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Clarion River Boating Program: Spring Creek-Heath Pump Station

Join us for an interpretive guided float down the National Wild & Scenic Clarion River from Spring Creek to Heath Pump Station.  We’ll learn about the lumber & wood chemical industry at Halton, float past remnants of one of the largest lumber mills on the Clarion at Pine Rapid, and take a 1 mile hike up one of the drainages along the way to view unique rock formations.  Fishing is excellent here, so don’t forget your poles!  Only experienced boaters permitted.  Please meet at the Park Office where we will drive to the starting point.  Lunch and boats provided to those who register by 8/4 by contacting the Park Office at (814)744-8407 orcookforestsp@pa.gov.  Registration limited to 10 boats.  Cost is $50/boat payable by cash, check, or money order made out to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Lunch, boats, and all boating equipment provided.  Prior Cook Forest kayak training participants receive a 50% discount.  See you on the river!

Explore Clarion River Lands: Maxwell Run, Boiler & Finkbinder Loop Ramble

Are you curious as to what scenic surprises, wildlife, and local history lie within the newly acquired Clarion River Lands?  If so, you’ll need a guide to get you there.  Trails are steep, rocky, and sometimes hard to find, but the wilderness experience will be worth the effort.  This 5.5 mile interpretive and very strenuous hike drops 550ft to the valley floor with over 1600ft of elevation change throughout the trip.  We’ll go past the old boiler, and up Maxwell Run, a hidden jewel of stream tucked away in a scenic hemlock valley.  We will also hike along the seldom travelled Finkbinder Loops to a potential scenic overlook.  The hike out though is off trail and straight up!  Pack a lunch & bring plenty of water.  Please meet at the Park Office where we’ll drive to the starting point.

Allegheny River Boating Program: West Hickory-Tionesta

Cook Forest State Park will be conducting a 6.6 mile wilderness interpretive canoeing program on the Allegheny River.  We will be putting in at the West Hickory bridge boat launch at the intersections of RT62 & RT127, and plan on making stops at King and Baker Islands highlighting magnificent bottomland forests and wildlife found in the Allegheny River Islands Wilderness Area.  King Island represents the finest stand of large stature sycamore and silver maple on the upper stretches of the Allegheny, with Baker Island boasting the tallest known sycamore in Northwestern Pennsylvania, even after surviving the 1985 derecho that tore into the surrounding countryside.  Fishing is excellent here, so don’t forget your fishing poles!  We will meet promptly at the Park Office and car-pool to the starting point at West Hickory.  Weeds are high on the islands where we’ll be hiking.  Proper boating & hiking footwear and leg protection a must.  No flip flops, old hiking shoes or sneakers is good.  Cost is $50/boat with check or money order made out to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Lunch will be provided to those who register by 8/11 by calling the Park Office at (814)744-8407.  Prior Cook Forest kayak training participants receive a 50% discount.  Space is limited, so please reserve early.

Friends of Cook Forest: Women’s Hiking Series

Enjoy an evening nurturing your mental and   physical health.  Moderate level hiking.  Approximately 2 hours long.  Open to all women (ages 14 & up).  Please meet at the Park Office.  For more information, please contact Meredith Reinhart at (814)319-4621.

Measuring the Giants: Seneca & Mohawk Trails

Please meet at the Park Office for a strenuous steep often off-trail hike through the finest known stand of old growth hemlock in the Northeast.  We will be visiting and remeasuring the two tallest known hemlocks in Pennsylvania, the Seneca and Mohawk hemlocks.  Many hemlocks commonly surpass 300 years old with the tallest approaching 150ft high!

Animal Calls

Please bring your chairs, blankets, and your best animal call imitation to the Ridge Camp park Amphitheater for an evening of animal calls.  Join the park naturalist as he demonstrates how and why animals of PA talk to each other.