2018 Hike 3 - February 3 - Locust Lake State Park
Locust Lake State Park PA
Oak Loop trail
Posted by Chris 2/3/18
Basics:
Length - About 5 miles
Elevation gain - Not stated in guide but we're guessing nearly 1000 feet
Nearest city -Mahanoy city (Schuylkill county)
Difficulty - State park rated 'Most Difficult'. This was a challenging hike but mostly because every inch of the trail was covered in snow and much of the non trail parts (paved) were covered in ice. Definitely one of the most wintery hikes we've ever done. There were also a few good climbs and descents but in better weather they wouldn't have been as challenging.
The Day:
After making some unusually tasty waffles we headed out around 9 am. The drive (car nav routed) took us out over the free bridge here in Belvidere and we didn't use any Interstate or tollway the entire way which is unusual for a trip of almost 80 miles from home. The last 10 or 15 miles to the park were over really snowy and icy roads. It didn't bother me to drive on since there was almost nobody else on them but it was surprising to see since everything at home was dry. We initially drove out over the dam to try to get closer to the trailhead but it wasn't very clear if we could drive that close to the trailhead anyway and the outhouses we were hoping to use were out by the park entrance anyway so we parked there instead. The roadway over the dam and the area near the entrance were seriously icy and I almost fell on my butt a few times. Thankfully the rest of the walk through the campground towards the actual trail start wasn't bad and the trail surface was amazingly consistent... About 1" of fluffy nice snow with zero footprints. We were clearly the only people devoted/foolish enough to try this trail system since it snowed a few days ago. There were a few people on the dam or in the campground area walking pets etc but once we headed onto the Boy Scout built trail network it was clear that nobody had been there for days.
The trail started near a beautiful stream which was frozen over in spots...
There were quite a few foot bridges along this trail. Some of them were bigger than others but I always find little structures along trails interesting.
The start of the trail near the campground is really a multi use path.
The Day:
After making some unusually tasty waffles we headed out around 9 am. The drive (car nav routed) took us out over the free bridge here in Belvidere and we didn't use any Interstate or tollway the entire way which is unusual for a trip of almost 80 miles from home. The last 10 or 15 miles to the park were over really snowy and icy roads. It didn't bother me to drive on since there was almost nobody else on them but it was surprising to see since everything at home was dry. We initially drove out over the dam to try to get closer to the trailhead but it wasn't very clear if we could drive that close to the trailhead anyway and the outhouses we were hoping to use were out by the park entrance anyway so we parked there instead. The roadway over the dam and the area near the entrance were seriously icy and I almost fell on my butt a few times. Thankfully the rest of the walk through the campground towards the actual trail start wasn't bad and the trail surface was amazingly consistent... About 1" of fluffy nice snow with zero footprints. We were clearly the only people devoted/foolish enough to try this trail system since it snowed a few days ago. There were a few people on the dam or in the campground area walking pets etc but once we headed onto the Boy Scout built trail network it was clear that nobody had been there for days.
The trail started near a beautiful stream which was frozen over in spots...
There were quite a few foot bridges along this trail. Some of them were bigger than others but I always find little structures along trails interesting.
The start of the trail near the campground is really a multi use path.
There were a number of minor obstacles on the trail but overall it was a beautiful and peaceful walk. The exercise factor was substantially greater than 4 miles might sound both because we had to walk in a considerable distance to start the 4 mile loop and because the trail was hilly and most of all because it was 100% snow covered.
After completing the hike (about 2.5 miles an hour for 2 hours) we headed off for lunch at Jersey Mike's in Trexlertown. I had never looked around Trexlertown before. It has its fans and detractors but we are firmly pro Jersey Mike's and there isn't one very close to our house so we enjoyed our post hike meal a lot.
Overall this was a great hike and the snow and ice made it pleasingly challenging and relatively adventurous feeling even though the distance wasn't huge.
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