Carbon County Leaf Peeping - Day Trip

 October 22, 2023

Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace.

- Dr. Janice Anderson & Kiersten Anderson

Thanks to all of the rain we have been having here in Pennsylvania, the fall leaf colors were expected to be extra vibrant this year. So we decided to take a drive to Carbon County where the leaves were advertised as being at their peak. We were not disappointed!

Beltsville State Park

We started out by visiting Beltsville State Park. This wasn't our first visit to the park. We had previously visited in October 2021 to see the leaves and the covered bridge that's located there. 

The 3002-acre Beltsville State Park is located in the southern foothills of the Pocono Mountains. It has an excellent trout-fishing stream that feeds into the 949-acre Beltsville Lake. Most types of recreational boats are permitted to use the lake and there are no horsepower restrictions. Kayaks, paddleboats and pontoon boats may be rented. Hiking, mountain biking, picnicing and swimming at the 525-foot sand beach are also popular activities. Sadly, the park doesn't have a campground or cabins for overnight stays.

Beltsville State Park, October 2021	Buck Covered Bridge, October 2021
Beltsville State Park, October 2021

Our focus on this trip was to hike the Wild Creek Trail. The trail consists of two sections: Falls Trail and Cove Ridge Trail. We hiked along the Cove Ridge Trail to the Falls Trail for a total of 1.92 miles.

View from Cove Ridge Trail	Wild Creek Cove
Falls Trail

View from Falls Trail

Waterfall on Wild Creek View from Falls Trail

View along Falls Trail View of the falls from the other side

After leaving the park we drove along some mountain roads on our way to our next stop. The leaves were absolutely beautiful! I couldn't resist videotaping the ride. It's not the best because it's through the windshield of our car, but you can see how vibrant the colors are.

Tank Hollow Overlook

Tank Hollow Overlook is located just off a gravel road in State Game Lands 141. Because the overlook is located on state game lands, it's highly recommended that visitors to the lookout where safety orange while hiking the trail and enjoying the overlook. 

The gate at the beginning of the gravel road was open when we visited, so we didn't have to walk the mile down the road to the trailhead for the overlook. This is a popular spot among locals. The parking areas were mostly full and we passed quite a few groups of people walking back the road as we drove past, keeping our fingers crossed that we would find an open space for our car. Fortunately, we were able to park in a small lot fairly close to the trailhead. 

Although the 0.6 mile trail to the overlook is mostly level, it was muddy in several places due to all the recent rain, and it did get rocky, particularly just before the overlook. We were anxious to get to the overlook before the many groups of people we passed on our way in caught up to us, so we didn't stop to take photos on our way to the overlook. After passing through a rhododren thicket, the view popped out in front of us. And what a view it was! It was definitely worth walking through the mud to get there. The view below of the horshoe bend in the Lehigh River was stunning! The photos do not do it justice.

Tank Hollow Overlook Tank Hollow Overlook

Tank Hollow Overlook Tank Hollow Overlook

On the way back out the trail, we took the time to take some photos of the fall colors.

Along the trail View from the trail

Along the trail State Game Land Road

State Game Land Road

Then we drove back off the mountain and home again, enjoying the views along the way.

* All Photos and videos are the property of the authors except where otherwise noted. *