Trough Creek State Park

Terri, who we met during a trip to the Visitor's Center, highly recommended a near-by state park as a must-visit attraction, and she was right. Just fifteen miles south of Seven Points Campground is Trough Creek State Park, located in the Rothrock State Forest. A cool, heavily forested ravine with rock ledges, the area is reminiscent of my wife's home area, the Eifel mountain region of Germany.

The narrow road that follows the Trough Creek is a spatial test for large campers. One-lane bridges add to the extreme narrowness of the access road. The beautifully maintained park has picnic area all along the winding road, and pull off areas to allow enjoying the well-used trails.

We did the Raven Rock trail across the suspension bridge, over the Rainbow Falls, and up to the Balanced Rock. A hiker we met told us the famous Rhododendrons around the waterfall had bloomed early this year, and had already faded.

The area is a beautiful forest and well worth the hike. When the Rhododendrons are in bloom it must be outstanding, they are everywhere. The quiet, serene walk in the cool forest air was really enjoyable, and we hiked to the end of the trail at Raven's Rock. We met a ranger on the trail who gave us some background and history of the locale and the park, just to make it all that much better.

After several relaxing hours in the park, we drove to the nearby marina at Lake Raystown Resort and had lunch. Thanks Terri, it was well worth seeing.

For more information:

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/troughcreek/

NEXT: The famous Allegripis bicycle trail runs through the Seven Points Campground, at:

http://sleepstwo.blogspot.com/2012/07/allegrippis-bicycle-and-hiking-trails.html