Raccoon Creek State Park

Raccoon Creek State Park, in my mind, is kind of the tale of two parks…plus a wildflower preserve. It’s a great, basic, all-around state park – and it’s less than 1 hour away from the city. Campers of all ages and abilities can find something here; it has sections of isolated beauty to enjoy but is still very accessible and not too rigorous. You can see photos of my trip to Raccoon Creek State Park here.

THE PARK
The park is split in two by Rte. 18 creating a lake side and a trail/woods side. You can take a look at maps of the park at their website.

The south portion of the park contains the man-made lake with lots of boating and fishing opportunities, a beach for swimming, and an RV camping area. The swimming area is large and clean with a nice amount of sand and grass to lounge around on. There is a boat rental area where you can rent some basic kayaks, canoes, or an odd-looking floating bicycle which Your Active Husband immediately wanted to try. Maybe next time. Driving through the park, this side also contains two large picnicking spaces just before you cross over Rte. 18 and enter the northern side.

The north portion of the park feels more remote, more foresty, and more summer campy. There are many trails here, some of which are multi-use and many of which are single use (either hiking, horse riding, or biking only). **NOTE: The hiking trails extend around both sides of the park and you can put together quite a long hike if you desire.

The Wildflower Preserve at Raccoon Creek is located in the southeast corner of the state park, just before you get into the lake area. This preserve includes approx 1.5 miles of trail, with many shorter options. I spent about 1 hour here and did the longest loop. I absolutely loved this section (although I highly recommend bug spray) because it was perhaps the nicest example I’ve seen yet of trails that wander through several distinct microclimates and really give you a sense of the variety to be found in this part of the PA forests. The trails start from the Interpretive Center (staffed by very helpful park rangers) and lead through brushy slopes, down to the forest floor and meadow. The meadow was beautifully in bloom when I visited and some of the plants were easily taller than me! The trail wanders along the creek then and eventually reaches a shale cliff where the vegetation clears out a bit. Here I saw a veritable flock of woodpeckers. The birds throughout this area were loud and numerous, with great variety. The trail finally finishes along the top of a small hill where large trees and pines abound and you can look out over the creek and forest floor.

For those wishing to learn about flora and fauna and the affect of microclimates, this is an accessible area that covers a lot of ground in a small amount of space. It is great for kids and adults alike and is very well done.

SPECIAL NOTE: Do yourself a favor and visit the Frankfort Mineral Spring located on Rte. 18 just before the main park entrance to the northern side. There is a sign along the road and a small parking area. It is one of those cool natural sites and the location of a health spa throughout the 1800’s.

THE TRAILS
Raccoon Creek offers some great hiking and biking opportunities, with 44 miles of hiking trails and 17 miles of biking. I decided to try out the biking and headed off on a multi-use trail. Much of this trail system is a two-lane dirt road that allows no motor vehicles. This is great for beginner mountain bikers and families because it is wide and easy, although not flat. All the trails do have some up and down and for smaller children you may want to consider taking some of the shorter options.

Having enough of the road, I decided to follow the Appaloosa Trail into the forest and found some sweet singletrack. This trail was much more cleared on the sides than typical PA forest singletrack, thus it is much easier for advanced beginner and intermediate mountain bikers. Although overgrown in places (this was July after all) few trees or roots crowded the track and rocks were virtually non-existent. Veteran bikers may not find much of a challenge on this trail, but it was still fun to swoop around on. **NOTE: There are some serious downhills and slopes on the forest trail I rode and, while it was not technical, there are some places that I would not advise inexperienced bikers to ride down due to the gradient. Again, there are some big hills to go up so consider that when biking with young kids.

THE CAMPING
There are a great variety of camping options at Raccoon Creek, which is another reason I recommend it so highly. For those that like luxury, there is an RV/electric campground, which included some non-electric sites, next to the lake in the southern part of the park. On the northern side, there are several modern cabins with electric heat that you can rent, as well as group cabin areas with a rec hall and playing field.

As a tent camper, I was impressed by the tent campsites which included both a drive-up area and a hike-in only area. Both options are non-electric only and feel nicely isolated and peaceful, but still include a bath area and drinking water. The Pioneer camping area is strictly hike-in, but the biking time from the parking lot was about 20 min, so you’re not so far in that you can’t get to your car in a reasonable amount of time if necessary. This area also serves horseback riders who would like to overnight, although the horses need to be stabled elsewhere from what I read.

DIRECTIONS
Starting from the Rte. 22/30 exit on the Parkway West just before the Ikea in Robinson Town Centre, it takes approx. 20-30 min to reach the park without major traffic. Looking at the map, you can reach the park either by Rte. 18 or Rte. 30. I took both options and found that they are pretty equal in time and both include a section of local, two-way road with somewhat slower traffic. I would say the deciding factor is which side of the part you want to enter – if you’re heading for the Wildflower Preserver or the lake take Rte. 30, if you’re heading for the trails and camping on the north side take Rte. 18.