The (Not so) Rural Pennsylvanian

  • In Search of Laurels

    I spent Labor Day weekend in the Laurel Highlands with a stay at the cabins in Laurel Hill State Park. I also set out to visit some of the other state parks in the area, as well as a few other locations. Let’s start off with a look at my home base for the weekend.

    Laurel Hill State Park contains a lake with a beach, boating opportunities, hiking trails, fishing, picnicking, camping and all the summer time fun that accompanies those things. It is located in Somerset County and reasonably convenient to the turnpike. The park is near several other state parks and Forbes State Forrest.

    Men working for the WPA and CCC began the process of building what was to become Laurel Hill State Park on July 1, 1935 at CCC camps SP-8-PA and SP-16-PA. There is statue in the park commemorating these workers.

    CCC worker, Laurel Hill State Park

    The lake is beautiful and surrounded by steep hills on one side.

    The beach at Laurel Hill State Park.
    Looking toward the dam.

    There is fishing on Laurel Hill Creek and Jones Mill Run.

    View of Laurel Hill Creek from accessible fishing area.
    Handicapped access to fishing area on Laurel Hill Creek surrounded by beautiful flowers.
    Lovely jewelweed along the path down to the creek.

    I also stopped at some of the other nearby parks. I had quite a time getting to some of them, mostly due to relying too heavily on google maps. I ended up on some really sketchy forest roads, and I’m not typically one to shy away from a forest road. If I had double checked google’s routes versus a map, I would have done much better. At least I a saw a turkey.

    Laurel Summit State Park is a small park with picnicking and acts as a trail head for the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail and other trails. It is best accessed via Linn Run State Park. This route provides paved roads for most of the trip up the mountain to the park.

    Picnic pavilion, Laurel Summit State Park.

    Laurel Ridge State Park has multiple sections along the ridge of Laurel Mountain. The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trails passes through its sections. It is otherwise mostly undeveloped except for backpacking shelters and one picnic pavilion. The best access points are directly on Route 30 or 31 if you want to say you’ve been there and aren’t hiking or wildlife watching.

    Sign for Laurel Ridge State Park. This may be the only way you know you’re there.

    Finally, I attempted to visit Laurel Mountain State Park, which houses a ski area. I was there many years ago and hoped to drive in and take a look. Unfortunately, the gates were closed in the off season.

  • Entering the Promised Land

    I spent the Labor Day weekend at Promised Land State Park in Pike County. I stayed in the CCC constructed Bear  Wallow Cabin area. This is one of my favorite areas of the park, being close to the Wildlife Observation Station. The cabins also have a lot of rustic charm. The park is also a great jumping off point for side trips to Lake Wallenpaupack and other areas of the Poconos.

    The lake in that ares offers some great sunset views.

     

     

     

     

    The historic village of Promised Land, surrounded by the park, and nearby area have a unique character that draws visitors from three states. The large number of  privately leased cabins in the park also seem unique among Pennsylvania state parks.

     

     

     

     

     

    White baneberry, or Doll’s Eyes, is a distinctive and beautiful, if not slightly creepy looking,  plant. This was growing around my cabin.

     

  • Annual Poconos Weekend

    Every year a good friend rents a house at Lake Naomi and a few of us girls go up for a weekend. Here are a some shots from the most recent trip.

    Bradys Lake in State Game Lands 127 in Monroe County is a hidden gem – a publicly accessible lake among sea of private development.

    Bradys Lake, wide view from dam.

    Like most of Pennsylvania’s lake, Bradys Lake is formed by a dam.

    On to Lake Naomi, a very pretty private lake community in Pocono Pines.

    A rainy Saturday afternoon at North Beach, Lake Naomi.

    The black-eyed susans at Robert Christians Restaurant in Pocono Lake.

    A doe with her fawn at Lake Harmony, Carbon County.

  • Ski Areas in Summer

    Pennsylvania has many great ski areas for winter time fun. Here are a couple in the off season.

    Roundtop Mountain Resort in York County has water attractions, zip lines, and paintball in the warmer months. It is also close to Gifford Pinchot State Park.

    Big Boulder in Carbon County has its own beautiful lake and is near the Lake Harmony resort communities and many other Poconos attractions.

     

  • Octoraro Lake Area, Lancaster and Chester County

    I went to Octoraro Lake in southern Lancaster and Chester Counties hoping to find some elusive bird species, but came back with these photos instead.

    There was an interesting view of this silo from the lake.

    One of the area’s many picture perfect farms.

    Tobacco field, Lancaster County. Not many Pennsylvanians are aware that we grow tobacco here in the state.

    I just thought this was a really nice looking barn. I loved the natural wood board look.

    Free kittens. I nearly stopped …

    This year’s calves getting round the clock monitoring for proper health and growth.

  • A Little Family Time

    Here is a cool panorama shot taken by my brother of the pond on my aunt’s farm property near Millville, PA (Columbia County).

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