Boalsburg–Belleville Loop through Rothrock

Mountain and Amish valley in one loop: you leave Boalsburg for Pine Grove Mills, cross Tussey Mountain on PA-26 to McAlevys Fort, follow PA-305 through Rothrock State Forest and Greenwood Furnace, drop into Belleville and ride the Big Valley on PA-655 to Reedsville. The return is on US-322, which is a divided highway. It's 55 miles, with the mountain curves on PA-26 and PA-305 and an easy valley after that. There are Amish buggies on PA-655, so pass slowly and give them room.

Boalsburg calls itself the birthplace of Memorial Day: in 1864 three local women decorated soldiers' graves in the village cemetery, and the next year the whole town joined them. The village is also home to the Pennsylvania Military Museum. From there the route climbs Tussey Mountain on PA-26, where Jo Hays Vista, the best-known overlook in Rothrock State Forest, looks back over the State College area. Farther on, PA-305 passes Greenwood Furnace State Park, an iron furnace town that started operating in 1834 and became a ghost town when the furnaces closed in the early 20th century; today it has a small lake and a picnic grove.

Belleville sits in the Big Valley, home to several Amish groups you can tell apart by the color of their buggy tops: yellow, white or black. The Belleville auction and flea market runs every Wednesday, year-round, and draws a crowd. On PA-655 you'll share the road with buggies, so pass slowly and wide. The way back from Reedsville is on US-322, a divided highway, so the last stretch is wide and straight.