There’s value in far-off, wild, remote places, the kind that offers the promise of epic – if once-in-a-lifetime, at best – adventure.
But there’s much to be said for the close to home, too. Especially if it’s accessible to people of all abilities.
That’s Bear Hole Trail.
Bear Hole runs nearly the entire length of Swatara State Park, stretching about five miles from Swopes Valley Trailhead in the north end to Waterville Bridge Trailhead at the south. It’s wide, with a bed of crushed stone. It’s moderately easy to walk, if not rail-trail flat.
“It is a little up and down,” said Courtney Troutman, manager of Memorial Lake State Park complex, which includes Swatara State Park. “It’s rolling terrain.”
It’s also two other things: beautiful and popular with lots of people using it in lots of ways.
The beauty comes in part because the trail parallels Swatara Creek. It also crosses over at least one smaller tributary stream and by some seasonal vernal pools. Along the way, it winds through woods that are, in the grand scheme of things, relatively young.
“Much of the park was stripped in the 18th and 19th centuries when people were interested in trees that they could turn into charcoal, so we do have new growth forest all along the trail,” Troutman said. “In fact, if you’re out there walking and you look at the ground, you’ll probably notice some old charcoal beds that were used by the charcoal burners in the 1800s.”
Those habitat features – flowing water, standing water, younger forest – support lots of wildlife. Some are hard to spot unless you’re really looking, like the reptiles and amphibians that breed in seasonally wet pools. But some are more obvious. It’s not uncommon to see bald eagles flying and hunting over and along Swatara Creek, for example. Troutman said visitors can expect to possibly see white-tailed deer, squirrels, songbirds, and more, too.
“If you’re lucky, you’ll maybe even see a bear that’s maybe traveling across the trail. We see a lot of those in the summer,” she added.
Trail users can also explore history. Besides the old charcoal beds, the trail passes by remnants of a Union Canal Co. branch canal, the Bordner Cabin, and a rich fossil site. The cabin, at about the trail’s midpoint, was built in 1939 by Armar “A.J.” Bordner, a local high school teacher, and some of his students. It sits at the base of Aycrigg’s Falls and, unless posted otherwise, is open to walk through.
The fossil pit, closer to the Swopes Valley Trailhead, is one of the few places in any Pennsylvania state park where visitors can not only search for fossils but take home those they find.
All that would make the trail popular, regardless of anything else. But it also draws folks because of how people can explore it.
Hikers use Bear Hole Trail, of course. Anglers use it to access Swatara Creek, along with cyclists and horseback riders. Cross-country skiers and snowshoers follow Bear Hole Trail when conditions are right, as well.
The park, to assist those with Americans with Disabilities Act issues, even allows some hunters to access its inner reaches via the trail, Troutman said. As a result, she recommends anyone using the trail between about October and the end of February wear fluorescent orange – a hat at least, if not also a vest – when out and about, for safety’s sake.
What’s really unique, though, is that the park opens Bear Hole Trail to vehicles for driving tours on a regular schedule about eight months a year. Drivers can get on the trail between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (all cars must be off the trail by 3 p.m.) on the second and fourth Fridays and Saturdays in four months a year – March, April, September, and October – and on the second Friday and Saturday in the four months from May through August.
Bear Hole Trail is closed to driving tours from November through February, for winter.
The driving tours are free and no registration is required. Park staff and volunteers from the Friends of Memorial Lake State Park Complex group (facebook.com/FOMLSSP) staff the entry and exit points, providing drivers with maps. Those highlight four parking areas where – space permitting – visitors can stop and explore: at the fossil pit, Dauber School and charcoal pit sites, and Bordner’s cabin. All are marked with orange cones.
Cars are limited to traveling at 10 mph or less. The trail is smooth enough that any vehicle can handle it, Troutman said. It’s not restricted to high-clearance trucks, for example.
And that, she said, is a real benefit.
“It’s really nice for the people who want to see everything that’s on that five miles of trail but maybe don’t [have] the capability of walking it or have time constraints,” Troutman said.
Of course, adverse weather, even in spring, summer, and fall – the tours are very popular when the leaves have changed color – can temporarily close the trail to vehicles. The park is really good about posting any changes to tour scheduling on its Facebook page (facebook.com/MemorialLakeSPComplex), though. And people can always call the park directly for updates, she added.
But she encourages people to come out and explore Bear Hole Trail – on foot, astride a horse or bike, in a vehicle – and see what Swatara State Park has to offer. Many do now, but there’s room for more.
“It definitely gets lot of use all year round from all kinds of other user groups out there, so be aware of need to share,” Troutman said.
Become a park friend
The four parks that make up the Memorial Lake State Park Complex – Memorial Lake, Swatara, and Boyd Big Tree Preserve and Ibberson conservation areas – host a variety of educational public programs throughout the year.
To keep tabs on those, visit the complex’s Facebook page (facebook.com/MemorialLakeSPComplex) or the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ events calendar (events.dcnr.pa.gov).
And if you want to take things a step further and become a park volunteer, there are opportunities, especially regarding Bear Hole Trail.
“We absolutely are looking for volunteers, especially with that drive-through program,” Troutman said. “We are always looking for volunteers who might be interested in talking about the park and greeting new visitors at Swopes or helping them exit at Waterville Bridge. We’d be really grateful for more volunteers to help spread this opportunity to the general public.”
To learn more, call 717-865-6470.
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