Hiking Through the Beautiful Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County has long been on my list of places to go hiking, and I was excited to finally visit in October 2024, just in time for great foliage and raptor viewing.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary protects a portion of the Blue Mountains in eastern PA, sitting mostly in Berks County, but also with a portion in Schuylkill County. The organization was founded in 1938 to protect the land as well as the raptors that migrate through it in the fall.

Today, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is one of the most important birding sites in the country because it has the longest tracking history of raptor migrations in the country. In fact, the site has even been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

However, even if you, like me, aren’t really into birds, this is still a fabulous hiking spot because it offers miles of fun trails and some really fantastic vistas. Plus, there’s also access to the nearby Appalachian Trail.

It’s worth noting upfront that, unlike most places in Pennsylvania, there is a fee to hike here. These fees go toward maintaining the privately owned land and helping them keep up their important work monitoring raptors.

In 2025, the cost of a day pass for adults is $10 and it’s $5 for children. Tickets can be purchased online or at the visitor center, which is open daily from 10a-5p. Trails are open from dawn to dusk every day of the year (minus a few closures during hunting season).

Even if you buy your tickets online, if the visitor center is open during your visit, it’s worth going in. Not only is there a well-stocked gift shop, but there are also some interesting displays including some taxidermied Passenger Pigeons, which have been extinct for over 100 years.

The star of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, however, are there many great trails. In fact, there are nearly 10 miles of trails on the property, which can be combined into several great loop hikes or interesting out-and-back excursions.

The most popular trail in the park, and the one that I hiked during my visit is the Lookout Trail, which is an out-and-back trail that totals about two miles of total hiking. This trail passes by several great overlooks offering a variety of vantage points of the rolling hills and the valley below.

This is the trail that starts at the visitor center and any hiking you do in the sanctuary will involve hiking at least a portion of this orange-blazed trail.

The first stop along the Lookout Trail is the South Lookout. This is only a short distance from the entrance and the trail is actually handicapped-accessible to this point, making it a great option for the whole family. (Though I don’t know if it’s worth the price of admission if you don’t go any further.)

The South Lookout is an expansive view that looks to the northeast instead of the south as you might assume. (This is the southernmost lookout in the sanctuary, which is how I assume it got its name.)

From here, the trail climbs roughly 200 feet of elevation as it makes its way to the top of the ridgeline and the North Lookout. Along the way, the trail is rocky, though not as bad as some of the other hikes in the area, such as the Appalachian Trail to Bake Oven Knob. Still, you’ll want to wear good shoes for hiking and make sure that you can handle uneven terrain before starting out.

There are a total of eight vistas along the Lookout Trail, meaning that you’ll have many excuses to stop and enjoy the as you hike the trail. 

Not surprisingly, the best of these are the ones located at the end of the trail along the ridgeline. However, before getting to the top, you’ll have to climb up a stone staircase that fits quite beautifully into the surrounding woodland. Other than the vistas, this staircase was definitely my favorite part of the hike.

The two major overlooks up here are the North Lookout and the Sunset Lookout, and it’s worth taking the time to see both of these.

The Sunset Lookout, as well as the Slide Lookout, are located along a short spur trail off of the main trail that can be found at the top of the stairs. Both of these overlooks are nice and worth the short hike to see them. That being said, the star of the trail’s end is the North Lookout.

The North Lookout is a large rock outcropping at the top of the ridge and offers an expansive view that you won’t want to miss.

Getting to the overlook is relatively easy, but if you want to explore the area, you’ll have to climb over the giant boulders that make up this mountaintop rock field. This is, in my opinion, a lot of fun, but care obviously needs to be taken as a fall wouldn’t be fun.

If you can manage to climb a bit on the rocks, you can reach some neat vantage points and some incredible views of the valley carved by the Little Schuylkill River far below.

Once you have enjoyed this view, you can simply retrace your steps along the Lookout Trail back to your car or enjoy one of the many loop options in the sanctuary to extend your hike here.

While I’ve focused this article on the hiking opportunities at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, it’s certainly worth noting that the main purpose of this space is the protection of PA’s raptor population. If you hike here in the autumn, you are likely to see volunteers counting the birds the soar overhead on their southern migration.

On a sign at the visitor center, you can even see recent counts of various species of birds that have recently flown over this spot.

Even as a non-birder, I find this part of the sanctuary interesting, but if you love birds, you’ll definitely want to plan a fall visit and bring a pair or binoculars with you.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. While there are plenty of free spots to go hiking in this part of Pennsylvania, the trails here are well maintained, the views are great, and your admission fee goes a good cause, so this is definitely somewhere I recommend checking out.

Find out more at the website for the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Looking for more places to visit nearby? Check out the covered bridges of Carbon County, Fighter’s Heaven, and the Golden Age Air Museum.