| Worlds End State Park | |
|---|---|
 Worlds End State Park andLoyalsock Creek from the Canyon Vista on Cold Run Road | |
  Worlds End State Park Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Worlds End State Park Worlds End State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°28′18″N76°34′54″W / 41.471615°N 76.581577°W /41.471615; -76.581577 (Park office and visitors center)[1] |
| Area | 780 acres (320 ha)[2] |
| Elevation | 1,175 ft (358 m) |
| Established | 1932 (1932)[3] |
| Administered by | Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |
| Named for | The remote location or awhirlpool inLoyalsock Creek |
| Website | Official website |
Worlds End State Park is a 780-acre (316 ha)Pennsylvania state park inSullivan County, Pennsylvania. The park, nearly surrounded byLoyalsock State Forest, is in theLoyalsock Creek valley onPennsylvania Route 154 inForks andShrewsbury Townships southeast of the borough ofForksville. The nameWorlds End has been used since at least 1872, but its origins are uncertain. Although it was founded asWorlds End State Forest Park by GovernorGifford Pinchot in 1932, the park was officially known asWhirls End State Forest Park from 1936 to 1943.[3]
The park's land was once home toNative Americans, followed by settlers who cleared the forests for subsistence farming and later built sawmills. Thesecond growth forests in and surrounding Worlds End State Park are partially a result of the efforts of the young men of theCivilian Conservation Corps during theGreat Depression. They helped overcome theclearcutting of the early 20th century, and built many of the park's facilities, including the cabins that earned it a place on theNational Register of Historic Places.
A wide variety of wildlife is found in the park, which is also part of anImportant Bird Area. Located in theEndless Mountains region of thedissectedAllegheny Plateau, Worlds End has acontinental climate and rocks andfossils from theCarboniferous period. It is one of "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks" named by thePennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which describes it as "[v]irtually in a class by itself, this wild, rugged and rustic area seems almost untamed".[4] The park offers year-round recreational opportunities, includingenvironmental education, hiking, camping in tents and cabins, whitewater rafting, swimming, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, hunting, and fishing.
An 1872 map uses the nameWorlds End for the area around the S-shaped serpentine bend in Loyalsock Creek.[3] Worlds End State Forest Park opened in 1932, and its name has caused some confusion and controversy over the years. William S. Swingler, Assistant DistrictForester ofWyoming State Forest (reorganized as Loyalsock State Forest in 2005), penned this note about the story of the name in 1935:
There was even a dispute as to the proper name of the area. Some people called it Worlds End, others Whirl's Glen, and still others Whirls End. The first name arose from the topography of the place. Seven mountain ranges converge on the point and one does receive the sensation of being at the ultimate ends of the earth. The proponents of the second name base their claim upon the whirlpool in the Loyalsock Creek, and the third name was probably a contraction of the other two. Since the whirlpool had largely disappeared, it was decided that the name Worlds End would be most appropriate. Hence, the name Worlds End State Forest Park.[3]
This was not the end of the controversy. A letter campaign led to the name of the park being changed toWhirls End State Forest Park in 1936; opponents of the new name launched another letter-writing campaign to revert the name toWorlds End State Forest Park. This matter was brought before the State Geographic Board, which supervised the official naming of places. The board ruled that the name be changed once again toWorlds End State Forest Park in 1943.[3] The wordForest was dropped on November 11, 1954, when the park was officially namedWorlds End State Park by the Pennsylvania Geographic Board. This has been the official name ever since, but the namesWhirls End andWhirls Glen are still used, and are synonymous with Worlds End.[3][5]
Two other etymologies have been suggested. The first is that an early road along the gorge had a sheer drop to the creek hundreds of feet below, which prompted thoughts of the world's end in early travelers.[6][7] The second is that the bend in Loyalsock Creek, and the surrounding area that became the park, was originally known asHuerle's Bend, but then "years of mispronunciation turned it into World's End (State Park)".[8] Whatever the source, as of 2012 the nameWorlds End State Park is unique in theUSGSGeographic Names Information System and on its maps of the United States. The possessiveapostrophe is not part of the official name, although it does appear in older records and in informal usage today.[6]
Humans have lived in what is now Pennsylvania since at least 10,000 BC. The first settlers werePaleo-Indiannomadic hunters known from theirstone tools.[10][11][12] Thehunter-gatherers of theArchaic period, which lasted locally from 7000 to 1000 BC, used a greater variety of more sophisticated stone artefacts. TheWoodland period marked the gradual transition to semi-permanent villages andhorticulture, 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 arrow, and ornaments.[10]
Worlds End State Park is in theWest Branch Susquehanna Riverdrainage basin, whose earliest recorded inhabitants were theIroquoian-speakingSusquehannocks. They were amatriarchial society that lived instockaded villages of largelonghouses. Their numbers were greatly reduced by disease and warfare with the Five Nations of theIroquois, and by 1675 they had died out, moved away, or beenassimilated into other tribes.[11][13]
After this, the lands of the West Branch Susquehanna River valley were under the nominal control of the Iroquois. The Iroquois also lived in longhouses, primarily in what is nowNew York, and had a strongconfederacy which gave them power beyond their numbers.[11] To fill the void left by the demise of the Susquehannocks, the Iroquois encouraged displaced tribes from the east to settle in the West Branch watershed, including theShawnee andLenape (or Delaware).[9][11]
TheFrench and Indian War (1754–1763) led to the migration of many Native Americans westward to the Ohio River basin.[11] On November 5, 1768, theProvince of Pennsylvania acquired theNew Purchase from the Iroquois in theTreaty of Fort Stanwix, including what is now Worlds End State Park.[13] After theAmerican Revolutionary War, Native Americans almost entirely left Pennsylvania.[11]
The land that became Sullivan County was originally part ofNorthumberland County, then became part ofLycoming County when it was formed in 1795.[12] Settlers first arrived in the park's townships in 1794.[14] Shrewsbury Township was formed fromMuncy Township in 1803, and Forks Township was formed from Shrewsbury Township in 1833, both while still part of Lycoming County. Sullivan County was formed from the northeastern part of Lycoming County on March 15, 1847.[15][16]
The earliest settlers in the Worlds End area rode on two horse trails to traverse the rugged mountains betweenMuncy Creek and theconfluence ofLittle Loyalsock Creek with Loyalsock Creek at Forksville. These rugged and rocky trails were used steadily until 1895, when Pennsylvania Route 154 was constructed to take their place. Part of these old horse trails are still in use and known as Pioneer Road and Double Run Road, and form part of two of the seven hiking trails in the park. Worlds End trail and Pioneer Road meet at the Worlds End Vista, which is thought to be a possible inspiration for the park's name.[3][17]
Prior to the arrival ofWilliam Penn and hisQuakercolonists in 1682, it has been estimated that up to 90 percent of what is now Pennsylvania was covered with woods: over 31,000 square miles (80,000 km2) ofwhite pine,eastern hemlock, and a mix ofhardwoods.[18] The forests near the three original counties,Philadelphia,Bucks, andChester, were the first to be harvested, as the early settlers used the readily available timber to build homes, barns, and ships, and cleared the land for agriculture. The demand for lumber slowly increased and by the time of theAmerican Revolution the lumber industry had reached the interior and mountainous regions of Pennsylvania.[18][19]
Lumber thus became one of the leading industries in Pennsylvania.[18] Trees were used to furnish fuel to heat homes,tannin for the manytanneries that were spread throughout the state, and wood for construction, furniture, andbarrel making. Large areas of forest were harvested bycolliers to fireiron furnaces. Rifle stocks and shingles were made from Pennsylvania timber, as were a wide variety of household utensils, and the firstConestoga wagons.[18][19]
By the mid-19th century, the demand for lumber reached the area, where eastern white pine and eastern hemlock covered the surrounding mountainsides. Lumbermen came and harvested the trees and sent them downLoyalsock Creek to the West Branch Susquehanna River and tosawmills there. Theold-growth forests of eastern white pine and eastern hemlock were soon clearcut and the hills were stripped bare. Nothing was left except the dried-out tree tops, which became a fire hazard, so much of the land burned and was left barren. In the 1920s a sawmill was built on land now in the park, and two more were located about 1 mile (1.6 km) south.[3][6][19] After it was "thoroughly logged", the area became a tangle of briars and brush.[6]
The history of Worlds End State Park goes back to 1929, when the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, a precursor to the modernPennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, began purchasing land devastated bylogging andwild fire to create a state forest. The land that specifically became the park was purchased from the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company in 1929 and Mrs. "Doc" Randall in 1931.[6] Worlds End State Park was established by forest ranger John Annabelle in 1932, with a budget of $50 that purchased four picnic tables.[6][20]
TheCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program for young men from unemployed families, established in 1933. As part ofPresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt'sNew Deal legislation, it was designed to combat unemployment during theGreat Depression. The CCC operated in everyU.S. state.[21] The recreational development of the park began in 1933, when four CCC camps were built in Sullivan County. One of these, CCC Camp S-95, built many of the park facilities, such as the dam for the swimming area, the cabins, hiking trails and roads.[20] The CCC workers blasted out bedrock in the creek for the swimming area and built the Canyon Vista road and lookout.[22][23]
CCC Camp S-95, which opened on May 29, 1933, on the site of an old lumber camp, was able to distinguish itself over the years it operated in Sullivan County. Two floods swept through the area in 1933 and 1936. The August flood of 1933 caused extensive damage and largely destroyed the newly built camp. During the course of the flooding two young men from Camp S-95 saved the lives of two drowning children at Worlds End State Park.[20][24] The flood of 1936 covered a large area within theWest Branch Susquehanna River Valley. The young men of the CCC camp were among the leaders in the cleaning up after the flood and rebuilding many destroyed bridges and roads.[22][25] In 1936 the park was officially expanded beyond the original small picnic area.[5] Camp S-95 closed in 1941.[22][25]
In 1987 the CCC architecture earned the Worlds End State Park Family Cabin District within the park a listing on theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[3][26] The 18.4-acre (7.4 ha)historic district includes nineteen cabins and threelatrines built by the CCC between 1933 and 1941.[27] Seven of the cabins have one room, nine have two rooms, and three have three rooms.[28] There are also three modern latrines within the district which are designated asnon-contributing structures.[27] The historic structures are examples of CCC work that reflects the standards set forth by theDepartment of the Interior. The cabins and latrines are constructed with native stones and timber and are placed on the land in a way that minimizes interference with the natural surroundings of the park.[27]
Since the CCC finished their work at the park in 1941, Worlds End State Park has continued to develop and change. In 1951 the Loyalsock Trail, which passes through the park, was laid out byExplorer Scouts. This trail has been maintained and extended by the Alpine Club ofWilliamsport since 1953.[29] While the park was always popular in Pennsylvania,[30] by the 1960s it began to attract attention from outside the state. The park was home to the first annualwhitewater slalom race on Loyalsock Creek in 1964, which attracted over 100 competitors in 1965.[31] A 1964The New York Times article featured Worlds End park and its "excellent trout stream",[32] and one in 1967 mentioned the park's "peerless wilderness views", "half-acre swimming pool carved into cool Loyalsock Creek" and "public campsites".[33]
In 1980, a 900-square-foot (84 m2) trailer was added as a temporary park office.[34] The accomplishments of the CCC at Worlds End State Park were recognized in 1987 by the inclusion of the Family Cabin District on the NRHP.[26] In 1997 the park'sImportant Bird Area (IBA) was one of the first 73 IBAs established in Pennsylvania.[35] On November 12, 2002, a new 4,300-square-foot (399 m2) visitor center and park office was dedicated, which included 1,680 square feet (156 m2) of public space for environmental education and public programs. The building, constructed with an "energy-efficient design and recycled materials", was part of a $1.1 million project that included the park's first flush toilets andsewage treatment plant.[34] In 2003 a $2.7 million project added flush toilets and running water to all the park's wash-houses, renovated the cabins, and made major improvements in the day use area.[36]
In 2004, the Loyalsock Creek Watershed Association installed a fence on the creek's banks near the cabins to limit pedestrian access and erosion. The association planted shrubs and trees in the same area to stabilize the creek's banks in 2008, and in September 2010 replaced more than 1,500 feet (460 m) of fence with a less visible version.[37][38] On January 25, 2010, flooding caused by heavy rain and melt from 20 inches (510 mm) of snow "washed out a bridge" leading to the cabin area and destroyed 86 feet (26 m) of road there,[39] leaving the park looking like "the set of disaster movie".[40] The cabin area road needed $72,120 in repairs, the park was not fully restored untilMemorial Day.[40][41] Two floods hit the park in 2011, the first fromHurricane Irene on August 29, and the second fromTropical Storm Lee on September 8. Lee washed away about 20 to 22 short tons (18 to 20 t) of gravel used to make emergency repairs to roads in the park from Irene damage. Loyalsock Creek reached 20.4 feet (6.2 m) south of the park, and campers in the park had to be evacuated.[39] Worlds End andPromised Land State Park had "significant damage to roads and bridges", damage to Loylasock State Forest roads was also heavy, and the DCNR estimated the two storms caused $3 to $4 million of damage to its forests and parks.[42] Worlds End was closed for two weeks after the Lee flood.[43]
As of 2012, post-war facilities include the park office, five wash-houses and other modern restroom facilities, beach house with concession stand, chapel, amphitheater, and modern camping areas.[44] Worlds End State Park is one of twenty-one chosen by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks" list. The DCNR describes it as "[v]irtually in a class by itself, this wild, rugged and rustic area seems almost untamed".[4] It goes on to praise the opportunities for camping and hiking at the park, and its scenery and vistas.[4]
The land on which Worlds End State Park sits has undergone tremendous change over the last 350 million years. It was once part of the coastline of a shallow sea that covered a great portion of what is now North America. The high mountains to the east of the sea gradually eroded, causing a buildup ofsediment made up primarily ofclay,sand andgravel. Tremendous pressure on the sediment caused the formation of the rocks that are found today in the Loyalsock Creek drainage basin:sandstone,shale,conglomerates,coal, andlimestone.[7][45]
Four major rock formations are present in Worlds End State Park, all at least partly from theCarboniferous period. The youngest of these, which forms the highest points in the park, is the earlyPennsylvanianPottsville Formation, a gray conglomerate that may contain sandstone,siltstone, and shale, as well asanthracite coal. The Loyalsock gorge rim and the upper part of its walls are the lateMississippianMauch Chunk Formation, which is formed with grayish-red shale, siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerate. Below this is the MississippianBurgoon Formation, which comprises buff-colored sandstone and conglomerate. The creek bed and base of the gorge walls are the lateDevonian and early MississippianHuntley Mountain Formation, which is made of relatively soft grayish-red shale and olive-gray sandstone.[7][46][47][48]
The park is at an elevation of 1,175 feet (358 m) on theAllegheny Plateau, which formed in theAlleghenian orogeny some 300 million years ago, whenGondwana (specifically what became Africa) and what became North America collided, formingPangaea.[46][49] The local region is known as theEndless Mountains, but despite the name these are not true mountains: instead millions of years oferosion have made this adissected 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 Loyalsock gorge is approximately 800 feet (244 m) deep in the park. Loyalsock Creek and its tributaries have been a primary force in the creation of the valleys, as the creek makes its way across the landscape to itsmouth at theWest Branch Susquehanna River inMontoursville.[7]
Fossils have been found in Worlds End State Park, as the area was once ariver delta on an ancient coastline. This coast was home to an ancient ancestor of thelungfish, which would burrow in the mud to survive dry spells. Fossils of theseburrows have been discovered in the red siltstone formations in and near the park.[7]
TheMarcellus Formation, a shale rich innatural gas, lies thousands of feet below Worlds End State Park and much of Pennsylvania. As of June 30, 2012, there were 127 active gas wells in Sullivan County, with 14 of those in Forks or Shrewsbury Townships.[50] The state did not purchase themineral rights to much of the land it owns.Anadarko Petroleum (nowOccidental Petroleum) owns the mineral rights under the [Loyalsock] state forest[51] and plans to drill in it.[52] About 80% of the mineral rights to its state parks are not owned by Pennsylvania, and the owner of Worlds End State Park's mineral rights is unknown. According to William Kocher, Worlds End's manager, "if the owner decided to drill [in the park] ... the state would have no right to say no."[53] Natural gaspipeline construction upstream of the park spilled a "significant amount" of sediment and mud into Loyalsock Creek in September 2012.[52][54]
The Allegheny Plateau has acontinental climate, with occasional severe low temperatures in winter and average dailytemperature ranges of 20 °F (11 °C) in winter and 80 °F (14 °C) in summer.[55] For the region the park is in, the average minimum temperature in January is 10 °F (−12 °C), while the average maximum temperature in July is 75 °F (24 °C).[56] The mean annualprecipitation for Loyalsock Creek is 42 to 48 inches (1067 to 1219 mm).[45] Pennsylvania receives the mostacid rain of any state in the United States. Because Loyalsock Creek is in a sandstone, shale, conglomerates, coal, and limestone mountain region, it has a relatively low capacity toneutralize added acid. This makes it especially vulnerable to increased acidification from acid rain, which poses a threat to the long-term health of the plants and animals in the creek.[57] The highest recorded temperature at the park was 104 °F (40 °C) in 1936, and the record low was −27 °F (−33 °C) in 1994. On average, July is the hottest month at Worlds End, January is the coldest, and June the wettest.[58]
| Climate data for Worlds End State Park | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 32 (0) | 36 (2) | 44 (7) | 58 (14) | 68 (20) | 76 (24) | 81 (27) | 79 (26) | 71 (22) | 60 (16) | 48 (9) | 37 (3) | 58 (14) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 14 (−10) | 16 (−9) | 23 (−5) | 33 (1) | 42 (6) | 52 (11) | 56 (13) | 55 (13) | 47 (8) | 35 (2) | 29 (−2) | 20 (−7) | 35 (2) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.59 (66) | 2.26 (57) | 3.15 (80) | 3.58 (91) | 3.42 (87) | 4.22 (107) | 3.66 (93) | 3.63 (92) | 3.90 (99) | 3.49 (89) | 3.38 (86) | 2.89 (73) | 40.17 (1,020) |
| Source: The Weather Channel[58] | |||||||||||||
Worlds End State Park is nearForksville on Pennsylvania Route 154 in the narrow,serpentine valley ofLoyalsock Creek.[2][59] It is nearly surrounded byLoyalsock State Forest, which was known here asWyoming State Forest until July 1, 2005.[60] Common trees found in the state park and forest includeblack cherry,eastern hemlock,red maple,tulip poplar,yellow birch, andwhite ash. The northern hardwood and hemlock forests are threatened in general by deerovergrazing, while thewoolly adelgid, an invasivehemiptera, threatens the hemlock populations.[61][62] In 2010 Worlds End was part of over 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) of state forests and parks combating the woolly adelgid with a $110,000 federal grant to the DCNR's "Forest Pest Management Division for insecticide treatment of high-value Eastern hemlocks".[63] Several different interpretive and educational programs on environmental and ecological topics are offered at the park each summer.[2]
Worlds End State Park has an extensive forest cover of hemlock-filled valleys and hardwood tree-covered mountains, which makes it ahabitat for "big woods" wildlife. Animals such aswhite-tailed deer,black bear,wild turkey,red andgray squirrels are seen fairly regularly. Less commonly seen but present in the park are creatures such asbobcats,coyote,fishers,river otters, andtimber rattlesnakes. Loyalsock Creek is home to nativebrook trout andblack bass which feed on a variety of insects includingmosquitos,dragonflies, andgnats.[62][64][65][66]
Bird watchers have observed over 200species of birds in the park, including thegreat blue heron,northern harrier,white-throated sparrow and highly sensitive species which are rare as breeding birds in Pennsylvania such asnorthern goshawk andyellow-bellied flycatcher.[65][66][67] The state park and forest are part of the larger PennsylvaniaImportant Bird Area (IBA) #42, which encompasses 214,839 acres (86,942 ha). The PennsylvaniaAudubon Society has designated the IBA as a globally importanthabitats for the conservation of bird populations.[62] The IBA is home toSwainson's thrush andruffed grouse, the state bird of Pennsylvania. Other notable passerine species found in the park and IBA includeblue-headed andred-eyed vireos,Acadian andleast flycatchers. Breedingwarblers in the park include bothnorthern andLouisiana waterthrushes, as well asBlackburnian,black-throated blue,black-throated green,Canada,magnolia,mourning,Nashville, andyellow-rumped.[62]
Worlds End State Park is featured in the Audubon Society'sSusquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Trail Guide. Birds of interest in the park includecommon mergansers along the creek and other riparian species such asbelted kingfisher, as well asbarred,great horned, and the scarce, elusivenorthern saw-whet owls. Other avian species seen in the park and believed to nest there includetufted titmouse,brown creeper,red-breasted nuthatch,common raven,scarlet tanager,yellow-bellied sapsucker, andwinter wren. These bird populations are typical of "mature northern hardwood-hemlock forests and high elevation swamps and conifer swamps".[61][62]
There are over 20 miles (32 km) ofhiking trails at Worlds End State Park. Most of the trails are rocky and steep, so hikers are encouraged to wear proper footgear and to be prepared for icy conditions during the cold winter months.[17] As John Young writes inHike Pennsylvania, "If you want to do some hiking in the Worlds End region, you should know that hiking here means climbing".[68] Worlds End State Park is open during the winter months forsnowmobiling andcross-country skiing. Most of the trails are too steep or rugged for either activity, but the park roads are open, as are trails on surrounding state forest lands.[2][17]
.jpg)
According to John Young, "As soon as you enter Worlds End State Park, you hear it: the never-ending rush of the waters of Loyalsock Creek".[68] The creek and its tributary Double Run have been designated as approvedtrout waters within the park by thePennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. This means the waters will bestocked with trout and may be fished during trout season.[73] Hunting is permitted on about half of the lands of Worlds End State Park. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of thePennsylvania Game Commission. The common game species are ruffed grouse, eastern gray squirrels, turkey, white-tailed deer and bears; however, the hunting ofgroundhogs is prohibited.[2]
Edward Gertler, author ofKeystone Canoeing, writes that Loyalsock Creek's "exciting whitewater, above Forksville, has long been a favorite of paddlers who are quick and tolerant enough to endure its fickle water levels and weather".[74] This is the stretch of the creek in and near the park, whose "long, steepening, and complex boulder patch and ledgy rapids demand your attention ... A boater's chute through the middle of the swimming area dam at Worlds End State Park climaxes this run".[74]
The best time forwhitewater boating on Loyalsock Creek at Worlds End State Park is from March to May,[2] and the park hosts a slalom race on Loyalsock Creek each spring. The whitewatergradient is 41 for the section of the creek in and near the park, and its rating on theInternational Scale of River Difficulty is II to III+, with sections reaching IV.[74] The water is too swift for opencanoes, so visitors are asked to usekayaks. The swimming area is closed to whitewater boating during the summer months.[2]
When appointed as manager of the park in 2002, William C. Kocher said "Camping really is king here at Worlds End, and the rustic cabins are especially popular ... We also have plenty of picnics and reunions, many of them drawing generation after generation, year after year".[75] Worlds End State Park has three options for visitors interested in staying overnight. There are 19 rusticcabins, each with arefrigerator, stove,fireplace, table with chairs, and beds. There is a 70-sitetent andcamper campground along Pennsylvania Route 154. Some of the campsites have an electric hook-up, and there is a central shower facility with water and restrooms located nearby. Three organized group tenting areas, each capable of accommodating 30 people, are also available north of the cabins. They may also be used for one large group of up to 90 campers.[2]Non-denominational Christian worship services, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, are held in a wooded chapel at the park on Sunday mornings during the summer.[76]
The picnic and swimming areas are adjacent to each other, with the building housing the bath house and concession stand between them. There are many picnic tables and several pavilions available for day use by visitors to the park. During the Great Depression the Civilian Conservation Corps built a 7-foot (2.1 m) talldam on Loyalsock Creek, which provides a 1 acre (0.40 ha) swimming area at Worlds End State Park.[2][77] Since 2008, lifeguards are no longer on duty at the park.[78]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Note: ISBN refers to the Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to a scan of the 1892 version with someOCR typos.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Note: This guide is available both as a book (page number given) and website (URL given). It also refers toWyoming State Forest, which has been reorganized asLoyalsock State Forest.
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Lists of specific structure types | |
| Related | |
