Hickory Run Boulder Field — Attraction in Kidder Township

Boulder Field Trail and Field

MODERATE HIKE

it is a fairly long hike, if you’re accessing it through the trail, but the end result is jaw dropping. i was in pure awe of the sight of the boulder field. it is absolutely amazing and i cannot wait to return again one day!

the hike itself, isn’t bad but carry bug spray and watch your step because sometimes there is a risk to twist your ankles one the ground and sticks and stuff. sometimes it gets narrow and other times it gets wide open. beautiful fern and mushrooms along the way. the fern looked like it was getting shined upon by heaven! the mushrooms are pretty but be careful because they may be poisonous. it is a nice hike though. there is a bear risk as well.

this isn’t a loop trail. it is one end to the other and then you have to walk the same path back once you reach the boulder field.

the field: again, it’s spectacular! it is HUGE. it is big rocks surrounded by trees with barely anything else in the rocks. there was one tree and a small island of trees in the field but nothing else. be careful on the rocks though because you don’t want to injure yourself on them.

there is an easier, drivable access to the field. i recommend that to whoever doesn’t/can’t hike the trail. BUT DO NOT make the mistake of walking on the access road (you can but it will likely ~4hours to get back to the start of the trail that way. also, some cars do drive fast on the roads so be careful walking if you choose to walk on the access road.) to go back to the start of the trail because it is LONG WAY back. just walk the trail you came on back.

highly...

Many miles south of Ricketts Glen is another state park with a very different type of natural marvel… a vast clearing in the woods filled entirely with boulders of various sizes and shapes. It is thought that tens of thousands of years ago, this was one solid flat layer of bedrock, but ice constantly freezing and thawing began to form cracks within the layer of rock. These cracks eventually became large enough that the bedrock broke down, forming the boulders that we see today. Climbing these rocks is the most popular recreational activity in this area of the park, and I highly recommend trying this yourself if you ever visit boulder field. However, please be careful of where you place your feet because the surface is very uneven, plus, there are some relatively deep holes between the boulders.

Another intriguing sight in this field besides the boulders is an isolated pine tree sitting on top of the boulders, somehow miraculously still growing despite a lack of soil or nutrients! I don’t know exactly how long it’s been growing there, but that lone survivor tree is undeniably resilient, and is a promising sign that the forest will spread and take over the field of boulders in the distant future. This will allow more young trees to prosper and thrive, creating additional habitat for Pennsylvania’s...

The park has its nice parts. The visitor's center is one of the nicer ones I've seen!! The Boulder field is huge, larger than any I've seen before. BUT with all those hot areas and hikes to do, they don't allow you in the water AT ALL. How can a state park prohibit wading in a creek?? At first we thought it was just the one area by the one waterfall, which made sense, but no. It's EVERY creek in the park! 😳😡 We avoided the gift shop for that reason. I'm not getting hotter walking all the way to the gift shop on "shades of death" (death because you can't enjoy water) trail only to not cool off. I'm not giving my money to such a stuffy park. I'll collect a token for my walking stick at every state park except this one just because of ridiculous restrictions. Really ruined my opinion of this park. Won't...