If you head west on Route 30 past Gettysburg, you will come across two state parks. The larger of the two is Caledonia State Park. The 1,125-acre park is in Adams and Franklin counties, between Chambersburg and Gettysburg along the Lincoln Highway (US 30). It is situated within South Mountain, the northern terminus of the well-known Blue Ridge Mountain of Maryland and Virginia. The soils on either side of South Mountain are ideal for fruit production, proven by the abundance of orchards in the surrounding area.
Some unique features at Caledonia are a golf course and the Totem Pole Playhouse. It also provides hiking, camping, and hunting and hosts the Pennsylvania Forest Heritage and Discovery Center.
Forest Heritage and Discovery CenterA spartan camp setup,Let’s enjoy some fall color …… in the nearby Michaux State Forest as well.
Nearby Mont Alto State Park is a quiet, 24-acre park which features a pavilion, picnicking, and trout fishing. Mont Alto is the oldest park still in the Pennsylvania state park system.
Franklin County, Pennsylvania is home to two covered bridges. It was great to seem them in the Autumn, which is the Commonwealth’s best season (in my opinion. of course).
First up is the Martins Mill or Shindle Bridge which is reported to be the longest remaining Town truss covered bridge in Pennsylvania. It was reconstructed after the Hurricane Agnes flood of 197, but it is now closed to all traffic. It is still open to foot and bike trail users. The bridge was built in 1839 by Jacob Shirk. The length is 207 ft. with a width of 16 ft.. it crosses Conococheague Creek in Franklin County.
One the way to this bridge, I spotted some interesting cattle:
The Witherspoon Covered Bridge is the second covered bridge in Franklin County. The bridge was built in 1883 by S. Stouffer. It utilizes the Burr Truss in its construction. The bridge’s length is 87 ft., and the width is 14 ft. it crosses Licking Creek in Montgomery Township.
A drive through Lancaster County on a Sunday will usually result in quite a few Amish buggy sighting. A recent Sunday in September provided an unusually large display of this traffic.
An unusually bright and sunny day greeted me in late September in Lancaster county. The sky was so blue and the white so white that it almost hurts my eyes. I’m not used to this here in Pennsylvania. As it was a Sunday, the buggy traffic was out in force, and the field horses were grazing in the fields.
A unexpected event greeted me on my way home from a fairly unsuccessful trip to take some photographs. I came upon a fireworks display in celebration of Exton Community Day at Exton Park. I have no idea if this event is usually at this time of year, but it was nice to see fireworks a little earlier in the evening and with good weather.
I don’t make it to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster and Lebanon counties all that often during the Summer. Here are a few shots from around the property.
A lovely tiger swallowtail decided to hang out.Geese can be found at Middle Creek almost any time of year.The corn is looking good.Farming is done at Middle Creek. The fields provide habitat and food for some species.Pennsylvania farm country in a nutshell.I never really noticed the hills around this area as much as on this trip.Much to do here other than wildlife viewing. A glamorous egret interloper with the geese.Purple wildflowers along this pond.Lots of wildflowers everywhere ….
Our annual Poconos girls’ weekend occurred in July this year. On short notice, my friend was able to find a great weekly rental at Lake Naomi. I also take this time to do some exploring around the Poconos. I set out to view some lake communities I hadn’t visited before. I will leave the rest of the weekend to your imagination.
The most photogenic was the Emerald Lakes area.Boats lined up near a swimming beach.A nice private dock in need of a boat.This looks like a great family day out.A deer came out to say hello.The clubhouse beach at Stillwater Lake has seen better days. The waterfowl have taken over.Something different: Checking out the shooting range at State Game Lands 127.
I rather liked this panorama shot of Lake Wallenpaupack from the overlook near the dam. When you’re there, look up to your right and you might see an osprey nest in season.
Lake Wallenpaupack
Closer to home, here is a shot from Kirkwood Preserve (in Chester County).
Here are a few shots from around Lake Nockamixon. I happened to stop there on my way home from Ralph Stover State Park. The 5,286-acre Nockamixon State Park is in Bucks County and is convenient to Philadelphia and its suburbs. Tohickon Creek, Three Mile Run, and Haycock Run feed the 1,450-acre Lake Nockamixon, which is a rest stop for migrating waterfowl and popular with boaters and anglers. There is a marina and 24 hour fishing in designated areas. You can stay the night in a cabin or enjoy the activities of the park for the day. Popular activities include picnicking, swimming in the pool, hiking, biking, disc golfing, hunting, fishing, birdwatching and boating.
The marina is one of my favorite areas of the park.I think I prefer the sailboat.An adaptive kayak launch to the right. A rare win for handicapped access in PA.Water looks a little choppy but still fun. A interesting barn I found on the way home.
Ralph Stover State Park provides access to Tohickon Creek, which flows through the 45-acre park. It contains a scenic picnic area, and the nearby High Rocks section is a lovely overlook of creek. When high water conditions exist, Tohickon Creek offers a challenging course for closed-deck canoes and kayaks, especially during the end of March and the beginning of November, when there are planned whitewater releases from Lake Nockamixon. Fishing is also available in Tohickon Creek.
This is also one of the most popular areas in southeastern Pennsylvania for climbing. The cliffs and trails at High Rocks are a joint ownership by the state and Bucks County. Within Ralph Stover and Tohickon Valley parks, the cliff faces are made of a common Bucks County rock, red Brunswick shale, which formed along an ancient fault line. Ranging from 30 ft to 150 ft high and extending about ¾ mile long, High Rocks offers close to 100 climbing routes consisting mostly of top rope and traditional climbing. Some areas along the trail closer to the creek edge may be conducive to bouldering.
Here comes the rant. While I am not particularly disabled, I do have tremendous difficulty walking on steep, uneven or eroded surfaces, even over short sections. I had hoped to see the view from High Rocks due to its short distance from the parking lot. It was my main objective in visiting here. I was very sad to discover, that due to trail conditions, even this short walk was inaccessible for someone with difficulty walking. This should be an ideal location for providing some type of handicapped access, at least to the first observation point. However, handicapped access seems to be a low priority of DCNR and the county park systems in this state and many types of opportunities are off limits. Whether this due to funding limitations, desire to limit access for environmental reasons, or indifference, enjoying the outdoors is limited to the able bodied or those that can hike on over uneven terrain. While I certainly don’t expect everything to be made accessible, I think there are specific spots where it could be easily done without substantially changing the experience of visiting those places. You can find the view from High Rocks through Google image search. That is what I had to settle for.
There is a road that runs through the park between High Rocks and main part of the park. This road, however, is impassable due to bridge construction. There were two signs directing you to High Rocks from the main picnic area, but they only got you about half way there and there was no signage at some key turns. If you are going to block a bridge, you need to clearly mark alternate routes.
This bridge, at least, was okay.As close to the view as I was able to get. So close but yet so far.Don’t even think about travelling through the park.
From Ralph Stover, I headed up River Road (Route 32), along the way I found the lovely Tinicum Park, which is part of the Buck County Parks system. The historic 126-acre Tinicum Park includes playgrounds, picnicking, hiking, ball fields, boating, fishing, ice skating, a disk golf course and group and family camping at eight campsites. You may even run into a polo match here.
The Erwin-Stover House is on the property.The barn is available as a rental.The grass must have gotten quite a haircut.Moving the bales.
River Road also provides access to entry points for Delaware Canal State Park and Delaware River boat access ramps.
