april 2022
Pocono Mountains
Where: northeast Pennsylvania
Directions: I-81 from the north; Pennsylvania Turnpike from the south, I-84 and 1-80 from the east and west
Good to Know:
* The following areas do not allow dogs: Lackawanna County-Lake Scranton; Monroe County-Mountain View Park; Wayne County-Dorflinger-Suydam Wildlife Sanctuary; and in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Childs Recreation Site, Dingmans Falls, and Raymondskill Falls.
For vacationers the Poconos historically meant resorts that were within a short drive of the New York City and Philadelphia population centers. For the second half of the 20th century the Poconos billed itself as “the honeymoon capital of the world” known for its heart-shaped tubs and couples resorts. With the coming of the 21st century the region has rebranded itself. Many of the sprawling resorts have disappeared and those that remain have shifted focus from indoor to outdoor fun. “The Poconos” are now the “Pocono Mountains” and the emphasis is on the forests, lakes and streams - and your dog will no doubt vote with a “paws up” for the adventures here.
Why so good:
THE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA.
Your dog probably won’t appreciate it as they are switchbacking up 1,527-foot Mt. Tammany but millions of years ago this area was a level plain. Since then the Delaware River, the largest undammed and free-flowing river east of the Mississippi, has ground out the Delaware Water Gap where the water twists in a tight “S” curve. The famous views here spawned great resort destinations in 19th century America that have all faded away. The entire area was seen as a potential national park but settled into its current form as one of the nation’s best national recreation areas. The Pocono “Mountains” don’t offer up a whole lot in the way of peak-scaling (Kistler Ledge at 2,215 feet is the highest point) but dogs will get their fill of hill-climbing here. The sentinels of the Gap are Mt. Tammany in New Jersey and 1,463-foot Mt. Minsi on the Pennsylvania side of the river. An old fire road conquers Minsi that can be combined with the Appalachian Trail to form a four-mile hiking loop. The twisting Red Dot Trail up Tammany is the more popular of the two summit hikes. It requires 1.5 miles of climbing on the rocky slopes to ascend the 1,200 feet to the top of the Gap. The route continues on the Blue Blaze Trail through thickets of mountain laurel to meet the Appalachian Trail skipping along the Kittatinny Ridge. A detour north passes Sunfish Pond, one of New Jersey’s “7 Natural Wonders,” where the water in the glacial lake is so clear and deep for a long time it was considered to be bottomless. The loop closes to the south under towering hemlocks and includes a visit for your lucky dog to the tumbling waters and cool swimming holes of Dunnfield Creek.
THE WATERFALLS.
A good waterfall trail might yield three, maybe four waterfalls. How about a trail that goes past 23 named waterfalls? That’s what you’ll find on the magical Falls Trail, a Y-shaped exploration along two branches of Kitchen Creek. One of the most uniquely scenic areas in the Northeast, Ricketts Glen was also slated to become a national park in the 1930s but World War II shelved plans for this development. Instead, 13,000 acres of Civil War hero and timber baron R. Bruce Ricketts became a state park. Colonel Ricketts hired a crew to build a trail along and across the plunging waters and the project took 28 years. Today the Falls Trail remains a maintenance challenge and its steep grades can be muddy and slippery so your dog’s four-wheel traction will be most welcome. Kitchen Creek slices through the Ganoga Glen to the left (the tallest water display, 94-foot Ganoga Falls is here) and Glen Leigh to the right before uniting at Waters Meet. The two prongs of the trail connect at the top of the twin falls via the 1.2-mile Highland Trail. The complete falls experience encompasses almost seven miles. The stem of the trail flows through the Glens Natural Area, among towering hemlocks and oaks, before tumbling over three cascades at Adams Falls on the opposite side of the trailhead. These may be the prettiest falls of them all and they aren’t even on the official trail in this National Natural Landmark.
In the early 1800s, the need to transport increasingly large quantities of coal to markets down the Lehigh River river led to construction of 20 dams and 29 locks over the 26 miles between Mauch Chunk (now Jim Thorpe) and White Haven. It was called the Upper Grand Section of the Lehigh Canal because the locks and dams were larger and far more impressive than the locks of other canals. At the turn of the 20th century, railroads popularized the southern end of the canal as a resort called Glen Onoko. Hotel Wahnetah boasted 47 rooms, a dance pavilion, tennis courts, fresh air and hikes to the scenic Glen Onoko Falls. A fire in 1911 closed the hotel and a fire in 1917 ended the resort era. The gorge lay forgotten. In the 1970s, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began purchasing parklands and in 1980 the land was turned over to the Bureau of State Parks to create the Lehigh Gorge State Park, much to the delight of canine adventurers.
The Flood of 2006 destroyed large chunks of the Falls Brook Trail in Salt Springs State Park, one of Pennsylvania’s most spectacular footpaths, and damaged other park trails though but there is still plenty to recommend Salt Springs as a destination with your dog. With a little perserverance and careful walking in the Falls Brook streambed you can visit - or at least still see - the park’s three signature waterfalls. The Hemlock Trail is your alternative conduit to these hydrospectaculars as it travels on paw-friendly dirt trails and an elevated boardwalk.
THE LAKES.
What kind of lake does your water-loving dog favor? A park-like lake with an easy stroll? A wilderness lake that will take hours to circumnavigate? A campsite next to a lake? The Pocono Mountains have you covered. A good start is the red-blazed Lakeshore Trail that traipses around the boot-shaped peninsula that is surrounded on three sides by Frances Slocum Lake. On November 2, 1778, a small group of Delaware Indians entered the Slocum home and carried away Frances who was then just five years old. Frances was taken along as the American Indians moved westward and spent the rest of her life with them. Her brothers found her 59 years laer living on a reservation near Peru, Indiana. She had been married twice and had borne four children. Frances refused the pleas of her brothers to return to Pennsylvania and died in Indiana in 1847, at the age of 74. The namesake lake was created to control flooding. Picnicking areas and the dam were constructed and the only Pennsylvania state park named for a woman opened in the spring of 1968. After this easy warm-up you can test the trails on the wings on either side of the lake. The Larch Trail near the campground is a hilly loop that visits a vibrant stand of the coniferous trees known for shedding their needles. The Deer Trail is a series of interconnecting loops that can cover any canine hike up to four miles. These sporty paths - open to hunting - traverse the entire spectrum of habitats found in the park - hardwoods, marshes, thickets and hemlock groves.
In the Delaware State Forest Bruce Lake Natural Area covers 2,845 acres including two lakes visited by the trail system, Bruce Lake and Egypt Meadow Lake. Bruce Lake was formed during glaciation and is completely spring-fed. Egypt Meadow Lake was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935. The Blooming Grove 4-H Hiking Trail covers nearly seven miles and features two loop trails encircling hardwood swamps and a meadow. The Thunder Swamp Trail System traverses 26 miles of southern Pike County. The trail is highlighted by mountain streams, swamps, varieties of forest types, forest management practices and other natural features found on the Pocono Plateau. This trail system offers short loop trails for day use and longer loops for overnight camping.
The price of water indirectly led to the creation of Lackawanna State Park on this former swath of farmland. In 1912, the D.L. & W. Railroad felt that they were being overcharged for water and began purchasing land to build their own reservoir. The Scranton Gas and Water Company lowered their price and the lake was never built. The land was leased to farmers until 1946 when Robert Moffat, a prominent Scranton coal operator, purchased the land and rented it to his employees. In 1968, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania purchased the land and developed it into an outstanding recreation area whose primary attraction is Lackawanna Lake, the meeting place of many streams (Lacka-wanna is an American Indian word meaning “the meeting of two streams”).
The name Gouldsboro comes from the village north of the park that was named for Jay Gould (1836-1892). A native of New York, Gould acquired a very large fortune that by 1892 included ownership of ten percent of all railroad track in the country. One of the railroads he owned was the Erie-Lackawanna. This rail line parallels the eastern boundary of the park and is now a part of the Steamtown, USA railroad excursion route between Scranton and Pocono Summit. Gould was a co-owner of a leather tannery at Thornhurst, a small village 9.5 miles west of Gouldsboro. Raw hides shipped from Australia and the western United States came to Gouldsboro by railroad and then were taken in two-ton loads by horse drawn wagons over a plank road to Thornhurst for tanning. Gouldsboro State Park, in Monroe and Wayne counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, contains 2,800 acres of land, including the 250-acre Gouldsboro Lake.
Not much happened in the Promised Land State Park until the Great Depression of the 1930s when Civilian Conservation Corps camps were established to reforest the land, carve roads and construct campgrounds. Today there are four campgrounds with 500 sites and it is a busy place in season. Several short trails are available in th park including a unique one-mile Conservation Island Trail on an island in Promised Land Lake and the Little Falls Trail that skips past several waterfalls on the East Branch of Wallenpaupack Creek. For extended time on the trail with your dog, jump on the Boundary Trail for a trip around Promised Land Lake.
THE BIG HIKES.
More than 20 trails covering over 40 miles in three natural areas await your dog in Hickory Run State Park. One thing he won’t find is many hickory trees; one theory of the park’s name origins is that it was based on one large, now-extinct hickory tree. The leading candidate for “prettiest trail” in the park is the intriguingly named Shades of Death Trail near the park office. It follows Sand Spring and meanders through unique rock formations and past dams and old logging-mill ruins that date to the 1800s. The thick rhododendron forest is a June highlight. The Boulder Field, a striking boulder-strewn area, is a National Natural Landmark. Some 14 acres of jumbled stone deposited during the last Ice Age stretch across more than a quarter-mile. The unique slope of the terrain here is responsible for the glacial debris piling up here. The Boulder Field is reached on a relatively easy hike with your dog of 3.5 miles on the Boulder Field Trail. Across the road from the trailhead is a short trail leading to the picturesque Hawk Falls.
The over 20 miles of hiking trails of Worlds End State Park are mostly rocky with steep sections that climb the surrounding mountains. Some of the more awe-inspiring canine hiking is on the north side of the creek with dramatic views from routes such as the High Rock Trail. Across the way trips on the Worlds End Trail and Double Run Trail penetrate deep into the vast woods. these adventures follow the paths of treacherous old horse trails that early settlers used to cross the Endless Mountains. In the eastern half of the park the Canyon Vista Trail is highlighted by a spectacular view of the Loyalsock Creek gorge at an elevation of 1750 feet. Many wildflowers grow beneath the canopy of maturing ash, sugar maple and black cherry trees. Be sure to explore the blocky maze of the Rock Garden adjacent to the vista. A second rock labyrinth is found in the easternmost section of the trail where it runs parallel to Cold Run Road.