2018 Hike 2 - Boone Trail - French Creek State Park PA


2018 Hike 2 - January 27th

French Creek State Park PA

Boone loop trail

Posted by Chris 1/28/18

Basics:
Length - 6 miles
Elevation gain - Not stated in guide but I'd guess 600-750 feet
Nearest city - Union Township (Berks county)
Difficulty - State park rated 'More Difficult'.  Didn't seem difficult to us at all.  Not a completely flat hike but the climbs were mostly very gentle and only one was very substantial.  Navigation was mostly good but there were quite a few junctions to follow.

The day:
We were out a little late Friday night and we had an appointment in Bethlehem at 2:30 so the day didn't have a lot of slack in it for spontaneity.  We had an imperfect breakfast at the Panera bread in Phillipsburg then made a beeline for the trailhead using the handy GPS coordinates to the Hopewell lake boat ramp provided on the state park map.  
The park office didn't appear to be open or attended but there were brochures and signs and surprisingly the very nice bathrooms were open.  Pennsylvania really has one of the best state park systems in the country.  No day use fees, most are at least partially open in the winter and even the state parks website is great.  Take for example French Creek State park pages.  Their hike information page details 9 different trails at French Creek including multiple locations you can get to the trails.


The hike itself traversed a lot of different landscapes.  It started near the frozen lake and after going along 1 side of the lake it made a broad loop away from the lake.  There is a rifle range in the park and there were a lot of shots being fired which we could hear for about 3/4ths of the hike.  At times the trail was along ridges and above tree lined slopes with decent views.  One section went through a tunnel of scrub brush.  There were minor water features and a few small foot bridges but nothing too amazing.  What made the day so great (and it was great) was that 2/3 the way through what has been a very cold winter, we were completely comfortable hiking in just T-shirts.





We both enjoyed this hike immensely both because it was a beautiful walk but also because the weather was so inviting and the sun felt so amazing.
 
Pluses:
  • Large park with extensive facilities, multiple loop trails, a campground, cabins, a lake, rifle range etc
  • Variety of terrains
Minuses
  • For being in Berks county (largely suburban) there wasn't any great route to get there from our house, required a lot of miles on PA-309/29/100 etc.

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