Boulder Field, Hickory Run State Park, Pennsylvania

Here I am at Hickory Run State Park in what's known as the Boulder Field.  This part of the park hasn't changed in over 20,000 years.  It is virtually flat and there is no sign of vegetation anywhere within a large area that measures 400 feet by 1,800 feet. They are made up of red sandstone and conglomerates and some of them are as large as 26 feet long.  Water flows underneath the Boulder Field which eventually will become a tributary to Hickory Run State Park.




 The Boulder Field has been designated a National Landmark and is located in the northeast corner of the park.  Here I am sitting on one of the boulders with a plaque at the entrance to the field.  As you can see from the picture on the bottom, people just love to walk on these.  We watched an entire family of four hopping from boulder to boulder.  Some were even picnicking in the middle of the field. Rob, Susan and I went a little ways in, then sat down near the entrance and just watched.




As you can see by the photograph alongside, the Boulder Field literally appears out of nowhere and is surrounded by the rest of the wooded area of the park.  The Boulder Field can easily be accessed by car (which we did do) or by hiking (which we didn't do) the 3.5 miles to it.  We did do some hiking however and stumbled on a trail called Stage Road.  This was part of an old stagecoach trail which ran from Allentown to Wilkes-Barre. The stage stopped at a hotel which was located in Saylorsville that was north of Hickory Run State Park.  There is nothing left of the town today except foundations.

This is a trip worth making especially if you live in the northeast.  Hickory Run State Park is in Carbon County, PA, not too far from the western foothills of the Pocono Mountains.  It makes for a nice weekend trip or vacation and is about two hours north of the Amish Country.

There are plenty of websites dedicated to this park, although Rob happened to spot it in a Wikipedia article.

http://trifter.com/usa-canada/pennsylvania/hickory-run-state-park-land-of-boulders/

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/hickoryrun/hickoryrun_history.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hickory_Run_State_Park