Appalachian Odyssey

Trough Creek State Park

Entriken, PA

The changing economics of the day forced the furnace and forge to shut down in 1856. Briefly, during the American Civil War, Paradise furnace was reopened.

Unsubstantiated folklore claims that Edgar Allen Poe visited the Trough Creek area and one of his most famous poems was written after his visit. The poem was "The Raven" was inspired by the many ravens nesting along the creek. One of the trails in the park pays homage to these large black birds - Raven Rock Trail.

The year 1913 brought new sounds, new smells and a new look to the valley. The Juniata and Southern Railroad was built to harvest the timber of the area.

Due to the harvesting technique of the day in 5 years the trees were gone and the wooden railed railroad was dismantled. With the loss of the trees came flooding and forest fires.

In the early 1930's, as part of the "New Deal," the Civilian Conservation Corps was created to try to help bring the US out of our Great Depression. In 1933 the Civilian Conservation Corps came to Trough Creek where they planted trees, constructed roads and trails and created Trough Creek State Park that opened only 3 years later in 1936.

Trough Creek State Park is a 554 acre park that is bordered by part of the Rothrock State Forest and the Raystown Lake Recreation Area.

To the left, as you enter the park from the access road, will be the Park Office. If you continue down the access road you will come to a T. If you turn right it will take you up to Paradise Furnace and a large picnicking area with large, flat open areas that are great for playing soccer, softball or tossing the Frisbee. The Iron Masters house (originally constructed in the 1800's) has been renovated and is available for rental year round.

Turning left (which is what we did) takes you down into the park itself. Shortly after turning left, you come to a large map showing the Layout of the park showing the road, trails and picnic areas

The road, which is barely big enough for two cars to pass comfortably, occasionally gets pinched between cliffs and the great Trough Creek itself. At various points along the road from the entrance down to the icemine there are picnic areas with plenty of parking. About 2/3 of the way down is a camping area with 32 sites. It has no water or showers, but it does have rest rooms, picnic tables, fire ring, tent pads and a sanitary dump station next to the park office.