“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” ~Anonymous
We’ve had quite a few wet cold days this week, so we didn’t want to waste this beautiful Saturday hiding away from the crowds. So after visiting the wonderful farmers market we found last week, we drove north just a bit to Bear Creek Preserve.
The preserve is a vast expanse of forests and steep stream valleys in the Pocono Plateau’s Lehigh River Watershed. It’s larger than many state parks and provides critical habitat for black bear, coyote, eagles, migratory songbirds and rattlesnakes. We didn’t see any wildlife…maybe that was a good thing.
We hiked two separate trials for a total of 4.5 miles and saw another Buttermilk Falls. If you think that’s the only name for falls here…you’d be right. This is the third Buttermilk Falls we’ve found in the area. I have no clue why they all have the same name.
Our first hike was on the north side of the preserve. It was mostly level and led to a nice little waterfall and scenic overlook. The leaves are beginning to turn burnt orange and brown and more are on the ground than in the trees. Soon it will look like winter and it will be time for us to move south.
The moss along this trail looked like lime green carpet…very pretty.
Buttermilk Falls
Our second hike was on the western part of the preserve. It wound us through the woods down to Bear Creek. We crossed several smaller creeks along the trail.
Bear Creek
We crossed two little bridges like this one along Shades Creek.
Bear Creek Preserve trail map. I marked the two hikes we did in turquoise.
