Jules HoeptingDisclaimer: Handsome Lake Campground is technically not in New York. It is located about 10 miles into Pennsylvania in Allegheny National Forest, which connects to Allegany State Forest in New York.
(Why is “Allegany” spelled two different ways between the national forest and the state park, I don’t know).
Located in Bradford, PA, Handsome Lake Campground is the destination of a short, 3.1 mile backcountry trail (6.3 miles if you go to the campground and back). It is a part of both the Tracey Ridge Trail (8.6 miles) and the North Country Trial (4,600 miles). Handsome Lake Campground trail is rated as “moderate” by AllTrails, meaning that there is some elevation gain (1,279 feet), but it’s not a mountain.
The trail is more or less a large hill you go over twice.
For the vernal equinox, AKA the first day of spring, I decided to check out a new-to-me trail. I wanted something over 5 miles, near water, and around an hour’s drive away. I did some searching on AllTrails and found the Handsome Lake Campground via Tracey Ridge trail.
The campground was named after Handsome Lake, who was one of the most important prophet of the Haudenosaunee confederacy. Handsome Lake was a Seneca man who brought together the six nations and brought peace to the communities.
The campground is located next to the Allegheny River.
Campground grill 
With perfectly blue skies, well-kept trails, and the smell of spring in the air, I had a wonderful time.
Bright blue skies are my second favorite kind of lighting (right after low-cloud golden hours). They create dramatic shadows that naturally add a lot on contrast to the landscape.
The bank of the river contained a lot of cool rocks: purple hues, fossil imprints. I snagged two of them in my coat pocket.
As it was spring and the temperatures were rising, floating ice was finding it’s way to the shore — incredibly fast. I could actually see the ice move and hear it groan and crack.
The actual duration of the following video was 1 minute and 35 seconds. It has been sped up 4X.
The following is the same sheet of ice, now broken off.
All in all, it was a wonderful day. I definitely want to check out the area more in-depth.
