Trough Creek State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Trough Creek State Park |
|
|---|---|
|
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
|
|
Mountain view within the park
|
|
 Trough Creek State Park
Location in Pennsylvania
|
|
| Location | Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Area | 554 acres (224 ha) |
| Elevation | 1,073 ft (327 m) |
| Established | 1936 |
| Named for | Great Trough Creek |
| Governing body | Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |
| Website | Trough Creek State Park |
Trough Creek State Park is a beautiful Pennsylvania state park that covers about 554 acres. It is located in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Most of the park is in Todd Township, near the small village of Entriken. The nearby town is Huntingdon.
The park is next to Rothrock State Forest and Raystown Lake National Recreation Area. These three areas together offer great chances for hunting, hiking, and fishing. You might even spot bald eagles near Raystown Lake! Their numbers have grown a lot over the years. In 2007, fourteen eagles were seen, which is a big jump from just two in 1990.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) chose Trough Creek State Park as one of the "25 Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks." This shows how special and important it is.
Contents
Park History: From Forests to Furnaces and Back
The story of Trough Creek State Park goes back a long time. Native American people lived here first, hunting and fishing in the area. Later, settlers from Europe came after the American Revolutionary War. They cleared land for farms and built mills to grind grain.
Early Industry and Iron Making
In 1780, Nicholas Crum settled in the area. He built a mill along Trough Creek that was powered by water. A small iron furnace was built in 1790. This furnace could make about 100 pounds of iron each day.
A bigger iron furnace, called Paradise Furnace, was built in 1827. This furnace made a lot more iron, up to 12 tons a day! In 1832, Savage Forge was built next to Paradise Furnace. This forge changed rough iron into stronger iron. The community around these iron businesses was very busy. But by the mid-1850s, Paradise Furnace closed. It opened again for a short time during the American Civil War but then closed for good. Paradise Furnace is now on a special list of important historical places.
The Lumber Era and Forest Fires
The big rush to cut down trees, called the lumber boom, came to Trough Creek around 1910. By then, the area had a healthy forest that had grown back after the first trees were cut for iron making. A company built train tracks and a sawmill at Paradise Furnace. They cut down the trees and took the logs to the sawmill. Smaller logs were used to support the tunnels in nearby coal mines.
The lumbermen left behind only the treetops. These dry branches often caught fire from passing steam locomotives. Huge forest fires swept through the mountains and valleys. The Trough Creek area was left damaged and empty. The forests struggled to grow back, the hills started to erode, and wildlife became scarce.
Bringing the Forests Back to Life
Today, the area around Trough Creek State Park looks very different. It's a healthy forest again, full of many kinds of wildlife. This amazing comeback happened thanks to special government programs during the Great Depression. These programs were called the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
Starting in 1933, men from these programs worked hard to build what would become Trough Creek State Park. They cleared streams, removed tangled brush, built bridges, made paths, planted trees, and constructed many of the park's buildings. Trough Creek State Park officially opened in 1936.
Amazing Geology: Rocks and Caves
Trough Creek State Park is in an area of Pennsylvania with long hills and valleys. Great Trough Creek carved a valley through the mountains, which have been worn down over time by wind and water. The park has different types of ancient rock layers.
You can see cool examples of how rocks change over time. Balanced Rock is one of them. It sits on top of a cliff next to Great Trough Creek. It looks like it could fall at any moment, but it has been there for thousands of years! Balanced Rock is made of a very hard rock that didn't wear away like the rocks around it.
Copperas Rock has a coppery-yellow color. This color comes from a natural chemical that leaked out of a small coal deposit. A small cave near Copperas Rock might have been dug by early settlers. They may have used the chemical from the rock to help set dyes for their homemade clothes.
The Ice Mine is a cool natural refrigerator! It's a mine shaft that might have been dug by people looking for iron. They didn't find iron, but they created a place that stays icy until late summer. This happens because of how the rocks freeze and thaw, and how cool air flows into the shaft.
Fun Things to Do at Trough Creek State Park
Trough Creek State Park is open all year for fun activities like camping, picnicking, hunting, and fishing.
Places to Stay and Eat
The park has 32 modern campsites, all with electricity. You can bring RVs of any size. Each campsite has a picnic table, a place for a tent, and a campfire ring. There are public restrooms, but no showers.
You can also rent Trough Creek Lodge any time of year. This old lodge was built in the mid-1800s. It has a modern kitchen, four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and heating.
There are five picnic areas in the park. You'll find picnic tables and covered areas called pavilions. Some picnic areas also have restrooms, play areas, and hand pump wells for water.
Hunting and Fishing Adventures
About 100 acres of the park are open for hunting. The park is also next to state forest land and land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which are also open for hunting. You might see ruffed grouse, squirrels, turkey, and white-tailed deer. Hunters must follow all the rules from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Fishing is very popular here! You can fish in Great Trough Creek or in a part of Raystown Lake that is inside the park. Great Trough Creek has many kinds of fish, like trout, panfish, rock bass, and smallmouth bass. You can also catch Shad when they swim into the streams that feed into Raystown Lake.
Nearby State Parks to Explore
Here are some other state parks not too far from Trough Creek State Park:
- Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area (Perry County)
- Blue Knob State Park (Bedford County)
- Buchanan's Birthplace State Park (Franklin County)
- Canoe Creek State Park (Blair County)
- Cowans Gap State Park (Fulton County)
- Warriors Path State Park (Bedford County)
- Whipple Dam State Park (Huntingdon County)
(707.3 KB)
