Public Parks in Valleys of the Susquehanna 8
State parks and forests, national recreation areas, wildlife refuges and city parks.
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Raymond B. Winter State Park
Cold mountain springs feed Halfway Lake behind a stone dam laid by the Civilian Conservation Corps, making a bracing swimming hole in the forest, with trails up the surrounding ridges.
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Shikellamy State Park
From a high clifftop overlook, the Susquehanna's West and North branches can be seen joining below, with a marina section on the island at the confluence where boaters launch onto the river.
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Milton State Park
Half picnic grounds and boat launch, half wild woods for birders and walkers, this river island sits in the middle of the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
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Sand Bridge State Park
Rapid Run tumbles past this tiny roadside picnic grove, a peaceful stop on the winding mountain road through Bald Eagle State Forest.
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Bald Eagle State Forest
Ridge after forested ridge in the heart of the state, with the Mid State Trail, trout water on Penns and White Deer creeks, and old-growth hemlocks in the Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area.
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Snyder Middleswarth Natural Area
A short trail follows Swift Run through a rare stand of old-growth hemlock and pine, cool and dim even on a summer afternoon.
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Weiser State Forest
Coal-region ridges hold these scattered tracts of mountain forest, the best known being the Roaring Creek Tract, a favorite for walks and bike rides along a stream and old reservoirs.
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Montour Preserve
Fields, woods and a lake in the farm country north of Danville, with walking trails and good birding through the seasons.