South Mountain Group
The South Mountain Group actually covers not just Pennsylvania, but northern Virginia as well. It is a long jumble of ridges and steep escarpments which afford great views all throughout the group. Located west of Gettysburg, PA and south of Carlisle, PA, South Mountain has tons of recreation to offer. The rock outcroppings are plentiful and this characteristic affords some technical climbing possibilities at places such as
Pole Steeple and
Buzzard Peak. While this massif has plenty of accessible roads running through it, you can still find plenty of solitude. A hike up
Rocky Knob takes you up and away from everything. You get great views down to the resevoir and feel like you're far away from everything. This forested area is streaming with rhododendron groves all over the place up to about 1,000 feet.
The highest point in this group of mountains is
Snowy Mountain. Its summit just barely gets over the two thousand foot mark. As with most mountain groups in PA, if you're looking for a high altitude experience, this is not the place you want. This gorgeous region does have plenty of other things to offer though, in the way of wildlife, vistas, history. One thing this group is famous for, is its former POW Camp from WWII. The camp hosted German prisoners of war and anyone who makes the
Sunset Rocks loop will pass right by it.
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