Discover Elk Scenic Drive
our history
There's no telling exactly how many elk once roamed free throughout Pennsylvania. From the Allegheny National Forest to Kettle Creek State Park, the loud bugles of the male bulls could be heard calling the female cows to mate. But, by the mid-1800s, the Pennsylvania population was reduced to living in a small area in Elk County. And the last native Pennsylvania elk was killed near Ridgway in 1867.
Realizing their historic and geographic importance, the Pennsylvania Game Commission set about to restore this once proud herd and bring them home. Between 1913 and 1926 they released 177 elk from the Rocky Mountains and pledged to give them a safe haven to live and breed. Today, Pennsylvania's elk population has come roaring back, the herd estimated to be about 600 strong with calves being born every year.
To help you discover these majestic creatures and other wildlife, we've mapped out the Elk Scenic Drive, a 127-mile route that winds its way through three state forests and three state game lands. You can hear bull elk bugle from the Gilbert Farm and Dent's Run sites on Winslow Hill. Or photograph them grazing at first light in the dew-touched fields of Hicks Run Wildlife Viewing area.
Take your time (it'll take you about four hours). If you listen carefully, the land will tell its story in the rich language of bird songs and animal tracks, in the late-summer cadence of grasshoppers, in the resounding splash of a beaver's tail at dusk. Observe patiently, and you will see many of the wild inhabitants of this varied and beautiful landscape.
Erected by Pennsylvania
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Charity & Public Work • Environment • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1867.
Location. 41° 3.143′ N, 77° 9.507′ W. Marker is near Loganton, Pennsylvania, in Clinton County. It is on Interstate 80 at milepost 194, on the right when traveling west. Marker is at the I-80 West Loganton Rest Area, under the pavilion between the parking lot and comfort station. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Loganton PA 17747, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Pennsylvania Wilds and in the Susquehanna Valley. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured
Also see . . . Elk Scenic Drive. Pennsylvania Wilds website entry (Submitted on June 27, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 15, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 27, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 198 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 27, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
