Governor Dick Reserve Mt. Gretna

Governor Dick Reserve Mt. Gretna

Today's hiking adventure took us to Governor Dick Reserve outside of Mt. Gretna in lower Lebanon County. The reserve can be accessed off Pinch Road close to where the PA Ren Faire is located shortly off the PA Turnpike. There was a shop / lodge here but it was only open Thursday through Sunday when we visited in August so we didn't get to pick up any goodies after the hike. The highlight of the trip is a firetower on top of the mountain that we called Rapunzels Tower...little did we know that it would be as challenging to climb as her tower :) Starting from the parking lot facing the visitors center we started on the trail to the left....the trail begins up a grassy hill and then enters the woods.

Nature trail to the road trail.....

Following the tower signs through the woods!

The nature trail is a short .10 of a mile...signs guide you to the main firetower road up the mountain to the left. The main trail is a stone gravel trail up the mountain about .25 of a mile....it is steep but easy walking on gravel....

Drink break halfway up the mountain trail....

Yea.....we made it! They even have benches at the top!

Beautiful sunny day for shadow watching!!!

At this point the trail continues forward along the mountain top for around another .25 of a mile and then....

In a flowery field the tower raises above the horizon!!!

Standing in front of the tower!!

The firetower is the last of what was originally 4 towers...the first three were made of wood and we plagued by vandalism and decay and were torn down in the 60's. This last tower is under park control and is maintained by the reserve. The tower stands 70-80 feet tall and has an observation deck on the top....in 1994 they added a large iron wrought steel cage on the top so there is very little chance of injury.....it was hard to believe that prior to 1994 there was no cage up there......

Warning:  So we were expecting a spiral staircase inside to climb the tower....nope.....its a series of 10 foot climbs...steel ladder and then a concrete ledge connecting to the next ladder. Since the ladderway was so skinny it actually worked out well to climb up a few rungs...prop your feet on the wall...pull the kids up to your legs and then pick them up to the ledge....it was very tedious...fun but tedious.....but....this is not to be done by the meek...it was alot of work :)

Ladders....fun fun.....!!!!

Waiting patiently on the ledge....there were about 10 total!!!!

At the top of Rapunzels Tower! Looks like 10 feet up but it is closer to 70-80 :)

From the top of the tower on a clear day such as today you can see parts of 5 PA counties...York, Lebanon, Lancaster, Schuykill and Berks.

Another beautiful view!!!

Taking in the view after a 80 foot lunch break!!

We made it back down!!!

Another view of Rapunzels Tower!!

Each one of those little windows is about 10 feet up from each other!!!

At this point we went back to the bench area at the top of the hill and then took the red diamond trail to the left. This is a .40 mile trail back down to the bottom of the hill...it is classified as Difficult but was actually a standard woods trail with some rocks scattered about...not bad at all. There were a few bouldering areas here and we stopped and bouldered!

Down the woodland red diamond trail!!!

Some small bouldering opportunities for the little ones!!

We made it up!!!

The first trail leading to the right leads back to the visitors center.....along it there are labeled tree's...bird and owl nests....and a replica coal furnace smelter.....pretty cool. The area was apparently named for a slave by the name of Dick...they nicknamed him the "governor" and he lived in this area. 

This is a replica of where the coal smelter slaves lived

The coal smelter chimney..

Nature was all around...we found a toad!!

Overview: There were lots of trails here but the main highlight was the firetower.....it is not easy to climb and could be dangerous if you have little ones that are scared doing that stuff but we had a fun time. I am glad we took the trails that we did because it took little to no time to get to the firetower and on the way back it was more stop, boulder and play. Pretty fun for the tower along but the trails were pretty simple.

Swatara State Park

SWATARA STATE PARK 

Swatara State Park is located on the Schuylkill and Lebanon County border off of route 443. It is an undeveloped State park so there are no set "trails" (though a 10 mile loop can be completed using the Swatara rail and bear trails) or facilities of note. The park is unique in that even though you are only 3 miles or so from route 78 you feel as you progress deeper into the park that you are truly in the middle of nowhere. The main point of visiting today was for the kids to have a chance to dig for fossils in the fossil pit close to the entrance to the park. The park is easy to miss.....crossing over the Blue Mountain and the app trail you come down the mountain and make a left on the first road. Following this road about 5 miles you cross a highway bridge and then the park entrance is onto a small dirt road to the left before you cross an old stone bridge over Swatara Creek. About 2 minutes down this road (which is very bumpy and pothole filled) to the left is the fossil pit. 

Down the dirt road with potholes...thank goodness for 4WD!

The fossil pit is actually pretty cool. The geology of Swatara State Park is predominately sedimentary rocks that formed in a shallow ocean during the Middle Devonian Period of the Paleozoic Era, about 375 million years ago.
An Upper Mahantango Formation that contains significant marine fossil beds is exposed at a site along Bear Hole Trail. It provides excellent opportunities for fossil collecting, including the state fossil Phacops rana, a type of trilobite.
We found a few fossils including a whole small fossilized clam shell which was cool.


Bring along safety googles...real hammers...and a chisel to have the best luck with the fossil collecting!

At the fossil pit!!!!

Hammering out fossil rocks!!

Some fossils of shells we found in the middle of the rock!!

Fossilized clam shell we found...both kids found fossils too!!!

The fossil pit will make you very dirty...the sedimentary rocks leave a clay covering on your hands and cloths so it is good to have some wipes handy! After this we continued down the unkept road about 2-3 miles...the road got very rocky at points and a normal car would likely not make the trip...we had heard that the State is in the process of graveling this road out and making it a non-motorized bike / hike / horse trail. We stopped and had a much needed lunch break along the creek....it was really cool because it was very tranquil and there was no one around for miles. After the creek lunch we headed back to the beginning of the trail and played in the creek by the park entrance.

Walking along the old road in the middle of the woods!

Lunch on the creek!!

Very serene creek setting....the creek was very deep!!!

Rock hopping on the Swatara Creek!

Overview:  Not too much to do as of yet as the park is undeveloped but the fossil pit was cool and the scenic creek with no one around made it feel as if you were further out in nature  than you were..all in all good for the fossil pit but not too good for trail hiking or creek exploring as the creek was pretty deep throughout the park. 

FRENCH CREEK LAKE LOOP

FRENCH CREEK LAKE LOOP 

The hiking adventure today was at French Creek State Park. French Creek is located in Southern Berks County below Birdsboro on route 345. There are two lakes at the park...we hiked around the larger of the two .... Hopewell Lake today. The trail is a flat nature trail around the rim of the lake and is about 2-3 miles long. There are small sections that are slightly rocky but overall it is a very easy and fun nature hike that brings you through woods....a beaver dam on a creek....a wildflower field....and loops you around the eastern edge of the lake where the dam is. We were joined today by my best friend from High School Chris.....

Chris and the little ones ready to rock the trail!!!

Parking in the main visitors lot near the boat launch we headed off to the left which loops you around to where the beaver lodge is located....

Looking out into the water for turtles! There are some pretty big turtles that live in the lake!

The bridge viewing the beaver dam!

The beaver pond...no beavers today though!

The trail now goes through a wildflower field which was not really in bloom today due to really hot weather and lack of rain this summer to this point. The trail connects to the horse trail and about 300 feet down you veer to the right and follow the trail around the edge of the lake to the dam.

The wildflower trail!!

Hiking a slightly rocky section of the lake trail!

Exploring some insects with Chris...they found a old Cicadia!

Across a wooden plank!!

Posing in front of the old dam!

Chris showing the kids critters in the water below!

Long way down!!!

We went below the bridge here and played in the water...Chris found some crayfish and some tadpoles in the water.

Looking for water creatures!!!

Opps....someone fell in exploring the cattails!!

A toad on our lunch break!!

The trail loops back from this point to the Swimming Pool, Boat Launch and Picnic area. We have rented a canoe here before but not enough time for that today. The trail loops around a swamp on the western end and then back to the parking area. The kids and us for that matter were able to get into the lake and have some fun!

Chris made a flower bonnet for the kids!

Chris took this awesome picture of the lily pads!

Checking out some ducks in the swamp!

Playing in the lake!!

Lily pad flower!!

Overview:  This is a great day trip hike...easy trails with lots of nature all around. If you bring some cash you can rent a canoe for $18.00 an hour which isn't that bad on the back side of the trail. Bring a net and bucket to try and collect some snails...small fish and crayfish at the lake on the way back. There is another lake to the north...drive there as the trail there is pretty far...that you can hike around as well. Really fun day with Chris and the kids!