Raystown Branch Water Trail

Enjoy boating, primitive camping, fishing, wildlife-watching and other activities on this water trail.

The Raystown Branch is the Juniata River's longest and largest tributary. It is classified as a high-quality river. Wildlife is abundant and fish such as trout, smallmouth bass, muskellunge and panfish provide a variety of angling opportunities. Flowing easterly from its headwaters on the Allegheny Front in Somerset County, it drains almost 1,000 square miles of southcentral Pennsylvania and covers a distance of 118 miles before it joins the main stem of the Juniata River at Huntingdon.

It's name is rooted in local history. "Juniata" is an Indian word meaning "standing stone," and "Raystown" derives from Robert MacRay, a settler who established a traiding post in 1750 at present-day Bedford.

The Bedford County portion of the trail, which includes the best canoeing waters in the westernmost section of the Branch, begins in the historic Bedford area and runs 55 tangled miles to Saxton, the county's northernmost settlement. Saxton was chosen as the eastern terminus for the trail because it marks the point where powerboats begin to use the river as it forms Raystown Lake. Boating on the river between the headwaters and Saxton is almost exclusively reserved for canoes, kayaks and rowboats. Motor use is limited to deep pool areas and high-water conditions. Boats with motors of any type must be registered. For more information: http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/watertrails/raystown/trailguide.htm