allegany State Park offers 18 hiking trails of various lengths and difficulties available for use year round. Six of the trails are part of the Art Roscoe Ski Touring Area. The trails within this system are groomed for x-country skiing during the winter months, and are unavailable for hiking. The Ridgerun trail, which is part of the system, features a lean to. The Art Roscoe trails are located near Summit in the Red House Area. In addition to these trails, The Allegheny Highlands Snowmobile and Horse Trail begins in the park off ASP 2.

 Another unique bragging right the park has is that the famous North Country Trail passes through it. The North Country Trail is a 4000+ mile trail that spans through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and terminates in North Dakota. Allegany State Park's 20-mile section of the trail includes 3 lean-tos.

The Black Snake Mountain Trail is also unique due to its direct contact with the Pennsylvania state line. One of the attractions on this trail is a concrete marker shows the exact line where New York and Pennsylvania meet. It is short enough that one could sit on the marker, and be in two states at once. Many other attractions are viewable on or from the trails listed below.

In the Quaker Area, the Tornado Trail tours the damage area caused by an F-1 tornado on August 28, 1990. Though much of the area has grown back, however you can still see the path that was cut by the tornado. Here is a list of the hiking trails and their lengths:

List of hiking trails in Allegany State Park

• Mt. Tuscarora (5.0 miles)
• Bear Caves - Mt. Seneca (4.0 miles)
• Black Snake Mountain (3.0 miles)
• Three Sisters (2.5 miles)
• Bear Springs (0.5 miles)
• Beehunter (6.5 miles)
• Osgood (2.5 miles)
• Red Jacket (2.0 miles)
• North Country Trail (ASP section of the trail) (20.0 miles)
• Conservation Trail (4.0 miles)
• Patterson (3.5 miles)
• Ridgerun (5.0 miles)
• Leonard Run Loop (5.0 miles)
• Christian Hollow Loop (4.0 miles)
• Sweetwater (2.7 miles)
• Flagg (3.0 miles)
• Eastwood Meadows (2.5 miles)
• Snowsnake Run (4.9 miles)

  Click on the map to the left for the NYSP map of Allegany State Park.