Caledonia State Park: Thaddeus Stevens and Midland Trails (Blog Hike #532)

Trails: Thaddeus Stevens and Midland Trails

Hike Location: Caledonia State Park

Geographic Location: between Chambersburg, PA and Gettysburg, PA (39.90881, -77.47822)

Length: 1.4 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Date Hiked: July 2015

Overview: A fairly flat loop passing several historic industrial sites.

Park Information: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/caledonia-state-park

Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: In south-central Pennsylvania, take I-81 to US 30 (exit 16).  Exit and go east on US 30.  Drive US 30 east 8.4 miles to SR 233.  Turn left on SR 233, and note the waterfall on the right just after making this turn.  0.2 miles later, turn left to enter the park.  Drive the main park road less than 0.1 miles to the park office.  Park in the paved parking lot beside the park office.

The hike: For my general comments on Caledonia State Park, see the previous hike.  Whereas the previous hike explored the mountainous side of Caledonia State Park, this hike explores several historic sites found in the park’s valleys.  What this hike lacks in seclusion and solitude it makes up for in history and ease.

            Before leaving the park office area, stop in the office and pick up a self-guiding tour brochure for the Thaddeus Stevens Historic Trail, which comprises the middle segment of this hike.  The hike starts on the Midland Trail, but the Midland Trail sign you see across the road from the park office marks our return route.  To find the outbound route, turn left on the park road, cross Conococheague Creek on the road bridge, and look for a black sign with yellow letters that says “Midland Trail Footpath Only” on the left.  Turn left to begin the Midland Trail.

Southbound Midland Trail trailhead

            The packed gravel trail heads south with the creek visible through the trees on the left.  You soon pass an unusual concrete pier that appears in the ground on your left.  The Midland Trail connects the park’s group camping area with the park’s swimming pool and playground area, the latter of which is reached after only a few hundred feet.  Cross two creeks on bridges and angle left to reach the Thaddeus Stevens Blacksmith Shop.  The painted-white structure is located right beside US 30.

Thaddeus Stevens Blacksmith Shop

            The blacksmith shop is stop #2 on the Thaddeus Stevens Historic Trail’s self-guided tour.  As detailed in the previous hike, Thaddeus Stevens was never a blacksmith, but the shop bears his name because he financed the iron industry in this area.  The area got the name Caledonia because Stevens was born in Caledonia County, Vermont.  In Stevens’ day, present-day US 30 was a busy dirt wagon road, and the blacksmith shop represented the consumer end of the area’s formidable iron industry.

            After viewing the blacksmith shop and reading the interpretive signs, turn left, cross first Rocky Mountain Creek and then SR 233 to reach a large gravel parking lot.  Watch for drivers turning off of US 30 onto SR 233 because they may not be watching for you.  The next point of interest is the reconstructed iron furnace on the left (north) side of this parking lot.  This furnace provided the iron for the blacksmith shop you saw just moments ago, and it was much larger in its day than the structure you see here.  The raw materials (wood, iron ore, and limestone) would be loaded in the top, and the molten pig iron would be drawn out the bottom where you are standing.  More interpretive signs describe details of the furnace’s operation.

Caledonia iron furnace

            Continue the Thaddeus Stevens Historic Trail as it goes to the left of the iron furnace and climbs moderately for a short time.  At the top of the hill, you use stepping stones to cross the top of the waterfall you passed on your drive to the trailhead.  A waterwheel used to stand here to harness the power of the falling water for industrial purposes.  You can climb down the steep sides of the water channel for a better view, but the best view was obtained from the park road on your drive in.

Top-down waterfall view

            Ignore the steep and difficult Charcoal Hearth Trail that exits right and continue north on the Thaddeus Stevens Historic Trail.  The trail treads a narrow strip of land between SR 233 to your left and the man-made waterway that feeds the waterfall on your right.  You can imagine the amount of labor it took to build this waterway, which was hand-dug in the 1830’s.  The tan-colored water is so clear that small fish can be seen swimming in the waterway.

Hiking beside hand-dug waterway

            0.7 miles into the hike, you cross the waterway on a wooden bridge before climbing slightly.  At 0.9 miles, the other end of the Charcoal Hearth Trail exits right.  The Charcoal Hearth Trail explores the industrial facilities that turned wood into the charcoal needed to produce iron in the furnace you passed 10 minutes ago.  Our hike turns left, descends slightly to cross SR 233, and reaches the small pond that feeds the waterway you walked beside earlier.  The clear water allows you to see the larger fish that live in this pond compared to the waterway.

Pond at head of waterway

            After walking around two sides of the triangle-shaped pond, the trail curves left to head into the woods beside a small stream.  1 mile into the hike, the Thaddeus Stevens Historic Trail intersects the Midland Trail.  Turn left on the Midland Trail to begin the final leg of this hike.

            The packed-gravel Midland Trail stays nearly dead straight as it heads southwest past some large hemlock trees.  Just before closing the loop, the trail curves right to pass around a park maintenance area that sits adjacent to the Forest Heritage Discovery Center, which is located across the road from the park office.  A museum of Pennsylvania forestry history, the Discovery Center was closed on my visit, but it contains some interesting exhibits on how forestry practices have changed over the century-plus history of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.  Cross the park road and reach the park office to conclude the hike.

Caledonia State Park: Appalachian, Three Valley, and Ramble Trails (Blog Hike #531)

Trails: Appalachian, Three Valley, and Ramble Trails

Hike Location: Caledonia State Park

Geographic Location: between Chambersburg, PA and Gettysburg, PA (39.90977, -77.48470)

Length: 2.6 miles

Difficulty: 8/10 (Moderate/Difficult)

Date Hiked: July 2015

Overview: An Appalachian Trail loop hike, first steep then fairly flat, passing an old mill site.

Park Information: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/caledonia-state-park

Hike Route Map:

On The Go Map

Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: In south-central Pennsylvania, take I-81 to US 30 (exit 16).  Exit and go east on US 30.  Drive US 30 east 8.4 miles to SR 233.  Turn left on SR 233, then 0.2 miles later turn left to enter the park.  Drive the main park road to the large paved picnic area parking lot at its very end.  The hike starts at a vehicle gate near the parking lot’s rear entrance.

The hike: Established in 1903, Caledonia State Park is the second oldest active state park in Pennsylvania.  The land was purchased from the Caledonia Mining and Manufacturing Company, which operated an iron-making facility here from 1837 to 1870.  This location proved ideal for manufacturing iron because all main raw materials (wood, iron ore, and limestone) could be found in large quantities nearby.  Related facilities including some charcoal hearths, a forge, a rolling mill, some stables, some warehouses, a blacksmith shop, and a sawmill also thrived here.

            The furnace’s most famous owner was Thaddeus Stevens, a lawyer, member of the United States House of Representatives, abolitionist, and father of the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the three amendments adopted at the end of the Civil War.  His name is still found on some of the park’s trails and restored buildings that are featured in the next hike.  The present-day park offers many facilities, including CCC-era picnic pavilions, 2 campgrounds with a total of 185 sites, a lodge, and a par 68 golf course.

            For hikers, Caledonia State Park offers over 10 miles of trails that cover a wide variety of terrain.  The trails through the lowland area are fairly flat and easy, while trails that lead into the surrounding mountains are rather steep and difficult.  This loop hike explores both types of terrain.  The hike’s first half includes a section of the long and famous Appalachian Trail (AT) as it leads up and down a steep hill, while the second half explores the mill ruins in a lowland area.  A couple of other options described below allow you to do only part of the loop if you wish.

Vehicle gate at trailhead

            The first objective of this hike is to reach the AT.  There are several ways to get there from the parking lot, but the shortest route is to pick up the gravel two-track Chambersburg Water Line Trail at a yellow vehicle gate near the parking lot’s rear (west) entrance.  In just over 0.1 miles of level walking, you intersect the AT, which goes right and left.  Turn right to head northbound on the AT.

            The hard part of the hike now begins, as the AT gains more than 400 feet of elevation over the next 0.5 miles.  If you wanted to eliminate the hard part, you could continue straight on the flat Chambersburg Water Line Trail and reach the other side of this loop in 0.4 miles.  Staying with our loop, the AT climbs a somewhat rocky treadway using several switchbacks to ease the steep grade.  The forest consists mostly of broadleaf trees, most numerously maple, with a few pine trees thrown in.

Climbing AT switchbacks

            At 0.6 miles, you reach the highest point of this hike and the signed intersection with the Three Valley Trail.  Turn left to leave the white-blazed AT and begin the blue-blazed Three Valley Trail.  The Three Valley Trail starts as a gradual descent along a narrow finger ridge with steep drop-offs on either side, but soon the trail curves left to drop off the ridge and begin a steep descent.  An abandoned trail leads further out the ridge, so watch the blazes to make sure you stick with the official trail.

Descending the Three Valley Trail

            As steep as the climb up the AT was, the descent down the Three Valley Trail is even steeper.  The lay of the land ensures that the eroded trail becomes a creek after a heavy rain, so the footing is particularly bad.  At 1.1 miles, you reach the bottom of the hill and another intersection with the Chambersburg Water Line Trail.  The shortest route back to the trailhead would turn left to follow the water line, but to start the easy part of the loop, continue straight on the Three Valley Trail.

            The Three Valley Trail continues another 0.1 miles to its end at an intersection with the Ramble Trail, which goes left and right.  Turn right to begin the yellow-blazed Ramble Trail.  Unlike the steep hills tackled by the AT and Three Valley Trails, the Ramble Trail is nearly flat.  The scenery has also changed from open, shady broadleaf forest to sunny glade with a thick grassy understory.

The sunny Ramble Trail

            The wide gravel/dirt Ramble Trail curves left as it enters the wet areas along the east branch of Conococheague Creek.  At 1.5 miles, the trail crosses both of the creek’s channels on fine wooden bridges.  Immediately after crossing the second channel, you reach an unmarked intersection where you need to turn left to stay on the Ramble Trail.  The option going right dead-ends at a vehicle gate along US 30.

            After a brief climb you reach the saw mill ruins.  Of the mill that once stood here only the water channel’s stone walls remain.  Water would have flowed from the right down to the left powering the saw along the way.  For the next 0.4 miles the trail runs east atop the narrow mill race with the creek downhill to your left and the man-made water channel on the right.  Traffic noise from nearby US 30 can also be heard uphill to the right.

Saw mill ruins

            At 1.8 miles, the southbound AT enters from the right and joins the Ramble Trail.  In another 0.1 miles, the trail uses a wooden bridge to cross the stone structure that diverted water from Conococheague Creek into the mill’s waterway.  800 feet later, you come out at a grassy field near the park’s swimming area.  Stay with the white AT blazes as they turn left and cross Conococheague Creek on a final wooden bridge.  Soon you arrive at the picnic area adjacent to the parking lot that contains your car, thus signaling the end of the hike.