Nescopeck State Park

Nescopeck State Park is located in Luzerne County, not far from Hickory Run and Lehigh Gorge State Parks. It offers ample trails for hiking, a lake, ponds and trout stream for fishing and the education center offers public programs on a regular basis. 

The grand entrance from the main parking area to the main office and education center.

The main office and education center.

This is Lake Francis the easiest access for fishing in the park. It is stocked with trout which seems to be the main draw for the fishermen I talked to around the lake, but also has bass and panfish.

The trails in this park are strictly for hiking, no bikes allowed. Almost all of the trails are suited for almost everyone and the many intersections of trails let you expand or cut short a hike. I personally love the set up of this park. I never take a map and I always seem to find a new trail every time I go. I also can find my way out pretty easily.

A lot of the trails look like this, but there are some narrower ones that break away, like those that follow the stream. I will mention if you hike enough here you may find a wire line bridge across the stream. I found it last year and I tried crossing it. I could tell it was not maintained and I should have known the result. Not enough tension in the lines meant there was a lot of slack and when I got to the middle the distance between the top and bottom line led me to loose my footing. I did hang there for a minute and realized there was nothing I could do, but drop down into the stream. A couple of wet feet was the only result. So, if it is still there and if you find it, I suggest finding a different way to cross.

This is one of the calmer pools in the stream. There is rushing water in some sections. There are also enough choke points in the stream that would make it not so fun to paddle, so I would say canoeing is out of the question here.

Throughout the park there are small shallow ponds like this one. They are great for certain species of reptiles and amphibians and many of them have evidence of active beavers. I like the fact that some of these ponds are accessible and some are not, it is a nice balance and I think every state park should be like this. It allows for wildlife to be undisturbed in some areas and others where people can get right to the habitats edge.

For more information on Nescopeck State Park or for digital maps, you can go to this address: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/nescopeck/