MORE PARKS: We have more facts from Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, including this kind-of-scary one involving ice cream: The half-way mark on the 2,144-mile long Appalachian Trail used to fall within Pine Grove State Park/Michaux State Forest in Cumberland County.

Through-hikers are still encouraged to eat a half gallon of ice cream at the park’s concessionaire to celebrate making it that far. It’s the Half Gallon Ice Cream Challenge. The hiker is challenged to devour a half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting.

“It’s a testament to the hiker’s resilience and a quirky tradition that has become a legendary part of the Appalachian Trail experience,” says the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau.

There’s a lot to see in the parks and forests, too.

The view from Hyner View State Park in Clinton County is on the list of “30 Outstanding Geologic Features in Pennsylvania.” The area contains deep, narrow, steep-sloped valleys that are separated by narrow to broad uplands.

There are 22 natural areas in Pennsylvania state parks and forests. These are areas of unique scenic, geologic, or ecological value that are maintained in a natural condition. Examples include the Pine Creek Gorge in Leonard Harrison and Colton Point state parks in Tioga County and Tall Timbers, Snyder County, in Bald Eagle State Forest.

And the views from Kinzua Bridge State Park Skywalk of the Kinzua Gorge and from Cherry Springs State Park of the Dark Skies just can’t be beat.

As for foliage, the largest Pennsylvania state forest is Sproul State Forest in the northcentral part of the state, containing more than 307,000 acres. The smallest state forest is Cornplanter State Forest in Forest, Crawford, and Warren counties at 1,585 acres.