Explore the Area
The nearby communities of White Haven and Albrightsville offer grocery and dining opportunities. Nearly 20 miles away is the town of Jim Thorpe, which is consistently named one of the “best” and most fun, romantic, and adventurous towns to visit in Pennsylvania.
Learn about some of the area businesses and things to do from Jim Thorpe and Discover Carbon County.
Nearby State Parks and Forests
Hickory Run State Park is close to several state parks and one state forest, where visitors can enjoy recreation, education, and other activities.
Beltzville State Park
The 3,002-acre Beltzville State Park features the 949-acre Beltzville Lake, which is a rest stop for migrating waterfowl and is a destination for boaters and anglers. The sand beach and picnic pavilions are very popular.
Other recreational activities include hiking, mountain biking, swimming, and hunting.
Nescopeck State Park
Bordered on the south by steep Mount Yeager and on the north by Nescopeck Mountain, the 3,550-acre Nescopeck State Park encompasses wetlands, rich forests, and many diverse habitats. Nescopeck Creek, a favorite of anglers, meanders through the park. Hiking trails follow the creek, pass through quiet forests, and skirt wetlands.
An environmental education center provides year-round educational programs on the park’s diverse resources. Interpretive exhibits highlighting the park’s natural history can be seen inside the environmental education center.
Lehigh Gorge State Park
The 6,107-acre Lehigh Gorge State Park is characterized by a deep, steep-walled gorge carved by a river, thick vegetation, rock outcroppings, and waterfalls.
In Luzerne and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania, the park follows the Lehigh River from the outlet of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Francis E. Walter Dam at the northern end, to the town of Jim Thorpe at the southern end of the park.
Popular recreational activities include hiking, biking, whitewater boating, fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching.
Weiser State Forest
The nearly 30,000-acre Weiser State Forest is located in the ridge and valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The forest offers many outdoor opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking, boating, kayaking, fishing, hunting, camping, and even hang gliding.
The Appalachian Trail traverses Pennsylvania for 229 miles, and approximately 114 miles pass through the Weiser Forest District.
Other Nearby Outdoor Spaces and Natural Places
There are several other nearby outdoor spaces and natural places near Hickory Run State Park:
- State Game Lands 40, 91, 119, 129, 149, 141, and 187 are nearby, offering additional recreational opportunities.
- The Pocono Lake Preserve and Long Pond Conservation Easement are nearby to the east of the park.
- Eckley Miners’ Village is a museum representing the lives of immigrant anthracite coal miners and their families. It is about 15 miles east of the park.
Exploring Audubon’s Lehigh Autotour
Lehigh Gorge State Park and Hickory Run State Park are featured in a unique auto tour entitled Exploring Audubon’s Lehigh.
The tour focuses on famed naturalist John James Audubon’s 1829 visit to the Rockport area of the Lehigh River Valley and explores the valley’s natural and historical landscapes.
Brochures and CDs are available through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor online store. Signs mark the route and identify tour stops. The tour begins in either Jim Thorpe at the train station, or in White Haven at the White Haven General Store.
Pennsylvania Heritage Areas
Heritage Areas protect, enhance, and promote Pennsylvania’s historic, natural, cultural, and scenic resources.
Hickory Run State Park is in the Audubon’s Lehigh Reach of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.
The Corridor stretches more than 150 miles from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol in eastern Pennsylvania, and follows the historic routes of the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, the Lehigh Navigation, and the Delaware Canal.
The corridor showcases the extraordinary natural, cultural, and recreational resources and works to conserve the heritage of the area. Corridor landings (visitor centers) are available throughout the region to direct visitors to many opportunities that tell the stories that make the region so nationally significant.