Evansburg State Park

Date of Hike: Saturday, April 11, 2015

Total Distance: 11.39 Miles

Avg speed: 2.09 MPH

Avg moving speed: 2.39 MPH

Moving Time: 4:46:22

Total Time: 5:26:57

Conditions: Sunny, 57 Degrees

Difficulty: Easy, Moderate

This past Saturday, I made my way to Evansburg State Park. I've been there numerous times over the years but most of the time it was to go fishing. I believe I've hiked at Evansburg maybe once or twice before but never in the capacity that I did on Saturday. It was a beautiful day to hike and it was a fun adventure.

While it's not entirely accurate, you can get a trail map here. Most of the listed trails are in the right locations but there are several others within the park that aren't listed on the DCNR's website, likely from the local fishermen, including myself!

I parked in a parking lot alongside Germantown Pike. The approximate address is:

3725 Germantown Pike
Collegeville, PA 19426
GPS: 40.179434,-75.418305

When you get to the parking lot, there are trail heads on both sides (East or West) that run parallel with Germantown Pike. I took trail on the eastern side of the lot.

The trail goes east for a few hundred yards, then turns to the south. You'll want to make your turn when you get to Fern Avenue. I'm not sure if this was a road at one time but it's blocked off to public use and is not paved. If you keep going straight at Fern Avenue, you'll end up in the Evansburg State Park maintenance area. 

As you get to the end of Fern Avenue, you'll be reaching Old Baptist Road and the remains of a bridge. It's still in decent condition but as you get closer, you can see that it's deteriorating. Perhaps this could be a reason why Fern Avenue is no longer a public road. Once you cross over the bridge, there's a parking lot that you can access from Old Baptist Road just to the right side.

Looking upstream on unnamed creek

Looking downstream on unnamed Creek

Just next to the parking lot, I found this deer skull. I'm not sure why but it seems every time a deer skull is around, it ends up being mounted to a tree. 
 

About 20 or so yards before you get to the bridge, the trail cuts to the northwest. I had spotted it as I was walking past but wanted to check out the bridge and from there, had spotted the deer skull and went to investigate what it was. All I could see from the bridge was something white on a tree stump.

Walking along the trail to the northeast, there's a small tributary (not much of one) but what caught my attention here was that the rocks were white in color and seemed to be coated with something as it looked sort of dusty.

A little further up the trail, you finally reach the Skippack Creek. My hike actually had a dual purpose this time around. I've fished the Skippack Creek a number of times but I usually tend to go to spots that I'm familiar with. I had never been to this part of Evansburg State Park or the Skippack so it gave me the chance to scope it out as I was hiking.

Along these trails, you'll run into a lot of small streams leading into the Skippack Creek. The weather had been a bit dreary for most of last week but fortunately, there hadn't been a lot of rain. If there had been, this hike would have been a more difficult challenge. Safe to say that if you want to hike Evansburg State Park, you might not want to go if there's been a lot of rain. Not that rain has ever stopped me from hiking but getting across these streams with steep banks on either side would pose quite the task, especially if they're flooded.

Another small stream crossing, this time with a slightly steeper bank that I wasn't about to attempt jumping across. A little further upstream, there was a log crossing the creek.

A little further up the trail was this bird house. I was under the impression they're supposed to be in trees though. Never saw one sitting on the ground before.

I was almost back to Germantown Pike and the Eight Arch Bridge. Built in 1792, it's one of the oldest bridges in the United States that's still in continuous use.

You might take note that there were several fishermen around the bridge which is why I don't go fishing in the first few weeks of the season. There are too many people who are too close together to even bother trying to cast a line into the water without crossing it with someone else's. To me, that would be like going shopping on Black Friday and not expecting to see a crowd.

Sweet temptation! I would have loved to explore this house but the windows and doors were all boarded up and as you can see, plenty of signs stating "no trespassing".

Crossing the Eight Arch Bridge was a little hairy, there's not a lot of room to move and Germantown Pike is a busy road.

Keyser Mill

It's hard to read this plaque, here's what it says:

KEYSER MILL

Built in 1835 on ground originally owned by

Abraham Funk. Re-built in 1984 by the Commonwealth

of Pennsylvania in cooperation with the Skippack

Historical Society. Keyser Mill, originally built

by Joshua Croll, was re-built by Peter Keyser. 
Serving the area as a flour and grist mill for 95 
years until 1930. 

Dick Thornburgh, Governor of Pennsylvania

Nicholas DeBenedictis, Secretary - Department of Environmental Resources

G. Keith Funk, President - Skippack Historical Society

A short distance down the road from the Keyser Mill, the trail leads westward into the woods.

There's a small hill to climb and once you get to the top, the trail then cuts northward.

In this area of the park, I wasn't sure if I was on the right trail or if it's simply not being maintained. There were several areas where the trail was covered by trees and/or thorn bushes and I had to work my way around or over them.

After half bushwhacking through the woods and following what resembled a trail, it opened up into this field and from there, the trails were in much better condition.

Somewhere in this area, you cross over Wayland Road and back into some open fields. There are also more flowers in bloom making the hiking that much more interesting. It's nice to see some colors!

This stream crossing is right next to Mill Road. There was no way I was going to attempt jumping across this stream so I found an alternate trail about 20 yards back and followed Mill Road until the trail cut north again. In this area, the trail splits off in two different directions with the other heading east towards Skippack Creek.

Mill Road trail crossing

One of the few trail markers I spotted throughout the park.

Take note that these trails are designed for equestrian use as well as hiking. As I mentioned before, I was glad it hadn't rained that much during the week or some of these trails would have been a mess. It was muddy, but not so bad that your feet were sinking deep into the mud.

I took a short break at these picnic tables, grabbed a quick snack and changed out of my sweaty socks. It didn't help with the blisters though, I still ended up with a few.

At this point, I was walking alongside Thompson Road and looking for the next trail to continue my way north.

This area looked like a tree graveyard with the number that were fallen and strewn about. My guess is probably from last winter when we had those ice storms.

The trail cuts west for a short distance, then cuts back to the east.

Once it cuts back to the east, you'll be following these power lines until you get to Lesher Road.

The trail cuts to the north just before you get to Lesher Road but instead of following the trail, I walked down the road. Why, I have no idea.

This is the "new" Kratz Road Bridge. The original Kratz Road Bridge was built in 1909 and was repaired on three documented occasions in 1920, 1927 and 1931. In 1994, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and was demolished in 1999, much to the discontent of state preservation groups. Being as I have an interest in history myself, I can understand why they were upset.

I followed the road to the north until I found the trail again. Note that in this area, you may want to stay on the trail instead of taking Lesher Road, there are a few sharp turns in the area where drivers may not see you until they're close.

Back on the trail!

Somewhere in here, I took a wrong turn and ended up on trails that weren't being maintained, or they were deer trails. Either way, there wasn't much for trails and it took a while before I found the right one again due to the water that was between the trail I was on and the Skippack Creek. The ponding water you see below stretched for quite a distance.

Finally found the trail again!

By now, I had made my way to my objective which was Skippack Pike (route 73). I crossed the bridge and started my return trip to the car. This is the view looking downstream from the bridge.

This is one of the areas where there are some inconsistencies with what's listed on the map of Evansburg State Park. Somewhere in this area, the trail map shows that it crosses back over the Skippack Creek to the western side but there are also trails that continue along the eastern side as well. I also found that there are two sets of trails running parallel with each other on the eastern side in this area.

As you get close to Stump Hall Road and the Skippack Golf Course, the trail leads up to the road and you'll have to walk it for a distance before you get back to the trails again. The Skippack Creek runs right alongside the road with a steep bank leading down to it.

The remains of this vehicle are right next to the trail before you get to Stump Hall Road

I returned to the Kratz Road Bridge on the opposite side of the creek. The information contained on this sign was where I pulled some of the historical data about the bridge from.

This section of the park was by far the best part of my hike. This hill was a gradual climb upward and once you get towards where the trail was at its highest above the Skippack Creek, the view down to the creek was awesome. Not breathtaking by any means but I had to be careful to watch my step so I wouldn't end up tripping and rolling down a steep bank. I was looking down the hill to the creek the entire time.

Looking back on the trail

Still climbing upward on the trail

The trail leads past these ruins although I have no idea what they were at one time. I've been researching it but have yet to find anything. Like several of my other pictures of ruins, if I ever happen to find out what it was, I'll update accordingly.

After the ruins, there's a long stretch of relatively flat terrain and a few small stream crossings. I was also facing into the sun while taking these pictures. This sun spots drive me crazy!

The trail eventually leads you to Water Street which you'll walk alongside for a distance until you get to this bridge, I believe it's called the Mill Road Bridge. According to this website, the original bridge which has since been replaced was built in 1895 with renovations taking place in 1985. More information to follow, if I find any.

Looking downstream from the Mill Street Bridge

Looking upstream from the Mill Street Bridge

I took a brief rest at the bridge before continuing. At this point, I was pretty tired and for now, this was the longest hike of the season for me so I was feeling it.

Like other sections of the park, the trail map doesn't show a trail that runs all the way to Germantown Pike on the eastern side but I took the chance and guessed correctly, there is a trail and it brought me to the back end of the house where all the doors and windows were boarded up.

I thankfully didn't have to cross over the Eight Arch Bridge a second time giving it's almost too narrow for pedestrians. I crossed over Germantown Pike and took one last shot of the return trail to the parking lot.

In all and as usual, it was a good day of hiking. The weather is warming up, trees are starting to bloom and traces of green and flowers can be seen from place to place. In all and according to the information on the DCNR's website, there are said to be approximately 26 miles of trails at Evansburg State Park unless I'm misunderstanding what's written and some of the trails overlap. There's also the number of unmarked trails scattered throughout the park as well.

Whatever the mileage, if you decide to go, make sure to check out the section of trail between Anders Road and Water Street on the eastern side of the Skippack Creek. If you're interested and have a party of five or more people, there's also organized group tenting within the park.

Until next time, happy hiking and happy exploring!

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