Hickory Run State Park: Shades of Death Trail (Blog Hike #966)

Trail: Shades of Death Trail
Hike Location: Hickory Run State Park
Geographic Location: southeast of White Haven, PA (41.02320, -75.71085)
Length: 2.2 miles
Difficulty: 8/10 (Difficult)
Date Hiked: September 2023
Overview: A rough, rocky, and rooty out-and-back featuring dams and cascades in Sand Spring Run.
Park Information: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/HickoryRunStatePark/Pages/default.aspx
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=947189
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming October 25)

Directions to the trailhead: In northeast Pennsylvania, take I-80 to SR 534 (exit 274).  Exit and go south/east on SR 534.  Drive winding and hilly SR 534 5.1 miles to the signed gravel parking lot for the Shades of Death Trail on the right.  Park here.  If this lot is full, you could also start this hike near its east end at the state park Visitor Center, which is located another 1.1 miles east on SR 534.

The hike: Located in the southwest corner of northeast Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, 15,550 acre Hickory Run State Park is the 5th largest state park in Pennsylvania.  The park exists due to the vision of General Harry Trexler, an Allentown millionaire who began purchasing land in 1918 for the purpose of developing the park.  In 1935, the National Park Service purchased the land after Trexler's death, and the next year the depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began developing the land as a Recreation Demonstration Area.  In 1945, the park-to-be was transferred to the Commonweath of Pennsylvania and became Hickory Run State Park.

            The park has several areas with unique scenery, but its most famous site is its boulder field, which is unusual because it is located on flat terrain rather than on a hillside.  During the most recent ice age, the ice sheets' southern advance halted in the present-day park.  Geologists think repeated freezing and thawing cracked the bedrock, frost heave lifted the resulting boulders, and gelifluction moved the boulders downslope to their current position.  The boulder field was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1967.  While you can hike to the boulder field, there are no short or easy hikes to get there, and it is most easily accessed by driving a good 4.5 mile dirt/gravel road into the remote eastern section of the park.

Hickory Run State Park boulder field

            As you would expect for a park of its size, Hickory Run State Park offers nearly every amenity and activity.  On point, the park has a 381-site developed campground, a disc golf course, swimming and picnicking on Sand Spring Lake, fishing at several locations, and 44 miles of trails.  Many hikes are possible, but the park's most popular trail is the out-and-back Shades of Death Trail described here.  Do not be intimidated by this trail's name: the name was given to this area by early European settlers, who found the dark forests and rocky soil inhospitable and unsuitable for farming.

West trailhead

            The best place to start the Shades of Death Trail is at its west end, where a small parking lot offers access to the trail without hiking any spur trails.  Yellow rectangular paint blazes mark the Shades of Death Trail.  From the signed west trailhead, you cross a small stream on a nice wooden bridge, after which the rocky and rooty nature of the treadway becomes very apparent.  While this hike only requires about 300 feet of elevation gain, the rough footing makes for slow going.

First stone dam

            After climbing to use the shoulder of SR 534 for a short distance, the trail descends slightly to leave the road for good.  You reach the first dam at 0.2 miles.  This small stone dam looks very old and broken-down, and it no longer retains water.  5 minutes later, you reach the second stone dam, which the park map calls the Stametz Dam.  This dam is much larger and in better shape: it does retain water, and water spilling over the stone dam makes a very scenic 15-foot waterfall.  Take some time to enjoy the dam and waterfall.

Waterfall at Stametz Dam

            The trail climbs a rocky area to the top of the second dam before continuing upstream through pine forest with a large amount of rhododendron.  Some natural non-dam cascades appear in Sand Spring Run to your right, and their pleasant scenery and audio makes your slow progress on the persistently rocky and rooty trail more tolerable.  Just past 0.5 miles, where the trail appears to dead-end in a creekside rhododendron thicket, you climb some rough stone steps built in a narrow gap in the cliff.  These steps and the dams seem to be the most photographed features on this trail.

Stone steps up gap in rock

            Next you pass through an open rocky glade before descending back to the creek and ascending again.  Watch for the yellow blazes, and do not make the mistake I did of fording the creek here.  I had to get my feet wet a second time to return to the north side of the creek and get back on the trail.

Natural cascade in Sand Spring Run

            At 0.7 miles, you complete the hardest part of the hike where the trail intersects a gated road for the family campground.  Angle right to walk a short distance on the road, then angle left to leave the road and continue following the Shades of Death Trail.  A couple hundred feet later, you reach the CCC Dam, which is the largest dam on this hike.  Water flows out of the dam's lake via an unusual spout built into the middle of the dam, and this spout forms a large and unusual but not particularly scenic waterfall.

Waterfall at CCC Dam

            Continue upstream on the north side of Sand Spring Run, but just past 1 mile you will cross the creek on a nice footbridge.  A short but steep and rocky climb will bring you to the top of Dam #5, the final dam on this hike.  This small dam forms a small lake relative to the two previous dams you passed, but SR 534's bridge with aesthetically pleasing arches can be seen just upstream from this lake.

Lake created by Dam #5

            The Shades of Death Trail ends at SR 534.  You could hike the short spur trails to the south that lead to the park's campground and Visitor Center.  Unless you left a second car at the Visitor Center, you will need to retrace your steps downstream along the Shades of Death Trail to return to the western trailhead and complete the hike.