Hickory Run State Park — Attraction in Kidder Township

Isn't it interesting how my earlier review just disappeared after describing the horrible experience i had with the negligence of the park staff and the disappearance of historic cabins and deterioration of the manor house?!!!!! Yeah i guess they don't want any people who would be devastated in the loss of historic buildings to see this. First we had a HORRIBLE experience just trying to have a picnic and go swimming!! We had a rough time just finding a table. When we do ,we immediately find out why it was available!. We were stuck between two families who apparently thought the park belongs to them because they were both blasting music so loudly that people were literally leaving because it was so bad!!And we moved ourselves to a different location. And it was perfect for a while. But it didn't last. Another person started blasting music too but this time it was FILTHY music with foul language and sexual content that I won't repeat!!! And no, I'm not so old that I don't like Rap music because I do. And there were many small children hearing this! I saw one parent walk up apparently asking them to change it but the guy just said something n flipped him off. So the family immediately packed up n left. We called the office as well as two other families but no one ever came and we didn't want to move a THIRD time so we gave up n just left deciding to drive through the park.I went to the office n quite frankly gave them a piece of my mind for not sending someone to ask them to turn that filthy stuff off considering how many children were in the park! they said the warden just left after we n the others had called WELL OVER an hour before!!!!! I guess they thought those children needed a sexual education class by music because they sure got one that day!!!! And forget swimming because the lake was closed due to bacteria!!! Now that was not even the worst thing that happened that day if it wasn't bad enough!!! Anyone who knows this park n loves history will know about how this park came to be n will know about the Manor house., one of the few remaining buildings left from the two towns that had been In the park nearly two centuries ago! And there used to be several remaining cabins that you could take a driving tour to see and even go in! But apparently they are no longer in existence probably from the same neglect as the manor house!!!! The last time I was in the park, this home built in 1840 was still a source of pride, still being maintained and in relatively good condition!! But when I walked up to that building this time, I literally burst into tears!!! I could not believe my eyes! It was heartbreaking to see the deteriorated condition of a once loved building. Honestly is there no pride in the history of your community?!!! Doesn't this area have some kind of historical society?!!! It i s a travesty to have let this amazing piece of history literally just fall down like this!!! The whole sun room and entire back of the building is collapsed, window's are missing, water damage so bad that it's probably irreparable at this point!!!! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU who could have stopped this from happening!!! Even if something is done immediately, this building is probably beyond saving and what a loss for the history of this area. It's bad enough that the cabins are all gone probably from the same neglect but to allow this remaining piece of history be destroyed too,what a sad sad day 😢 There's a utube video on how it used to look just a few years ago! If anyone cares about this building at all, I would recommend watching it then go see what it looks like today. If you are any kind of a history lover as I am, you will be crying too. Until something is done to save that building and there is some kind of posted policy regarding loud music, I sadly will not return to this park that I've come to since my childhood. My day was completely ruined by ignorant rude people but the Manor house....well my earlier comments speak for themselves. PLEASE don't let it be erased from history like the...

The park offers a lot to do, is mostly dog friendly, and the campground is ok. The hikes to the waterfalls were lovely even in the rain. The Boulder Field was fun and unique but be prepared for a long drive on a dirt road with lots of potholes to get there. The swimming lake was nice and lots of area to swim. I especially liked that it was smoke-free. There’s three divided large swimming sections. A cute lil goose family was swimming along with us humans. No dogs on the beach, but there’s grass and trees nearby where I stayed with my dog. Of course there’s people that don’t listen and bring their dog on the beach and hike with their dog off leash, which is disappointing. The food is over priced by the pool and only one person works there and she’s slow and unable to multi-task. I think I waited 15 minutes for my ice cream with only one person in front of me who also just ordered one ice cream. The soft serve was very delicious and worth it! If you want to tent camp, sites 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, and 314 are the nicest and most secluded. Sites 298, 299, and 301 are right by the busy road. A lot of the other sites are hit or miss: small, too close together, no shade, muddy, etc. The campground appears a bit neglected with tall grass, damaged trees, falling apart picnic tables, and lots of closed sites. The water didn’t work by my site and there’s no running water in the bathroom, just a port a potty type toilet. If u need to shower you must drive to the other campground. The camp store is small but very well-stocked with anything you might need. But beware, they sold me firewood that was wet and fresh and did not burn well. People have zero respect for quiet hours, but I complained to the park ranger and the next night and morning it was so quiet, the rangers do a great job! Alcohol is not permitted in the park or campground, but again, people didn’t listen to that either. The new visitor center is very nice. They did close at least an hour early on Saturday night. They warned everyone about bears in the area and were great with advice but I...

The visitor's center is deceiving as it's spacious, it's a pretty new structure, has welcoming staff, a beautiful parking lot, and clean bathrooms. Our experience camping, however, was the worst we've ever had. We paid more to be in the full hook up area with our dog. Site 284. The new bathrooms/showers were built last year in this loop but due to an engineering issue they remain closed waiting on some redesign to be approved. Wow! 6 months! Meanwhile, we had disgusting pit toilets to use or had to drive to other loops-we were tent camping. The campground definitely doesn't seem to be well maintained. Most of the trees in our loop have been removed and it looks more like two big fields, one for your dogs to play and the other for kids. Our site, like the majority of sites in this loop, was completely muddy with a tiny bit of mulch sprinkled here and there, had tall grass-with lots of ticks (everyone got bitten), and remnants of what was once a gravel pad. The roads in our loop were riddled with giant potholes and streams of water made deep grooves throughout the loop. Again, it seems like this part of the park is highly neglected. If you decide to take a chance with the park, choose any other loop, as the rest of the campground is much nicer, have old/worn yet functioning restrooms with flushable toilets and showers, and lots of beautiful trees. The trails in and around the campground get super busy by noon and are impossible to get parking spaces. Go early and you may enjoy the hike or if it's rained don't bother because they are also neglected and often underwater-unless that's what you enjoy. While one hike takes you to a waterfall, too many people were lounging around sitting on the rocks that clearly stated "don't sit on rocks" to even get a decent picture. Will not be returning to this park...