Cherry Springs State Park
Encyclopedia
Cherry Springs State Park is a 106 acres (42.9 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Potter County
, Pennsylvania
, in the United States. The park was created from land within the Susquehannock State Forest
, and is on Pennsylvania Route 44
in West Branch Township. Cherry Springs, named for a large stand of Black Cherry trees in the park, is atop the dissected
Allegheny Plateau
at an elevation of 2300 feet (701 m). It is popular with astronomers and stargazers for having some of the "darkest night skies on the east coast" of the United States, and was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
(DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks as one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
The earliest recorded inhabitants of the area were the Susquehannock
s, followed by the Seneca nation
, who hunted there. The first settlement within the park was a log tavern
built in 1818 along a trail; the trail became a turnpike
by 1834 and a hotel replaced the tavern in 1874, then burned in 1897. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the old-growth forests were clearcut
; the state forest was established in 1901 and contains second growth woodlands
. "Cherry Springs Scenic Drive" was established in 1922, and the Civilian Conservation Corps
built much of Cherry Springs State Park during the Great Depression
, including a picnic pavilion listed on the National Register of Historic Places
(NRHP). An annual "Woodsmen's Show" has been held in the park each August since 1952.
Cherry Springs State Park was named Pennsylvania's first dark sky park by the DCNR in 2000. The adjoining Cherry Springs Airport
, built in 1935, was closed and its land was added to the park in 2006, to expand its stargazing area. On June 11, 2007, the International Dark-Sky Association
named it the second "International Dark Sky Park"; under optimum conditions the Milky Way
casts a discernible shadow. Cherry Springs has received national press coverage and hosts two star parties
a year, which attract hundreds of astronomers. There are regular stargazing and educational programs for the public at the park, and the Woodsmen's Show attracts thousands each summer. Cherry Springs also offers rustic camping, picnic
facilities, and trails for mountain biking
, hiking
, and snowmobiling
. The surrounding state forest and park are home to a variety of flora and fauna.
ic hunters known from their stone tool
s.Note: For a general overview of Native American History in the West Branch Susquehanna watershed, see Note: ISBN refers to the Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some OCR
typos. The hunter-gatherer
s of the Archaic period, which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artifacts. The Woodland period
marked the gradual transition to semi-permanent villages and horticulture
, between 1000 BC and 1500 AD. Archeological evidence found in the state from this time includes a range of pottery types and styles, burial mounds
, pipes, bows and arrows, and ornaments.
Historical records show that the earliest known inhabitants of the West Branch Susquehanna River
drainage basin
, which includes Cherry Springs State Park, were the Iroquoian
-speaking Susquehannock
s. They were a matriarchal
society that lived in large long houses in stockade
d villages. Decimated by disease and warfare with the Five Nations of the Iroquois
, by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or been assimilated
into other tribes. Another name for the tribe is "Susquehanna", and both the river and the Susquehannock State Forest
which almost completely surrounds the park are named for them.
After the departure of the Susquehannocks, the lands of the West Branch Susquehanna River valley were under the nominal control of the Iroquois, who lived in long houses, primarily in what is now upstate New York
, and had a strong confederacy
which gave them power beyond their numbers. The Seneca
, members of the Iroquois Confederacy, hunted in the area of what is now Cherry Springs State Park. Their nearest villages were 51 miles (82.1 km) to the northeast at modern Painted Post
, New York, and 43 miles (69.2 km) to the southeast at what is now Lock Haven
, Pennsylvania. The Seneca had temporary hunting camps to the east in the area of Pine Creek Gorge
. To fill the void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois also encouraged displaced tribes from the east to settle in the West Branch watershed, including the Lenape
(or Delaware) and Shawnee
.
The Seneca allowed very few travelers to pass through the area and kept non-native settlement to a minimum. The French and Indian War
(1754–1763) led to the migration of many Native Americans westward to the Ohio River basin, and more departed after the American Revolutionary War
(1775–1783). The United States acquired the Last Purchase, including what is now Cherry Springs State Park, from the Iroquois in the second Treaty of Fort Stanwix
in October 1784. In the years that followed, Native Americans almost entirely left Pennsylvania.
on March 26, 1804, but the difficult terrain and thick old-growth forest prevented the new county from being settled by European-Americans until 1808. Prior to the arrival of William Penn
and his Quaker
colonists
in 1682, up to 90 percent of what is now Pennsylvania was covered with woods: more than 31000 square miles (80,289.6 km²) of Eastern White Pine
, Eastern Hemlock, and a mix of hardwood
s. The forests in and near the three original counties, Philadelphia
, Bucks
, and Chester
, were the first to be harvested, as the early settlers used the readily available timber and cleared land for agriculture. By the time of the American Revolution
, logging
had reached the interior and mountainous regions, and became a leading industry in Pennsylvania. Trees furnished fuel to heat homes, tannin
for the state's many tanneries
, and wood for construction, furniture, and barrel
making. Large areas of forest were harvested by colliers
to fire iron furnaces
. Rifle stocks and shingles were made from Pennsylvania timber, as were a wide variety of household utensils, and the first Conestoga wagon
s.
The area surrounding Cherry Springs State Park has been a wilderness for much of its history. A bridle path
was cut through the woods in 1806–1807, and was widened to accommodate wagons in 1812. (Modern Pennsylvania Route 44
, which passes through the park, follows the course of this path between Jersey Shore
and Coudersport
.) In 1818 the Ceres Land Company, which owned much of the land in Potter County and sought to open the area to settlement, hired an early settler, Jonathan Edgcomb, to build a tavern
or hotel for travelers at the site of the park. The hotel was in a very remote location 16 miles (25.7 km) south of Coudersport, and its visitors were few, occasional wandering travelers or Native Americans.
Edgcomb and his wife received 100 acres (40.5 ha) of land in exchange for building the hotel and running it for three years. When the contract expired in 1821, they sold their land and left the area, but the hotel and land that Edgcomb had cleared became known as "Edgcomb's Clearing". The Jersey Shore and Coudersport Turnpike
was constructed along the wagon path between 1825 and 1834, and tolls were collected for travel on the road until 1860. The park is in West Branch Township
, which was incorporated from Eulalia Township
in 1856. A post office was opened at Edgcomb's Clearing in 1873; the locals petitioned the United States Post Office to change the name to "Cherryville", for a nearby group of Black Cherry trees. However, since there was already a Cherryville, Pennsylvania, post office in Lehigh Township
in Northampton County
, the name "Cherry Spring" was chosen as a compromise. In time an "s" was added, hence the name "Cherry Springs". There are also at least two springs
in the park.
In 1874 a new, larger hotel was built on the other side of the road from the original tavern. It provided accommodations for wealthy summer visitors from Coudersport. This part of Potter County became known for an abundance of game
and fish, and attracted hunters and anglers who also stayed at the Cherry Springs Hotel. This era as a "sportsmen’s paradise" was not to last, as the more profitable lumber industry came to West Branch and surrounding townships, which were home to "some of the tallest, straightest timber left standing" along the East Coast of the United States
.
When lumbermen reached the Cherry Springs area in the late 1880s, Eastern White Pine and Eastern Hemlock covered the surrounding mountains. Lumberjack
s harvested the trees and sent them down the creeks to the West Branch Susquehanna River to the Susquehanna Boom
and sawmill
s at Williamsport
. Clearcutting
allowed silt to choke the streams, and nothing was left except the dried-out tree tops, which became a fire hazard. As a result, large swaths of land burned and were left barren, and much of the central part of the state became known as the "Pennsylvania Desert". The Cherry Springs Hotel itself burned in 1897 and the property was abandoned.
passed legislation which authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations" and the first Pennsylvania state forest lands were acquired the following year. The first land for the Susquehannock State Forest was acquired in 1901; the cost for the major acquisitions was an average of $2.50 per acre ($6.18 per ha). This is roughly equivalent to $ per acre ($ per ha) in terms. As of 2003, the Susquehannock State Forest, which almost entirely surrounds the park, covered 265000 acres (107,241.8 ha), chiefly in Potter County with small tracts in Clinton
and McKean
counties.
The park traces its existence back to 1922, when the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry established three scenic areas in state forests as part of a "plan for retaining their natural beauty". One of these was the 6.5 miles (10.5 km) "Cherry Springs Scenic Drive" on the old Coudersport-Jersey Shore Turnpike. That same year, one of 16 "Class B" public campgrounds in the state forests was located on Cherry Springs Drive. These campgrounds were free for the public to use and all had potable water, picnic tables, a fire place, garbage can, and a latrine. The land where the hotel sat was purchased by the state in 1932.
Like many state parks in north central Pennsylvania, development of the facilities at Cherry Springs was the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC), a work relief program for young men from unemployed families. Established in 1933 as part of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
's New Deal
legislation, the CCC was designed to combat unemployment during the Great Depression
. It operated in every U.S. state
, and established ten CCC camps in the Susquehannock State Forest, of which eight were in Potter County.
Cherry Springs was home to CCC Camp S-136-Pa, which was established on May 27, 1933. According to the camp's 1936 History: "Through the efforts of the [CCC] enrollees Cherry Springs Park, formerly a clearing, has been transformed into a park of which the people of Potter County can be proud of."[sic
] A historic recreation of the original tavern was built, as were a rifle range, picnic tables and shelters, roads, and hiking trails. The young men of the CCC camps worked to clear brush from the woods as a fire prevention measure. After clearing the woods, they planted stands of Norway Spruce
and white pine, as well as an apple orchard. Camp-136-Pa closed on July 10, 1937.
Men from CCC Camp S-88-Pa, based at nearby Lyman Run
in Potter County, were also active in the park. In 1939, they built a structure at Cherry Springs which is "the largest and most unique of the CCC-built picnic pavilions
" in the state, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The pavilion overlooks PA Route 44 and is shaped like an H, with two partially enclosed structures (the vertical lines of the H) connected by a breezeway
(the horizontal bar). The breezeway is a roof supported by eight log columns with log railings. The ends of the pavilion are built from log walls with white chinking, like log cabin
s. Each end has a large opening to the breezeway in one wall, while the other three sides are fully enclosed with a large window in the wall facing the highway, a stone fireplace and chimney on the opposite wall, and a door flanked by windows on the wall opposite the breezeway.
A 1984 survey of Pennsylvania state parks found the "three picnic pavilions, and their associated latrines" at Cherry Springs "typical of the smallest day use areas constructed by the CCC". These pavilions are examples of the rustic style built by the CCC in state parks throughout the Great Depression. Local materials were used in a way that minimized impact on the natural surroundings, and in a manner that resembled the building style of the pioneer settlements of the Appalachian Mountains.
In addition to the two CCC camps active at the park, Cherry Springs also was home to Camp Elliott, which was run by the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters (precursor to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
(DCNR)) for college students and other unemployed men. In 1935 they built an airfield
, Cherry Springs Intermediate Field
, just north of the park. The 40 acres (16.2 ha) airfield was originally built for emergency landings and later became a small airport. In 1936 it had a sod
runway
of dimensions 2400 by, and a hangar. The United States' entry into the Second World War
led to the end of the CCC and all its camps were closed by the summer of 1942.
In the post-war era, the park was long known chiefly for its isolated location and primitive camping facilities. In August 1952 it played host to the first Woodsmen's Carnival, an annual celebration of the lumbering industry, which was again active in the second growth forests
in the area. The festival, originally sponsored by the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club, features lumberjack competitions as a reminder of the past, as well as displays of new equipment. In 1987 the Galeton Rotary Club
took over sponsorship, and renamed the event the Woodsmen’s Show in 1990.
In the 1980s, the CCC and its work in the park were honored. Cherry Springs State Park was one of several to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps with a CCC reunion in the summer of 1983. On May 11, 1987, the Cherry Springs Picnic Pavilion was listed on the NRHP. None of the other remaining CCC structures in the park had retained its historic integrity sufficiently to be included on the NRHP.
Cherry Springs began attracting stargazers in the early 1990s. In 1999 the "Dark Sky Fund" was established and continues "to enhance the stargazing and astronomy experience" by funding improvements at the park. In 2000 Cherry Springs was officially named a "Dark Sky Park" by the DCNR, and that same year it became part of the Hills Creek State Park
complex, an administrative grouping of eight state parks in Potter and Tioga
counties. The headquarters for Cherry Springs are at nearby Lyman Run State Park
. The National Public Observatory picked it "as the pilot for the Stars-n-Parks program" in April 2001. The DCNR acquired the Cherry Springs Airport in 2006 "to expand the overall Dark Sky observation area and allow for increased programming opportunities" at the park, and closed it in 2007. On June 11, 2008, the International Dark-Sky Association named Cherry Springs State Park the second "International Dark Sky Park". (The first was Natural Bridges National Monument
in Utah
.)
and "near the glaciated boundary". The plateau and the Appalachian Mountains
were all formed in the Alleghenian orogeny
some 300 million years ago, when Gondwana
(specifically what became Africa) and what became North America collided, forming Pangaea
. Although the region appears mountainous, these are not true mountains: instead millions of years of erosion
have made this a dissected plateau
, causing the "mountainous" terrain seen today. The hardest of the ancient rocks are on top of the ridges, while the softer rocks eroded away forming the valleys.
The park is in the West Branch Pine Creek
drainage basin, where the underlying rocks are primarily conglomerate
, sandstone
, and shale
. Two major rock formations are present in Cherry Springs State Park, both at least partly from the Carboniferous
period. The youngest of these, which forms the highest points in the park, is the early Pennsylvanian
Pottsville Formation
, a gray conglomerate that may contain sandstone, siltstone
, and shale, as well as anthracite coal. The lower formation is the late Devonian
and early Mississippian Huntley Mountain Formation
, which is made of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone. Outside the park the creek has cut down into the Devonian Catskill Formation, a reddish sandstone.
The Allegheny Plateau has a continental climate
, with occasional severe low temperatures in winter and average daily temperature range
s of 20 °F (11 °C) in winter and 26 °F (14 °C) in summer. The mean annual precipitation
for the West Branch Pine Creek watershed is 40 to 42 in (1,016 to 1,066.8 mm). January is the coldest month at Cherry Springs, July the warmest, and June the wettest. The highest recorded temperature at the park was 94 °F (34.4 °C) in 1966, and the record low was -28 F in 1963.
Cherry Springs State Park and the surrounding Susquehannock State Forest have recovered from the clearcutting of the lumber era. However, the composition of the forests has changed, so that there are now more hardwoods, including Sugar Maple and Black Cherry, and fewer Eastern White Pine and Eastern Hemlock. The park also has apple trees from the CCC orchard. Over 400 species of birds have been found in Pennsylvania, including 186 that breed in the state. Birds such as Osprey
s, hawk
s, owl
s, nightjar
s, and Bald Eagle
s have returned to the park and state forest, and Saw-whet Owls
have been studied in the park.
Some animals which had been locally extinct have also returned or been reintroduced to the area, including White-tailed deer
, Elk
, Fishers
(a type of weasel), and otter
s. Although banned in the park, hunting is allowed in the surrounding state forest, which regained its title as a "sportsmen's paradise" in the 20th century. Game species include Black Bears
, White-tailed Deer, duck
s, Ruffed Grouse
, rabbits
, Gray
and Red Squirrels
, and Wild Turkey
s. Other animals present in the park and forest include chipmunk
s, Minks
, Raccoon
s, Porcupine
s, Groundhog
s, and the occasional Bobcat
, as well as frog
s, beetle
s, and moth
s.
A branch of Hopper House Run rises within the park, and flows east and then north into the West Branch Pine Creek. West Branch Road (or Branch Road) follows the valleys of the run and creek from Pennsylvania Route 44 east 10 miles (16.1 km) to Galeton. PA 44 roughly follows the line dividing the Pine Creek watershed to the north and the Sinnemahoning Creek
watershed to the south. East Fork Road leaves PA 44 in the park and follows the East Fork Sinnemahoning Creek valley southwest 12 miles (19.3 km) to the village of Conrad. Both creeks are approved trout
streams for fishing, which means they are stocked
with trout in season.
, meaning it has almost no light pollution
. Such "truly dark, starry skies are unavailable to two-thirds of the world’s population, including 99 percent of people in the continental U.S. and Western Europe". With optimum conditions, 10,000 stars are visible with the naked eye
at the park, clouds appear only as black holes in the starry sky, and the Milky Way
is so bright that it casts a discernible shadow. In contrast, big city residents can see a few dozen stars at best, and even those in rural areas can typically only see 2,000–3,000 stars. The Milky Way cannot be seen by most in the eastern US, even when there is no moonlight to obscure it.
The quality of the night skies at the park and its growing popularity for stargazing are the result of several factors. Cherry Springs is in the midst of the largely undeveloped 262000 acres (106,027.7 ha) Susquehannock State Forest, and is on a summit 2300 feet (701 m) above sea level. Because it is on the Allegheny Plateau, there are no mountain peaks to block the sky, and the Astronomy Field offers a 360 degree unobstructed view. The closest city is Williamsport, 60 miles (96.6 km) to the southeast. Surrounding communities sit in deep valleys, so the intervening terrain screens much of the light they produce; the park has no artificial skyglow
in any direction. Cherry Springs is generally fog-free and its latitude puts it in excellent position to observe the Galactic Center
of the Milky Way. The remote location also means there is little commercial air traffic to interfere with astrophotography
, while PA Route 44 still offers relatively easy access to the park from Interstate 80
.
In addition to these natural factors, much has been done intentionally to make the skies at the park clear and dark and help keep them that way. Within the park, former overhead electrical lines have been buried so they do not obstruct views, all lighting is shielded, and all white lights have been converted to red, which has the least effect on night vision
and astrophotography. Light from passing vehicles is blocked by earthen berm
s covered with grass, or shrubbery and spruce trees; the Astronomy Field gate has a special light-blocking tarp. The park's Dark Sky Fund has paid for many of these improvements since 1999.
Since the 2006 acquisition of the Cherry Springs airport, a new Public Programming field has been established on the former airstrip. This field is northeast of PA Route 44 and is intended for educational programs or stargazing, but not for those who spend the night. Overnight observers and those with large telescopes use the Astronomy Field southwest of the highway. Nighttime visitors may only use flashlights with red filters, and may only point them at the ground. The Astronomy Field has further restrictions on lights, and parts of the park are light-free zones.
To help preserve the dark skies at Cherry Springs State Park, Tri-County Rural Electric company installs light-shielding caps on outdoor lights at local homes for free. In 2001 the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the "Outdoor Lighting Control Act", which both established the park as a "Dark Sky Preserve" and required minimal and shielded lighting at all new state facilities to reduce light pollution. A design guide for the Pennsylvania Wilds region, which includes the park, emphasizes the importance of maintaining dark skies. The DCNR spent $396,000 in June 2007 to buy mineral rights
under 1980 acres (801.3 ha) of the park and state forest to prevent natural gas
drilling and associated development there.
A wind farm
has been proposed on a site 13.7 miles (22 km) from the park. In 2008 Potter County passed an ordinance that wind turbine
lights shall not "interfere with the state-designated Dark Skies Preserve at Cherry Springs State Park". That same year the DCNR commissioned a study on the wind farm's impact, which concluded the red warning lights on the wind turbines would not impact the darkness of the sky and would only be directly visible from the Astronomy Field under rare conditions. Others in the astronomy community challenged these conclusions and feared that new lights on "several dozen wind turbines near the park" will degrade observations and astrophotography. The study also recommended that the DCNR shield and redirect lights at the nearby Denton Hill State Park
downhill ski area to make the sky even darker at Cherry Springs.
for stargazing
.
An increasing number of astronomers began to come to Cherry Springs, most in the 14-day dark sky period around the new moon
, between the last quarter and first quarter phases. The park is open year-round and between 60 and 85 nights each year have ideal conditions, when the apparent magnitude
s of the faintest stars visible can range from 7.1 to 7.5. The park's Astronomy Field has been upgraded to accommodate these astronomers. In 2005 a rotating 15 feet (4.6 m) slotted observatory dome, two 12 feet (3.7 m) clamshell domes, and a 10 by sky shed were added, as well as a small amphitheater for programs. The four structures protect telescopes from the wind and thermal currents. The next year concrete pads 4 foot in diameter were placed at random in the field, and electrical pedestals, each with six outlets, were added to power telescopes and computers. In 2009, Wi-Fi
internet access will be added to the Astronomy Field.
While a typical clear night might have 50 to 100 observers, each year the park hosts two major star parties
which both attract several hundred astronomers for several nights. The Black Forest Star Party, sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Observers of State College
, has been held each fall since 1999. The Cherry Springs Star Party, sponsored by the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
, has been held each June since 2005. There are also free public programs at the amphitheater on the former airport site, some of which are part of the National Public Observatory's Stars-n-Parks program. Meteor shower
s will also attract a crowd and the Aurora Borealis
can be seen from the park. A stargazing business, "Crystal Spheres", has been established and presents Music and Stars programs, with an hour-long concert followed by an hour of stargazing. Such "nature tourism" has a positive economic impact for the area.
Awards and press recognition have come to Cherry Springs and its staff. Thom Bemus, who initiated and coordinates the Stars-n-Parks program, was named DCNR's 2002 Volunteer of the Year. In 2007 the park's Dark Sky Programming and staff received the Environmental Education Excellence in Programming award from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society. Operations manager Chip Harrison and his wife Maxine, who directs the Dark Sky Fund, received a 2008 award from the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council for "steadfast adherence and active promotion of the principles of responsible outdoor lighting at Cherry Springs State Park". The DCNR has named Cherry Springs one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks", specifically for having the "darkest night skies on the east coast". Cherry Springs State Park was featured in the national press in 2003 when USA Today
named it one of "10 Great Places to get some stars in your eyes", in 2006 when National Geographic Adventure
featured it in "Pennsylvania: The Wild, Wild East", and in The New York Times
in 2007. All these were before it was named an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association
in 2008.
Rotary Club since 1987. In 2008 events at the three-day show included tree-felling, cross-cutting, log rolling
, axe-throwing, horse pulling
, spring board chopping, the standing block chop, and chainsaw
competitions and demonstrations. The 2008 show also featured historic recreations of life in a logging camp, musical performances, and vendors selling food, crafts, and equipment related to the lumber industry.
The show and its events, which celebrate Potter County's lumbering history, have changed with time. In the early years, up to three working sawmills were set up just for the carnival, and there was an associated Woodsmen’s Ball on Saturday evening, after the carnival ended. The Woodsmen's Show had its first female competitor in 1979. Some events have been tried and discontinued; in 1987 one-hour seminars on topics such as "Outdoor Adventures on Mules" and the first "Woodsmen's Carnival Queen" were introduced, and in 1993 there was tractor pulling
with lawn tractors
. In 1990 the name was changed from the "Woodsmen's Carnival" to the "Woodsmen's Show", a third day was added, and an ecumenical church service was held Sunday morning in the large picnic pavilion. The next year the show was part of the STIHL Timbersports Series and some of the competition was televised on ESPN
. Although it is no longer part of the STIHL series, as of 2008 many of the same athletes competed at the show.
Attendance was 4,000 the first year and grew to 12,000 three years later in 1955, then peaked at 33,000 in 1962, with nearly as many in 1965 (32,000) and 1981 (30,000). In 1983, 20,000 visitors came to the show, 15,000 came in 1985, and by the early 21st century attendance was about 14,000. Admission is charged and cash prizes are awarded in the competitions. Proceeds from the show under the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club went to promote the lumber industry and support the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
. The Galeton Rotary Club has used the funds to improve the standard of living
in and around Galeton, including college scholarships
, a new roof for the Community building, support for the local public library
, and clean-up and maintenance of the downtown.
(RV) up to 30 feet (9.1 m) long. The sites all have a fire ring, lantern hanger, and picnic table, and are classified as rustic because they have no running water. The camping area, which is southeast of Pennsylvania Route 44, is open from April to December and does not accept reservations. The park has two modern latrines, one in the camping area and the other at the Astronomy Field. There is also a holding tank dump station
for RVs. Although the Astronomy Field is not an official camping area, overnight observers may set up tents and vehicles there in which to camp. In addition to the picnic tables and small pavilion in the camping area, the main picnic area at Cherry Springs is on the southwest side of Route 44, in and around the large historic, CCC-built pavilion. The area surrounding the pavilion has many picnic tables situated in an old apple
orchard
and a stand of huge White Pine
and Norway spruce
trees.
Cherry Springs State Park is at the southern end of a 15 miles (24.1 km) long, single-track mountain bike
trail, which begins at Denton Hill State Park
and passes through Patterson State Park
. In 2005 the snowmobile
trailhead
at Cherry Springs was moved to the southern end of the park to avoid the Astronomy Field. The snowmobile trail is one of many trails available for cross-country skiing
, backpacking, hiking, and all-terrain vehicle
and horseback riding in the surrounding Susquehannock State Forest. The 85 miles (136.8 km) long Susquehannock Trail System
passes close to the park and loops around it. South of the park the trail passes through the Hammersley Wild Area
, which at 30253 acres (12,243 ha) without roads is the second largest wild area in Pennsylvania.
Potter County, Pennsylvania
Potter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is in the Allegheny Plateau region. As of 2010, the population was 17,457. Its county seat is Coudersport. Potter County was named after James Potter, who was a general from Pennsylvania in the Continental Army during the...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in the United States. The park was created from land within the Susquehannock State Forest
Susquehannock State Forest
Susquehannock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #15. The main office is located in Coudersport in Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States....
, and is on Pennsylvania Route 44
Pennsylvania Route 44
Pennsylvania Route 44 is a -long state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route is designated from Interstate 80 and Pennsylvania Route 42 in Buckhorn to the New York state line near New York State Route 417 in Ceres Township....
in West Branch Township. Cherry Springs, named for a large stand of Black Cherry trees in the park, is atop the dissected
Dissected plateau
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity...
Allegheny Plateau
Allegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...
at an elevation of 2300 feet (701 m). It is popular with astronomers and stargazers for having some of the "darkest night skies on the east coast" of the United States, and was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 117 state parks and 20 state forests; providing information on the state's natural resources; and...
(DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks as one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks".
The earliest recorded inhabitants of the area were the Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
s, followed by the Seneca nation
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
, who hunted there. The first settlement within the park was a log tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
built in 1818 along a trail; the trail became a turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
by 1834 and a hotel replaced the tavern in 1874, then burned in 1897. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the old-growth forests were clearcut
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
; the state forest was established in 1901 and contains second growth woodlands
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
. "Cherry Springs Scenic Drive" was established in 1922, and the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
built much of Cherry Springs State Park during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, including a picnic pavilion listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(NRHP). An annual "Woodsmen's Show" has been held in the park each August since 1952.
Cherry Springs State Park was named Pennsylvania's first dark sky park by the DCNR in 2000. The adjoining Cherry Springs Airport
Cherry Springs Airport
Cherry Springs Airport was a small general aviation airport which operated between 1935 and 2007 in Potter County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built as an emergency landing field during the Great Depression on land that was part of the Susquehannock State Forest, just north of Cherry...
, built in 1935, was closed and its land was added to the park in 2006, to expand its stargazing area. On June 11, 2007, the International Dark-Sky Association
International Dark-Sky Association
The International Dark-Sky Association is a U.S.-based non-profit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders Dr. David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Dr. Timothy Hunter, a medical doctor/amateur astronomer...
named it the second "International Dark Sky Park"; under optimum conditions the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
casts a discernible shadow. Cherry Springs has received national press coverage and hosts two star parties
Star party
A star party is a gathering of amateur astronomers for the purpose of observing the sky. Local star parties may be one night affairs, but larger events can last up to a week or longer and attract hundreds or even thousands of participants. Many regional star parties are now held annually and are an...
a year, which attract hundreds of astronomers. There are regular stargazing and educational programs for the public at the park, and the Woodsmen's Show attracts thousands each summer. Cherry Springs also offers rustic camping, picnic
Picnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
facilities, and trails for mountain biking
Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, and snowmobiling
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
. The surrounding state forest and park are home to a variety of flora and fauna.
Native Americans
Archeological evidence shows that humans have lived in what is now Pennsylvania since at least 10,000 BC. The first settlers were Paleo-Indian nomadNomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic hunters known from their stone tool
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
s.Note: For a general overview of Native American History in the West Branch Susquehanna watershed, see Note: ISBN refers to the Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with some OCR
Optical character recognition
Optical character recognition, usually abbreviated to OCR, is the mechanical or electronic translation of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used to convert books and documents into electronic files, to computerize a record-keeping...
typos. The hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s of the Archaic period, which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artifacts. The Woodland period
Woodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
marked the gradual transition to semi-permanent villages and horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, between 1000 BC and 1500 AD. Archeological evidence found in the state from this time includes a range of pottery types and styles, burial mounds
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
, pipes, bows and arrows, and ornaments.
Historical records show that the earliest known inhabitants of the West Branch Susquehanna River
West Branch Susquehanna River
The West Branch Susquehanna River is one of the two principal branches, along with the North Branch, of the Susquehanna River in the northeastern United States. The North Branch, which rises in upstate New York, is generally regarded as the extension of the main branch, with the shorter West Branch...
drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, which includes Cherry Springs State Park, were the Iroquoian
Iroquoian languages
The Iroquoian languages are a First Nation and Native American language family.-Family division:*Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press....
-speaking Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
s. They were a matriarchal
Matriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
society that lived in large long houses in stockade
Stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls made of logs placed side by side vertically with the tops sharpened to provide security.-Stockade as a security fence:...
d villages. Decimated by disease and warfare with the Five Nations of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or been assimilated
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
into other tribes. Another name for the tribe is "Susquehanna", and both the river and the Susquehannock State Forest
Susquehannock State Forest
Susquehannock State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #15. The main office is located in Coudersport in Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States....
which almost completely surrounds the park are named for them.
After the departure of the Susquehannocks, the lands of the West Branch Susquehanna River valley were under the nominal control of the Iroquois, who lived in long houses, primarily in what is now upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
, and had a strong confederacy
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
which gave them power beyond their numbers. The Seneca
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
, members of the Iroquois Confederacy, hunted in the area of what is now Cherry Springs State Park. Their nearest villages were 51 miles (82.1 km) to the northeast at modern Painted Post
Painted Post, New York
Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,842 at the 2000 census. The name comes from a painted and carved post found by explorers at the junction of three local rivers...
, New York, and 43 miles (69.2 km) to the southeast at what is now Lock Haven
Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
The city of Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, micropolitan statistical area, itself part of the...
, Pennsylvania. The Seneca had temporary hunting camps to the east in the area of Pine Creek Gorge
Pine Creek Gorge
Pine Creek Gorge, also known as, The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, is situated in approximately 160,000 acres of the Tioga State Forest in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania along Pine Creek. The Canyon begins south of Ansonia, near Wellsboro, along U.S. Route 6 and continues for approximately...
. To fill the void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois also encouraged displaced tribes from the east to settle in the West Branch watershed, including the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
(or Delaware) and Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
.
The Seneca allowed very few travelers to pass through the area and kept non-native settlement to a minimum. The French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
(1754–1763) led to the migration of many Native Americans westward to the Ohio River basin, and more departed after the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
(1775–1783). The United States acquired the Last Purchase, including what is now Cherry Springs State Park, from the Iroquois in the second Treaty of Fort Stanwix
Treaty of Fort Stanwix (1784)
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed in October 1784 at Fort Stanwix, located in present-day Rome, New York, between the United States and Native Americans...
in October 1784. In the years that followed, Native Americans almost entirely left Pennsylvania.
Pioneers and lumber
Potter County was formed from part of Lycoming CountyLycoming County, Pennsylvania
-Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Plateau:Lycoming County is divided between the Appalachian Mountains in the south, the dissected Allegheny Plateau in the north and east, and the valley of the West Branch Susquehanna River between these.-West Branch Susquehanna River:The West Branch of the...
on March 26, 1804, but the difficult terrain and thick old-growth forest prevented the new county from being settled by European-Americans until 1808. Prior to the arrival of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
and his Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
colonists
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in British America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II...
in 1682, up to 90 percent of what is now Pennsylvania was covered with woods: more than 31000 square miles (80,289.6 km²) of Eastern White Pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
, Eastern Hemlock, and a mix of hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
s. The forests in and near the three original counties, Philadelphia
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
-History:Tribes of Lenape were the first known occupants in the area which became Philadelphia County. The first European settlers were Swedes and Finns who arrived in 1638. The Netherlands seized the area in 1655, but permanently lost control to England in 1674...
, Bucks
Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
, and Chester
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
, were the first to be harvested, as the early settlers used the readily available timber and cleared land for agriculture. By the time of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
had reached the interior and mountainous regions, and became a leading industry in Pennsylvania. Trees furnished fuel to heat homes, tannin
Tannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
for the state's many tanneries
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, and wood for construction, furniture, and barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
making. Large areas of forest were harvested by colliers
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
to fire iron furnaces
Bloomery
A bloomery is a type of furnace once widely used for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. A bloomery's product is a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom. This mix of slag and iron in the bloom is termed sponge iron, which...
. Rifle stocks and shingles were made from Pennsylvania timber, as were a wide variety of household utensils, and the first Conestoga wagon
Conestoga wagon
The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...
s.
The area surrounding Cherry Springs State Park has been a wilderness for much of its history. A bridle path
Bridle path
A bridle path is a thoroughfare originally made for horses, but which these days serves a wide range of interests, including hikers, walkers and cyclists as well as equestrians. The laws relating to permissions vary from country to country...
was cut through the woods in 1806–1807, and was widened to accommodate wagons in 1812. (Modern Pennsylvania Route 44
Pennsylvania Route 44
Pennsylvania Route 44 is a -long state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route is designated from Interstate 80 and Pennsylvania Route 42 in Buckhorn to the New York state line near New York State Route 417 in Ceres Township....
, which passes through the park, follows the course of this path between Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania
Jersey Shore is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is on the West Branch Susquehanna River, west by south of Williamsport. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the past, Jersey Shore held farms, railroad shops, cigar factories, a...
and Coudersport
Coudersport, Pennsylvania
Coudersport is a borough in Potter County, Pennsylvania, east by south of Erie on the Allegheny River. The populations were these: 1,530 in 1890; 3,217 in 1900; and 3,100 in 1910. The population was 2,650 at the 2000 census...
.) In 1818 the Ceres Land Company, which owned much of the land in Potter County and sought to open the area to settlement, hired an early settler, Jonathan Edgcomb, to build a tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
or hotel for travelers at the site of the park. The hotel was in a very remote location 16 miles (25.7 km) south of Coudersport, and its visitors were few, occasional wandering travelers or Native Americans.
Edgcomb and his wife received 100 acres (40.5 ha) of land in exchange for building the hotel and running it for three years. When the contract expired in 1821, they sold their land and left the area, but the hotel and land that Edgcomb had cleared became known as "Edgcomb's Clearing". The Jersey Shore and Coudersport Turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
was constructed along the wagon path between 1825 and 1834, and tolls were collected for travel on the road until 1860. The park is in West Branch Township
West Branch Township, Pennsylvania
West Branch Township is a township in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 392 at the 2000 census. There are two Pennsylvania state parks in West Branch Township. Cherry Springs State Park is a popular destination for astronomical observation...
, which was incorporated from Eulalia Township
Eulalia Township, Pennsylvania
Eulalia Township is a township in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 941 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all of it land....
in 1856. A post office was opened at Edgcomb's Clearing in 1873; the locals petitioned the United States Post Office to change the name to "Cherryville", for a nearby group of Black Cherry trees. However, since there was already a Cherryville, Pennsylvania, post office in Lehigh Township
Lehigh Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Lehigh Township is a township in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. Lehigh Township is located in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Lehigh Township was 9,728 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
in Northampton County
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
As of the 2010 census, the county was 86.3% White, 5.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 2.4% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.2% were two or more races, and 3.8% were some other race. 10.5% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.As of the census of...
, the name "Cherry Spring" was chosen as a compromise. In time an "s" was added, hence the name "Cherry Springs". There are also at least two springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
in the park.
In 1874 a new, larger hotel was built on the other side of the road from the original tavern. It provided accommodations for wealthy summer visitors from Coudersport. This part of Potter County became known for an abundance of game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
and fish, and attracted hunters and anglers who also stayed at the Cherry Springs Hotel. This era as a "sportsmen’s paradise" was not to last, as the more profitable lumber industry came to West Branch and surrounding townships, which were home to "some of the tallest, straightest timber left standing" along the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
.
When lumbermen reached the Cherry Springs area in the late 1880s, Eastern White Pine and Eastern Hemlock covered the surrounding mountains. Lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
s harvested the trees and sent them down the creeks to the West Branch Susquehanna River to the Susquehanna Boom
Susquehanna Boom
The Susquehanna Boom was a system of cribs and chained logs in the West Branch Susquehanna River, designed to catch and hold floating timber until it could be processed at one of the nearly 60 sawmills along the river between Lycoming and Loyalsock Creeks in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the...
and sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s at Williamsport
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
. Clearcutting
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
allowed silt to choke the streams, and nothing was left except the dried-out tree tops, which became a fire hazard. As a result, large swaths of land burned and were left barren, and much of the central part of the state became known as the "Pennsylvania Desert". The Cherry Springs Hotel itself burned in 1897 and the property was abandoned.
Civilian Conservation Corps
As the timber was exhausted and the land burned, many companies simply abandoned their holdings. In 1897 the Pennsylvania General AssemblyPennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
passed legislation which authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations" and the first Pennsylvania state forest lands were acquired the following year. The first land for the Susquehannock State Forest was acquired in 1901; the cost for the major acquisitions was an average of $2.50 per acre ($6.18 per ha). This is roughly equivalent to $ per acre ($ per ha) in terms. As of 2003, the Susquehannock State Forest, which almost entirely surrounds the park, covered 265000 acres (107,241.8 ha), chiefly in Potter County with small tracts in Clinton
Clinton County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 37,914 people, 14,773 households, and 9,927 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile . There were 18,166 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile...
and McKean
McKean County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,936 people, 18,024 households, and 12,094 families residing in the county. The population density was 47 people per square mile . There were 21,644 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
counties.
The park traces its existence back to 1922, when the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry established three scenic areas in state forests as part of a "plan for retaining their natural beauty". One of these was the 6.5 miles (10.5 km) "Cherry Springs Scenic Drive" on the old Coudersport-Jersey Shore Turnpike. That same year, one of 16 "Class B" public campgrounds in the state forests was located on Cherry Springs Drive. These campgrounds were free for the public to use and all had potable water, picnic tables, a fire place, garbage can, and a latrine. The land where the hotel sat was purchased by the state in 1932.
Like many state parks in north central Pennsylvania, development of the facilities at Cherry Springs was the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
(CCC), a work relief program for young men from unemployed families. Established in 1933 as part of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
's New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
legislation, the CCC was designed to combat unemployment during the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
. It operated in every U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
, and established ten CCC camps in the Susquehannock State Forest, of which eight were in Potter County.
Cherry Springs was home to CCC Camp S-136-Pa, which was established on May 27, 1933. According to the camp's 1936 History: "Through the efforts of the [CCC] enrollees Cherry Springs Park, formerly a clearing, has been transformed into a park of which the people of Potter County can be proud of."[sic
Sic
Sic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
] A historic recreation of the original tavern was built, as were a rifle range, picnic tables and shelters, roads, and hiking trails. The young men of the CCC camps worked to clear brush from the woods as a fire prevention measure. After clearing the woods, they planted stands of Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
and white pine, as well as an apple orchard. Camp-136-Pa closed on July 10, 1937.
Men from CCC Camp S-88-Pa, based at nearby Lyman Run
Lyman Run State Park
Lyman Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Ulysses and West Branch Townships in Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Lyman Run Lake is a man-made lake within the park surrounded by a northern hardwood forest of mainly maple and cherry trees...
in Potter County, were also active in the park. In 1939, they built a structure at Cherry Springs which is "the largest and most unique of the CCC-built picnic pavilions
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
" in the state, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The pavilion overlooks PA Route 44 and is shaped like an H, with two partially enclosed structures (the vertical lines of the H) connected by a breezeway
Breezeway
A breezeway is an architectural feature similar to a hallway that allows the passage of a breeze between structures to accommodate high winds, allow aeration, or provide aesthetic design variation. Often a breezeway is a simple roof connecting two structures ; sometimes it can be much more like a...
(the horizontal bar). The breezeway is a roof supported by eight log columns with log railings. The ends of the pavilion are built from log walls with white chinking, like log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
s. Each end has a large opening to the breezeway in one wall, while the other three sides are fully enclosed with a large window in the wall facing the highway, a stone fireplace and chimney on the opposite wall, and a door flanked by windows on the wall opposite the breezeway.
A 1984 survey of Pennsylvania state parks found the "three picnic pavilions, and their associated latrines" at Cherry Springs "typical of the smallest day use areas constructed by the CCC". These pavilions are examples of the rustic style built by the CCC in state parks throughout the Great Depression. Local materials were used in a way that minimized impact on the natural surroundings, and in a manner that resembled the building style of the pioneer settlements of the Appalachian Mountains.
In addition to the two CCC camps active at the park, Cherry Springs also was home to Camp Elliott, which was run by the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters (precursor to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 117 state parks and 20 state forests; providing information on the state's natural resources; and...
(DCNR)) for college students and other unemployed men. In 1935 they built an airfield
Aerodrome
An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...
, Cherry Springs Intermediate Field
Cherry Springs Airport
Cherry Springs Airport was a small general aviation airport which operated between 1935 and 2007 in Potter County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was built as an emergency landing field during the Great Depression on land that was part of the Susquehannock State Forest, just north of Cherry...
, just north of the park. The 40 acres (16.2 ha) airfield was originally built for emergency landings and later became a small airport. In 1936 it had a sod
Sod
Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of thin material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
of dimensions 2400 by, and a hangar. The United States' entry into the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
led to the end of the CCC and all its camps were closed by the summer of 1942.
Modern era
The park has had several names through the years, starting with its 1922 establishment as "Cherry Springs Scenic Drive" and the associated "Cherry Springs 'Class B' public campground". The 1941 Pennsylvania Department of Highways official map of Potter County shows it as "Cherry Springs State Park". On November 11, 1954, the Pennsylvania Geographic Board officially named it "Cherry Springs State Forest Picnic Area". Forrey's 1984 History of Pennsylvania's State Parks and the 1986 NRHP nomination form still used this name, but Forrey clarified that it was "under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of State Parks". Cupper's 1993 Our Priceless Heritage: Pennsylvania’s State Parks 1893–1993 refers to it as "Cherry Springs State Park", and this remains the official name as of 2009.In the post-war era, the park was long known chiefly for its isolated location and primitive camping facilities. In August 1952 it played host to the first Woodsmen's Carnival, an annual celebration of the lumbering industry, which was again active in the second growth forests
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
in the area. The festival, originally sponsored by the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club, features lumberjack competitions as a reminder of the past, as well as displays of new equipment. In 1987 the Galeton Rotary Club
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
took over sponsorship, and renamed the event the Woodsmen’s Show in 1990.
In the 1980s, the CCC and its work in the park were honored. Cherry Springs State Park was one of several to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps with a CCC reunion in the summer of 1983. On May 11, 1987, the Cherry Springs Picnic Pavilion was listed on the NRHP. None of the other remaining CCC structures in the park had retained its historic integrity sufficiently to be included on the NRHP.
Cherry Springs began attracting stargazers in the early 1990s. In 1999 the "Dark Sky Fund" was established and continues "to enhance the stargazing and astronomy experience" by funding improvements at the park. In 2000 Cherry Springs was officially named a "Dark Sky Park" by the DCNR, and that same year it became part of the Hills Creek State Park
Hills Creek State Park
Hills Creek State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Charleston Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Hills Creek Lake, a man-made lake, is the focal point of the park. It is open for year-round recreation. Hills Creek State Park is in the Allegheny Plateau region of...
complex, an administrative grouping of eight state parks in Potter and Tioga
Tioga County, Pennsylvania
Tioga County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,981. Tioga County was created on March 26, 1804, from part of Lycoming County and named for the Tioga River. Its county seat is Wellsboro....
counties. The headquarters for Cherry Springs are at nearby Lyman Run State Park
Lyman Run State Park
Lyman Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Ulysses and West Branch Townships in Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Lyman Run Lake is a man-made lake within the park surrounded by a northern hardwood forest of mainly maple and cherry trees...
. The National Public Observatory picked it "as the pilot for the Stars-n-Parks program" in April 2001. The DCNR acquired the Cherry Springs Airport in 2006 "to expand the overall Dark Sky observation area and allow for increased programming opportunities" at the park, and closed it in 2007. On June 11, 2008, the International Dark-Sky Association named Cherry Springs State Park the second "International Dark Sky Park". (The first was Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located about north west of the Four Corners boundary of southeast Utah, in the western United States, at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, part of the Colorado River drainage...
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.)
Geology and climate
Cherry Springs State Park is at an elevation of 2300 feet (701 m) above sea level, atop the Allegheny PlateauAllegheny Plateau
The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio...
and "near the glaciated boundary". The plateau and the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
were all formed in the Alleghenian orogeny
Alleghenian orogeny
The Alleghenian orogeny or Appalachian orogeny is one of the geological mountain-forming events that formed the Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Mountains. The term and spelling Alleghany orogeny was originally proposed by H.P. Woodward in 1957....
some 300 million years ago, when Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
(specifically what became Africa) and what became North America collided, forming Pangaea
Pangaea
Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
. Although the region appears mountainous, these are not true mountains: instead millions of years of erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
have made this a dissected plateau
Dissected plateau
A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, metamorphism, extensive faulting, or magmatic activity...
, causing the "mountainous" terrain seen today. The hardest of the ancient rocks are on top of the ridges, while the softer rocks eroded away forming the valleys.
The park is in the West Branch Pine Creek
West Branch Pine Creek
West Branch Pine Creek is a tributary of Pine Creek in Pennsylvania in the United States.West Branch Pine Creek joins Pine Creek just upstream of Galeton in Potter County.-References:...
drainage basin, where the underlying rocks are primarily conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
, sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, and shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
. Two major rock formations are present in Cherry Springs State Park, both at least partly from the Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period. The youngest of these, which forms the highest points in the park, is the early Pennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian
The Pennsylvanian is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the younger of two subperiods of the Carboniferous Period. It lasted from roughly . As with most other geochronologic units, the rock beds that define the Pennsylvanian are well identified, but the exact date of the start and end are uncertain...
Pottsville Formation
Pottsville Formation
The Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, West Virginia, and Ohio. The formation is also recognized in Alabama. It is a major ridge-former In the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians of the eastern United States...
, a gray conglomerate that may contain sandstone, siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...
, and shale, as well as anthracite coal. The lower formation is the late Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
and early Mississippian Huntley Mountain Formation
Huntley Mountain Formation
The Huntley Mountain Formation is a late Devonian and early Mississippian mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, in the United States.-Description:The formation is composed of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone...
, which is made of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone. Outside the park the creek has cut down into the Devonian Catskill Formation, a reddish sandstone.
The Allegheny Plateau has a continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
, with occasional severe low temperatures in winter and average daily temperature range
Temperature range
Atmospheric temperature range is the numerical difference between the minimum and maximum values of temperature observed in a given location....
s of 20 °F (11 °C) in winter and 26 °F (14 °C) in summer. The mean annual precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
for the West Branch Pine Creek watershed is 40 to 42 in (1,016 to 1,066.8 mm). January is the coldest month at Cherry Springs, July the warmest, and June the wettest. The highest recorded temperature at the park was 94 °F (34.4 °C) in 1966, and the record low was -28 F in 1963.
Ecology
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
s, hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...
s, and Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
s have returned to the park and state forest, and Saw-whet Owls
Northern Saw-whet Owl
The Northern Saw-whet Owl is a small owl native to North America.-Description:The scientific description of one of the sub-species of this owl is attributed to the Rev. John Henry Keen who was a missionary in Canada in 1896. Adults are long with a wingspan. They can weigh from with an average...
have been studied in the park.
Some animals which had been locally extinct have also returned or been reintroduced to the area, including White-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, Fishers
Fisher (animal)
The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten...
(a type of weasel), and otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
s. Although banned in the park, hunting is allowed in the surrounding state forest, which regained its title as a "sportsmen's paradise" in the 20th century. Game species include Black Bears
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, White-tailed Deer, duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s, Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed Grouse
The Ruffed Grouse is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is non-migratory.The Ruffed Grouse is frequently referred to as a "partridge"...
, rabbits
Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America.-Distribution:...
, Gray
Eastern Gray Squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the eastern and midwestern United States, and to the southerly portions of the eastern provinces of Canada...
and Red Squirrels
American Red Squirrel
The American Red Squirrel is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels...
, and Wild Turkey
Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which derives from the South Mexican subspecies of wild turkey .Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green...
s. Other animals present in the park and forest include chipmunk
Chipmunk
Chipmunks are small striped squirrels native to North America and Asia. They are usually classed either as a single genus with three subgenera, or as three genera.-Etymology and taxonomy:...
s, Minks
American Mink
The American mink is a semi-aquatic species of Mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America. Because of this, it is classed as Least Concern by the IUCN. Since the extinction of the sea mink, the American mink is the...
, Raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, Porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
s, Groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
s, and the occasional Bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, as well as frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, and moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s.
A branch of Hopper House Run rises within the park, and flows east and then north into the West Branch Pine Creek. West Branch Road (or Branch Road) follows the valleys of the run and creek from Pennsylvania Route 44 east 10 miles (16.1 km) to Galeton. PA 44 roughly follows the line dividing the Pine Creek watershed to the north and the Sinnemahoning Creek
Sinnemahoning Creek
Sinnemahoning Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Cameron and Clinton counties, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Sinnemahoning Creek is formed by the confluence of the Bennett and Driftwood Branches at the borough of Driftwood.The tributary First Fork Sinnemahoning...
watershed to the south. East Fork Road leaves PA 44 in the park and follows the East Fork Sinnemahoning Creek valley southwest 12 miles (19.3 km) to the village of Conrad. Both creeks are approved trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
streams for fishing, which means they are stocked
Fish stocking
Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake, or the ocean to supplement existing populations, or to create a population where none exists...
with trout in season.
Dark skies
Astronomers and stargazers appreciate Cherry Springs State Park for the darkness and clarity of its skies, which make it "perhaps the last best refuge of the natural night sky" in the eastern half of the United States. The sky at Cherry Springs has been classified as a 2 on the Bortle Dark-Sky ScaleBortle Dark-Sky Scale
The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale is a nine-level numeric scale that measures the night sky's and stars' brightness of a particular location. It quantifies the astronomical observability of celestial objects and the interference caused by light pollution and skyglow. John E...
, meaning it has almost no light pollution
Light pollution
Light pollution, also known as photopollution or luminous pollution, is excessive or obtrusive artificial light.The International Dark-Sky Association defines light pollution as:...
. Such "truly dark, starry skies are unavailable to two-thirds of the world’s population, including 99 percent of people in the continental U.S. and Western Europe". With optimum conditions, 10,000 stars are visible with the naked eye
Naked eye
The naked eye is a figure of speech referring to human visual perception unaided by a magnifying or light-collecting optical device, such as a telescope or microscope. Vision corrected to normal acuity using corrective lenses is considered "naked"...
at the park, clouds appear only as black holes in the starry sky, and the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
is so bright that it casts a discernible shadow. In contrast, big city residents can see a few dozen stars at best, and even those in rural areas can typically only see 2,000–3,000 stars. The Milky Way cannot be seen by most in the eastern US, even when there is no moonlight to obscure it.
The quality of the night skies at the park and its growing popularity for stargazing are the result of several factors. Cherry Springs is in the midst of the largely undeveloped 262000 acres (106,027.7 ha) Susquehannock State Forest, and is on a summit 2300 feet (701 m) above sea level. Because it is on the Allegheny Plateau, there are no mountain peaks to block the sky, and the Astronomy Field offers a 360 degree unobstructed view. The closest city is Williamsport, 60 miles (96.6 km) to the southeast. Surrounding communities sit in deep valleys, so the intervening terrain screens much of the light they produce; the park has no artificial skyglow
Skyglow
Skyglow is the illumination of the night sky or parts of it. The most common cause of skyglow is artificial light that emits light pollution, which accumulates into a vast glow that can be seen from miles away and from high in the sky...
in any direction. Cherry Springs is generally fog-free and its latitude puts it in excellent position to observe the Galactic Center
Galactic Center
The Galactic Center is the rotational center of the Milky Way galaxy. It is located at a distance of 8.33±0.35 kpc from the Earth in the direction of the constellations Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, and Scorpius where the Milky Way appears brightest...
of the Milky Way. The remote location also means there is little commercial air traffic to interfere with astrophotography
Astrophotography
Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography that entails recording images of astronomical objects and large areas of the night sky. The first photographs of an astronomical object were taken in the 1840s, but it was not until the late 19th century that advances in technology allowed for...
, while PA Route 44 still offers relatively easy access to the park from Interstate 80
Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania
The transcontinental Interstate 80 is designated across northern Pennsylvania as the Keystone Shortway, officially the Z.H. Confair Memorial Highway. This route was built mainly along a completely new alignment, not paralleling any earlier U.S. Routes, as a shortcut to the tolled Pennsylvania...
.
In addition to these natural factors, much has been done intentionally to make the skies at the park clear and dark and help keep them that way. Within the park, former overhead electrical lines have been buried so they do not obstruct views, all lighting is shielded, and all white lights have been converted to red, which has the least effect on night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
and astrophotography. Light from passing vehicles is blocked by earthen berm
Berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm originates in the Middle Dutch and German berme and came into usage in English via French.- History :...
s covered with grass, or shrubbery and spruce trees; the Astronomy Field gate has a special light-blocking tarp. The park's Dark Sky Fund has paid for many of these improvements since 1999.
Since the 2006 acquisition of the Cherry Springs airport, a new Public Programming field has been established on the former airstrip. This field is northeast of PA Route 44 and is intended for educational programs or stargazing, but not for those who spend the night. Overnight observers and those with large telescopes use the Astronomy Field southwest of the highway. Nighttime visitors may only use flashlights with red filters, and may only point them at the ground. The Astronomy Field has further restrictions on lights, and parts of the park are light-free zones.
To help preserve the dark skies at Cherry Springs State Park, Tri-County Rural Electric company installs light-shielding caps on outdoor lights at local homes for free. In 2001 the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed the "Outdoor Lighting Control Act", which both established the park as a "Dark Sky Preserve" and required minimal and shielded lighting at all new state facilities to reduce light pollution. A design guide for the Pennsylvania Wilds region, which includes the park, emphasizes the importance of maintaining dark skies. The DCNR spent $396,000 in June 2007 to buy mineral rights
Mineral rights
- Mineral estate :Ownership of mineral rights is an estate in real property. Technically it is known as a mineral estate and often referred to as mineral rights...
under 1980 acres (801.3 ha) of the park and state forest to prevent natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
drilling and associated development there.
A wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
has been proposed on a site 13.7 miles (22 km) from the park. In 2008 Potter County passed an ordinance that wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
lights shall not "interfere with the state-designated Dark Skies Preserve at Cherry Springs State Park". That same year the DCNR commissioned a study on the wind farm's impact, which concluded the red warning lights on the wind turbines would not impact the darkness of the sky and would only be directly visible from the Astronomy Field under rare conditions. Others in the astronomy community challenged these conclusions and feared that new lights on "several dozen wind turbines near the park" will degrade observations and astrophotography. The study also recommended that the DCNR shield and redirect lights at the nearby Denton Hill State Park
Denton Hill State Park
Denton Hill State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Ulysses Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The park is a downhill skiing resort. Denton Hill State Park is on U.S. Route 6 between Coudersport and Galeton...
downhill ski area to make the sky even darker at Cherry Springs.
Astronomical observing
The staff at Cherry Springs State Park did not intend for it to become an attraction for amateur astronomers; the astronomers came to them instead. In 1997 or 1998 Chip Harrison, the park supervisor, noticed a man looking through a telescope at the park at about 1 AM. When Harrison asked why the man had come there, the astronomer said he had noticed an isolated black patch over north central Pennsylvania on nighttime satellite photos. Cherry Springs State Park is in that patch, one of the best locations east of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
for stargazing
Amateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
.
An increasing number of astronomers began to come to Cherry Springs, most in the 14-day dark sky period around the new moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...
, between the last quarter and first quarter phases. The park is open year-round and between 60 and 85 nights each year have ideal conditions, when the apparent magnitude
Apparent magnitude
The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...
s of the faintest stars visible can range from 7.1 to 7.5. The park's Astronomy Field has been upgraded to accommodate these astronomers. In 2005 a rotating 15 feet (4.6 m) slotted observatory dome, two 12 feet (3.7 m) clamshell domes, and a 10 by sky shed were added, as well as a small amphitheater for programs. The four structures protect telescopes from the wind and thermal currents. The next year concrete pads 4 foot in diameter were placed at random in the field, and electrical pedestals, each with six outlets, were added to power telescopes and computers. In 2009, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
internet access will be added to the Astronomy Field.
While a typical clear night might have 50 to 100 observers, each year the park hosts two major star parties
Star party
A star party is a gathering of amateur astronomers for the purpose of observing the sky. Local star parties may be one night affairs, but larger events can last up to a week or longer and attract hundreds or even thousands of participants. Many regional star parties are now held annually and are an...
which both attract several hundred astronomers for several nights. The Black Forest Star Party, sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Observers of State College
State College, Pennsylvania
State College is the largest borough in Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Centre County. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034, and roughly double...
, has been held each fall since 1999. The Cherry Springs Star Party, sponsored by the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, has been held each June since 2005. There are also free public programs at the amphitheater on the former airport site, some of which are part of the National Public Observatory's Stars-n-Parks program. Meteor shower
Meteor shower
A meteor shower is a celestial event in which a number of meteors are observed to radiate from one point in the night sky. These meteors are caused by streams of cosmic debris called meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere at extremely high speeds on parallel trajectories. Most meteors are smaller...
s will also attract a crowd and the Aurora Borealis
Aurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
can be seen from the park. A stargazing business, "Crystal Spheres", has been established and presents Music and Stars programs, with an hour-long concert followed by an hour of stargazing. Such "nature tourism" has a positive economic impact for the area.
Awards and press recognition have come to Cherry Springs and its staff. Thom Bemus, who initiated and coordinates the Stars-n-Parks program, was named DCNR's 2002 Volunteer of the Year. In 2007 the park's Dark Sky Programming and staff received the Environmental Education Excellence in Programming award from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society. Operations manager Chip Harrison and his wife Maxine, who directs the Dark Sky Fund, received a 2008 award from the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council for "steadfast adherence and active promotion of the principles of responsible outdoor lighting at Cherry Springs State Park". The DCNR has named Cherry Springs one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks", specifically for having the "darkest night skies on the east coast". Cherry Springs State Park was featured in the national press in 2003 when USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
named it one of "10 Great Places to get some stars in your eyes", in 2006 when National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure Magazine
National Geographic Adventure was a magazine started in 1999 by the National Geographic Society in the United States. It focused on adventure travel and included "Next Weekend" where it featured good weekend trips from all across the U.S., "First In" where it wrote recent adventure travel news,...
featured it in "Pennsylvania: The Wild, Wild East", and in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in 2007. All these were before it was named an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association
International Dark-Sky Association
The International Dark-Sky Association is a U.S.-based non-profit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders Dr. David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Dr. Timothy Hunter, a medical doctor/amateur astronomer...
in 2008.
Woodsmen's Show
The Woodsmen's Show attracts thousands of visitors to Cherry Springs State Park on the first weekend in August. It has been held every year since 1952, and has been sponsored by the GaletonGaleton, Pennsylvania
Galeton is a borough in Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States, southeast of Bradford. Light industries such as knitting mills and a tannery have existed in Galeton. In 1900, 2,415 people lived in Galeton, and 4,027 people lived there in 1910...
Rotary Club since 1987. In 2008 events at the three-day show included tree-felling, cross-cutting, log rolling
Logrolling (sport)
Logrolling , is a sport that originated in the lumberjack/log driver tradition of the northeastern United States and Canada, involving logs in a river or other body of water...
, axe-throwing, horse pulling
Horse pulling
Horse pulling is a draft horse competition where horses in harness, usually one or two animals, pull a stone-boat or weighted sled and the winner is the team or animal that can pull the most weight for a short distance....
, spring board chopping, the standing block chop, and chainsaw
Chainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
competitions and demonstrations. The 2008 show also featured historic recreations of life in a logging camp, musical performances, and vendors selling food, crafts, and equipment related to the lumber industry.
The show and its events, which celebrate Potter County's lumbering history, have changed with time. In the early years, up to three working sawmills were set up just for the carnival, and there was an associated Woodsmen’s Ball on Saturday evening, after the carnival ended. The Woodsmen's Show had its first female competitor in 1979. Some events have been tried and discontinued; in 1987 one-hour seminars on topics such as "Outdoor Adventures on Mules" and the first "Woodsmen's Carnival Queen" were introduced, and in 1993 there was tractor pulling
Tractor pulling
Truck and Tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a motorsport competition, popular in America, Europe , Australia and Brazil, which requires modified tractors to pull a heavy sledge along a 35ft. wide and length of 100 metre or 300ft+ track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls...
with lawn tractors
Lawn mower
A lawn mower is a machine that uses a revolving blade or blades to cut a lawn at an even length.Lawn mowers employing a blade that rotates about a vertical axis are known as rotary mowers, while those employing a blade assembly that rotates about a horizontal axis are known as cylinder or reel...
. In 1990 the name was changed from the "Woodsmen's Carnival" to the "Woodsmen's Show", a third day was added, and an ecumenical church service was held Sunday morning in the large picnic pavilion. The next year the show was part of the STIHL Timbersports Series and some of the competition was televised on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. Although it is no longer part of the STIHL series, as of 2008 many of the same athletes competed at the show.
Attendance was 4,000 the first year and grew to 12,000 three years later in 1955, then peaked at 33,000 in 1962, with nearly as many in 1965 (32,000) and 1981 (30,000). In 1983, 20,000 visitors came to the show, 15,000 came in 1985, and by the early 21st century attendance was about 14,000. Admission is charged and cash prizes are awarded in the competitions. Proceeds from the show under the Penn-York Lumbermen’s Club went to promote the lumber industry and support the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
Pennsylvania Lumber Museum
The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum is near Galeton, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It documents the history and technology of the lumber industry that was a vital part of the economic development and ecological destruction of Pennsylvania. It is on U.S...
. The Galeton Rotary Club has used the funds to improve the standard of living
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
in and around Galeton, including college scholarships
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
, a new roof for the Community building, support for the local public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
, and clean-up and maintenance of the downtown.
Camping, picnicking, and trails
The park has 30 camping sites which can each accommodate a tent, or a recreational vehicleRecreational vehicle
Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
(RV) up to 30 feet (9.1 m) long. The sites all have a fire ring, lantern hanger, and picnic table, and are classified as rustic because they have no running water. The camping area, which is southeast of Pennsylvania Route 44, is open from April to December and does not accept reservations. The park has two modern latrines, one in the camping area and the other at the Astronomy Field. There is also a holding tank dump station
Holding tank dump station
A dump station is a place where raw sewage may be entered into a sanitary sewer system in a safe and responsible way. Dump stations are often used by owners of motorhomes, campervans, recreational vehicle or boats that are equipped with toilet facilities and a sewage holding tank, also known as a...
for RVs. Although the Astronomy Field is not an official camping area, overnight observers may set up tents and vehicles there in which to camp. In addition to the picnic tables and small pavilion in the camping area, the main picnic area at Cherry Springs is on the southwest side of Route 44, in and around the large historic, CCC-built pavilion. The area surrounding the pavilion has many picnic tables situated in an old apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
and a stand of huge White Pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
and Norway spruce
Norway Spruce
Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...
trees.
Cherry Springs State Park is at the southern end of a 15 miles (24.1 km) long, single-track mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
trail, which begins at Denton Hill State Park
Denton Hill State Park
Denton Hill State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Ulysses Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The park is a downhill skiing resort. Denton Hill State Park is on U.S. Route 6 between Coudersport and Galeton...
and passes through Patterson State Park
Patterson State Park
Patterson State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Summit Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 44 near Sweden Valley. The park has two rustic roadside pavilions.-History:...
. In 2005 the snowmobile
Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
trailhead
Trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
at Cherry Springs was moved to the southern end of the park to avoid the Astronomy Field. The snowmobile trail is one of many trails available for cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
, backpacking, hiking, and all-terrain vehicle
All-terrain vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
and horseback riding in the surrounding Susquehannock State Forest. The 85 miles (136.8 km) long Susquehannock Trail System
Susquehannock Trail System
The Susquehannock Trail System is an loop hiking trail in the Susquehannock State Forest in Potter and Clinton counties in northcentral Pennsylvania in the United States. The trail goes through three state parks and passes within of three more state parks...
passes close to the park and loops around it. South of the park the trail passes through the Hammersley Wild Area
Hammersley Wild Area
Hammersley Wild Area is a wild area in the Susquehannock State Forest in Potter and Clinton counties in north-central Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the largest area without a road in Pennsylvania and the state's second largest wild area . The wild area is named for Hammersley Fork, a...
, which at 30253 acres (12,243 ha) without roads is the second largest wild area in Pennsylvania.
Nearby state parks
Cherry Springs State Park is on Pennsylvania Route 44 in West Branch Township, 10 miles (16.1 km) southwest of Galeton. The following state parks are within 30 miles (48.3 km) of Cherry Springs State Park:
|
Lyman Run State Park Lyman Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Ulysses and West Branch Townships in Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Lyman Run Lake is a man-made lake within the park surrounded by a northern hardwood forest of mainly maple and cherry trees... (Potter County) Ole Bull State Park Ole Bull State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Stewardson Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is located on Pennsylvania Route 144, north of Renovo and south of Galeton. Ole Bull State Park is in the Kettle Creek Valley, and is surrounded by Susquehannock... (Potter County) Patterson State Park Patterson State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Summit Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 44 near Sweden Valley. The park has two rustic roadside pavilions.-History:... (Potter County) Prouty Place State Park Prouty Place State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Summit Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is southwest of Pennsylvania Route 44, along Long Tree Road, near Sweden Valley. The park provides access points for hiking, hunting and fishing in the... (Potter County) Sinnemahoning State Park Sinnemahoning State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Grove Township, Cameron County and Wharton Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is surrounded by Elk State Forest and is mountainous with deep valleys. The park is home to the rarely seen Elk and Bald Eagle... (Cameron and Potter Counties) Sizerville State Park Sizerville State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Portage Township, Cameron County and Portage Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is nearly surrounded by Elk State Forest making it part of one of the largest blocks of state-owned land in Pennsylvania... (Cameron and Potter Counties) |
External links
- The Dark Skies of Cherry Springs State Park Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
- Cherry Springs State Park Clear Sky Chart Attilla Danko
- Black Forest Star Party Central Pennsylvania Observers
- Cherry Springs Star Party The Astronomical Society of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Annual Woodsmen's Show