Black Rock Sanctuary

Date of Hike: Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Total Distance: 4.85 Miles

Avg speed: 2.13MPH

Avg moving speed: 2.38MPH

Moving Time: 2:02:09

Total Time: 2:16:48

Conditions: Mostly Sunny, 34 Degrees

Difficulty: Moderate*

For the first time since December 21st at Pennypack Trust Preserve and dealing with plantar fasciitis, I had a day off from work and decided to go hiking. Let me tell you, it felt awesome to get out again! My foot is still in pain but strangely, this hike had no effect on my foot at all. It doesn't feel any worse than it did before my hike which is encouraging to me. I hope to continue this trend. My blog isn't dead, I just haven't been out hiking in a while!

My road trip brought me to Black Rock Sanctuary located in Phoenixville, PA. If you decide to go, there are two different parking lots you can use to hit these trails and that you should bring a trail map with you. They may be provided during the prime hiking season since there's a kiosk in the main parking lot with some literature in it, but I didn't find any maps. If you use this parking lot, there are trail heads that go in at least three different directions. 

The two parking lots are separated by about a half mile or so and both are easy to spot as you approach. If you're heading south on Black Rock Road, you'll be crossing a bridge over the Schuylkill River and both parking lots will be on your left. If you're heading north to get there, they'll be on your right. If you end up crossing the bridge while heading north, you went too far! Note that Black Rock Road is also PA State Route 113.

Main parking lot address:
953 Black Rock Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
GPS: 40.155721,-75.505104

The below address is the second parking lot that will also connect you with the sanctuary. Technically, it's a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission lot but it's still public parking and can be used for trail access. There are two different trail heads, one in the back left corner and the other is also towards the back of the lot on the right side. This parking lot is right alongside the Schuylkill River.

Approximate second parking lot address:
1050 Black Rock Rd
Phoenixville, PA 19460
40.157771, -75.510511

Note that the 1050 address will place a marker on the wrong side of the road from the parking lot and in the middle of a wooded area. Strange, Google Maps is usually more accurate than this. I started my adventure in the second parking lot next to the Schuylkill River.

Since I parked close to the trail head in the back of the parking lot, I first headed west towards the bridge to check it out. There's a boat launch next to the bridge and during the summer, this is a relatively popular area for fishermen and those who own jet skis. 

 

Black Rock Road (Route 113) over the Schuylkill River

The Schuylkill River Trail, once completed is projected to be approximately 130 miles long. Currently and according to their website, there are already 60 completed miles of trail. I'm guessing there may be a connecting trail in this area since according to the map on their website, it doesn't cut through the Black Rock Sanctuary and instead loops through the town of Phoenixville, then picks back up alongside the Schuylkill River in Cromby, PA.

Small bench alongside the boat launch

Looking downstream on the Schuylkill River from the boat launch area

After exploring the boat launch area, I turned back to the east and started heading to the trail head in the back left side of the parking lot. This is the trail that runs alongside the Schuylkill River. 

Trail head leading towards the Black Rock Sanctuary

*I rated this trail to be a moderately challenging hike for one reason only. As you can see, the trail was a sheet of ice. Under normal conditions, this hike would have been rated as easy since it's mostly flat with the exception of some very small hills. Gladly, I didn't take any spills since I stayed along the sides of the trail where it wasn't frozen so I'd have some traction. This trail would have been a good one to test out a set of MICROspikes if I had them. Unfortunately, with walking through the semi frozen snow, my footsteps were making a loud crunching noise so there was no chance of seeing any wildlife since they'd hear me coming from a good distance away.

Where the trail wasn't frozen over, it was muddy.

I wish I could have gotten a better shot of this ice but it was on the opposite side of the river. Again, this doesn't seem to be a part of the Schuylkill River Trail but there are trails running alongside both sides of the river.

 

Overlook at the Black Rock Sanctuary looking towards the Schuylkill River

What would my blog be without some historical information? Part of the reason I hike is to learn a little something about the places I visit, especially if something catches my attention. I've been to this dam numerous times since I used to live in the area but what I never did was check out the history of it. The Black Rock Dam was built in the early 1800's by the Schuylkill Navigation Company and was originally known as what's called a timber crib dam. Although I don't have a legitimate source, the dam is said to have been rebuilt somewhere between 1860-1880, then around 1950-1960 it was capped with concrete by PECO (Philadelphia Electric Company). The dam was built to create slack water pools for the Schuylkill Navigation System. During the industrial revolution, the Schuylkill River and its canals were used to transport coal from Schuylkill County, PA to Philadelphia.

In 2009, a fish ladder was created to assist with the migration of American Shad as well as other migrating fish. Before it was built, the Black Rock Dam and several others throughout the Schuylkill River had prevented the upstream migration of the shad since the Fairmount Dam was built in 1820. Most, if not all of the dams have either been removed or have since built fish ladders to restore the population of American Shad to the river. There is now free passage to over 100 miles of the Schuylkill River and along with stocking efforts, the American Shad population is returning.

Although not operational, this is one of the few remaining locks on the Schuylkill River. The fenced in area in the background is the fish ladder. On the opposite side of the river, Lock 60 is the last one in operation on the Schuylkill River.

Black Rock Dam

Once I was done at the dam, I followed a trail up to Black Rock Road (Route 113) and headed north to the Black Rock Sanctuary's main parking lot. The trail runs alongside the Schuylkill River but for some reason there's no connecting trail to the other trails within the sanctuary so you have to follow the road a short distance. Not to worry though, there's enough room on the side of the road where you can stay off the pavement and away from any traffic. During the spring and summer, I don't know how thick the growth will get so it may be a bit more difficult to avoid.

One of many frozen pools of water along the sanctuary and Schuylkill River

I saw this as I was walking along Black Rock Road

Ready for some more history? As I previously mentioned, the Schuylkill River was used to transport coal from Schuylkill County, PA to Philadelphia during the industrial revolution. During this time period, the Schuylkill River went from being one of the cleanest rivers to one of the most polluted in the country due to millions of tons of coal silt being dumped into the river. By the 1930's, the amount of silt that built up over the years of dumping caused any navigation to stop, increased flooding, ended recreational activities, and the water supply value was brought into question. Beginning around 1945, the Schuylkill River Project was approved and removal of the silt from the river began in the late 1940's. With the removal of the silt, basins were created, some of which are now converted into wetland habitats like the Black Rock Sanctuary. 

To learn more about the history of the Schuylkill River during the industrial revolution, how badly is was polluted, the restoration efforts, and the challenges faced while trying to restore the river, check out this book written by Chari Towne titled "A River Again".

After mulling around for a short while at the parking lot, I continued north running parallel with Black Rock Road

Along the way, I spotted these pieces of equipment. What they are, I have no idea but they were right alongside the trail so I snapped off a few shots. 

One of the few areas throughout the hike where there wasn't ice covering the trail

Small but muddy hill I had to walk over without slipping

Connecting trail leading to another section of the sanctuary

Turned back to the south heading towards the parking lot again

I passed through the parking lot area and continued south along a different trail. In this section of the sanctuary, most of the trails are paved. 

 Although this is more of a pond in my opinion, this is a view of Black Rock Lake from the very southern end.

On the opposite side of the trail from the lake, there's what looks like an unoccupied property and in the back yard, a small shed that looks like the remains of a silo.

Not too many colors in the winter to enjoy!

This is the same overlook from the top side that I had passed earlier

I thought this was a pretty neat looking overlook since it was made of branches and not a normal type of deck like the others. Unfortunately, there isn't much to see even though it's facing the lake.

Most of the inner part of the overlook was covered in ice but I did manage to get this one shot. The kiosk in the middle explains the different types of birds you can expect to see and on the floor, there were a few of these. This was the only one that I was able to get a decent picture of because of the ice.

As you circle around the lake and start heading in a southerly direction, there are a few more openings where you can get up close to the water (or in this case, ice). 

I wasn't aware fishing was permitted at this lake

This tree was literally right on the water's edge, I believe this is a yellow birch tree. 

After I was done circling the lake, it was time to begin my return hike back to the car. The paved trail came to an end and it was back to the icy trail again!

These hills are about all you'll see when you walk around the sanctuary. There are a few that are a bit more steep but this is about the extent of the challenge you'll run into, with one exception (coming up).

This was one of the connecting trails between the main ones throughout the sanctuary.

On the map of the sanctuary, this is labeled as the Historic Silt Basin Water Level Control Weir. When the coal silt was being dredged into the basins during the Schuylkill River Project, the weirs were used to release the clean water back into the Schuylkill River once the silt had settled to the bottom.

Remember when I said there was one exception for hills during this hike? Well, here it is. As small as this hill is, it was a bit of a pain to climb due to how steep it is and that it was muddy. This is actually one of the many berms that were made to contain the water and coal silt that was dredged from the Schuylkill River during the cleanup.

I made it most of the way up the berm and started to slide back down. The only thing that stopped me was grabbing hold of a spot on the top of the hill and regaining my balance to pull myself up the rest of the way. I didn't fall though, and with the exception of some muddy fingers and hiking shoes, I was on the top without incident.

As  you reach the top of the berm, the other side was equally steep and muddy. Instead of taking the trail down, I sidestepped it to the left side and walked down without any problems. In the background, you can see the parking lot...I was just about done with my hike

Another curiosity...what the heck was there a mailbox doing in the middle of the woods? I checked, there wasn't any mail. 

That was the end of my hike. As you approach the parking lot, there's a small stream to cross over. Once I got close enough to my car, I used the snow to clean off my muddy fingers and shoes. As noted, this is a relatively easy hike and perhaps sometime in the spring or summer, I'll return to see some of the colors but it definitely won't be a priority on my list. 

There was only one irritation as I was walking the trails and that was with those who bring their dogs to this sanctuary and don't clean up after them. There were several places throughout the hike where I had to step over "land mines" and I was lucky that the icy trails kept me watching where I was stepping. Please folks, for the sake of the other hikers who use these same trails, clean up after your pets. No one wants to jump in their car and find out the hard way that they stepped in a pile of poo as they're driving home.

Other than dodging land mines and after almost two months without going hiking, it was good to be out in nature again!

Happy adventures and happy hiking! 

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