Swatara State Park Planning Underway

Discovering Swatara State Park's Untapped Potential

For a place that is considered "undeveloped," Swatara State Park plays host to more than 77,000 visitors each year. From boating and birding to hunting and hiking, explorers take part in a wide range of recreation opportunities within the 3,515-acre park - without signs to guide them and without restroom facilities on site. To unlock Swatara's potential and better define this undeveloped state park, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) recently hired a team of consultants led by Simone Jaffe Collins Landscape Architecture (SJC) to form a Master Plan for the park. The plan they generate will define recreational alternatives while protecting the park's ecological resources and natural beauty.

Background: Water Supply and Recreation

Previous plans for Swatara State Park included recreational facilities that focused on development of a dam and reservoir. These plans were dependent upon improving poor water quality in Swatara Creek, which had been adversely impacted by abandoned mine runoff and sedimentation. During the last 30 years, DCNR, numerous conservation organizations, and other volunteer groups have cleaned up the area and restored the water quality in the Swatara Creek Watershed.

Concurrent to this park master planning feasibility study, a regional water resource study is being conducted under the direction of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, the Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Lebanon Authority to assess the future water-supply needs for the area.

"The original goal, back in the 1960s, was to create a reservoir that would provide a stable water supply for Lebanon County for many decades," says Sen. David J. Brightbill of Lebanon. "By thoroughly examining the water-supply needs of our community today, we'll be in great position to prepare for the future."

Land-Based Development

While Swatara State Park's water resources continue to play an important role in the planning process, DCNR is also exploring land-based development as an alternative to the reservoir-centered option. The SJC design team will identify park-development opportunities that don't involve a recreational lake.

DCNR Needs Your Help

SJC's study includes a survey of residents to determine the area's recreational needs and examine the economic impact of the park's development. Your input can help shape Swatara State Park for future generations.

"It will be critical for us to have public involvement in this process. We need the public to tell us what they would like to see and do at Swatara State Park," says John C. Oliver, DCNR Secretary. "This is a rare opportunity to be involved in the ground floor of planning a Pennsylvania state park."

To make your voice heard, please fill out and return the survey, available at scheduled public meetings and offer feedback about the planning process. Swatara is your state park, and your opinion matters!

The Planning Process

The planning process has incorporated the basics of landscape architecture and environmental planning with extensive public participation, intergovernmental cooperation and market analysis. Two special committees have been formed to provide sound advice and specific feedback on the planning concerns for the park's future development. These two committees will convene every other month beginning in September over the 10-month planning period. The first committee, an intergovernmental committee, is composed of representatives from local, county, regional and federal agencies and elected government officials. The other special committee, a task force steering committee, is composed of representatives from conservation, recreation, cultural and historic groups, as well as local business and adjoining municipalities. Beyond the committee meetings, the SJC team and DCNR will conduct public open houses and special events within the park to provide opportunities for the general public to review the plans and provide comments and suggestions.

Environmental Assessment

The planning study for the park has begun with an environmental assessment of the physical and ecological characteristics of Swatara State Park. The Heritage Conservancy, a member of the consultant team, is mapping the soils, vegetation, hydrology and habitats of the park. Together with the landscape architects at SJC, the inventory of the park's natural and historic resources will be analyzed and interpreted to guide sustainable planning implementation for the park.

Recreational Analysis

Another consultant team member, Reed Haldy McIntosh, is currently conducting two different surveys to help evaluate recreational needs and demands within the region. Telephone surveys were conducted during the summer from a random sample of households within a ½-hour and 1½-hour driving distance of Swatara. A written survey form has been developed and distributed to indentified stakeholders to gather input from additional park user groups. The results from both surveys, once tabulated, will contribute to the planning for future park facilities. In addition to the user surveys, the SJC team is compiling a survey and analysis of existing local and regional recreational facilities. This assessment of regional recreation will examine both the availability and distribution of available facilities.

Master Plan Park Design

The landscape architects and planners at SJC will incorporate the evaluation of natural resources and regional recreation with local public input and the meetings of the two special committees, to generate at least two options for conceptual park improvements. The preferred concept will be further designed to delineate specific areas for facilities and specific uses to be accommodated.

Market Analysis

As part of the conceptual development of the park, another member of the planning team, Hammer Siler George Associates (HSGA) will conduct a market analysis of the proposed conceptual park plan. This market study will examine the economic impacts on local businesses, the potential user demand within the park and an operational costs analysis for the proposed park development. Several focus groups consisting of local business representatives will be formed to work with HSGA for this market analysis.

Go to more information about the planning process

What Makes Swatara Special?

When entering the land that the Susquehannock American Indian tribe called "where we feed on eels," Swatara State Park visitors have many opportunities for amphibian adventures and to enjoy the natural beauty of an undeveloped land that once served as an American Indian transportation route.

Exploring Aquatic Life

In spring and summer, explorers of Swatara State Park will discover numerous vernal ponds, or pockets of water created from melting snow runoff. These ponds are a prime breeding ground for salamanders and other amphibians. Melting snow runoff creates these small bodies of water in the park each spring.

Unearthing Prehistoric Memorabilia

Amateur paleologists can search in the fossil pit located in Swatara State Park along Old State Road for prehistoric treasures. The fossils here are predominately sedimentary rock and date back to the Paleozoic period, nearly 375 million years ago.

Investigating Wildlife

When investigating the park's 10-mile multi-use trail, visitors may encounter anything from baby muskrats and gray tree frogs to wood ducks and beavers. They may also enjoy some of the 400 species of wildflowers that grow within Swatara State Park.

Trekking the Trails

Hikers, bikers, naturalists, and other park users already travel along Old State Road, the remnants of the former Route 443 alignment and old railgrade. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail also crosses through the southern portion of the park providing visitors with even more hiking options.

Traveling the Streams

Adventurers can embark on a canoe voyage down Swatara Creek. Those looking for the catch of the day can try their luck fishing for smallmouth bass and panfish in the Swatara Creek or anglers can try catching a few trout in the park's only stocked stream, Trout Run.

Historic Waterville Bridge

The historic Waterville Bridge once spanned the banks of the Little Pine Creek in Lycoming County. In the 1980s the bridge was moved from its original location to Swatara State Park to allow hikers on the Appalachian Trail to cross the creek. The Waterville Bridge is a parabolic structure known as a lenticular truss and one of only three in Pennsylvania.

Evidence of Swatara's Past: The Union Canal

Today Swatara State Park holds relics of Central Pennsylvania's historic industrial past - including remnants of the Union Canal system. The construction of the Union Canal in the 19th century linked the Schuylkill and Susquehanna rivers, from Reading through Lebanon to Middletown. A feeder branch canal stretched from Pine Grove through what is now Swatara State Park to the main canal in Lebanon.

Swatara's Link

Completed in 1832, the feeder branch canal created a new transportation route to Pine Grove and provided additional water flow into the main canal. From Pine Grove, barges filled with anthracite coal out of Schuylkill County mines traveled through the current parkland to the main canal. To get the necessary water for the feeder branch, two dams were built in what is now the Swatara State Park: the big dam near Inwood and a smaller dam, named the Port Mifflin Dam, near Suedberg.

The Flood and Beyond

In 1862 a flood damaged the Union Canal from Pine Grove to Middletown. Both dams broke within the park area, leading to the close of the feeder branch canal and returning Swatara Creek to its original state. Costly repairs and the completion of the Lebanon Valley Railroad in 1857 reduced revenues and caused the eventual closing of the Union Canal in 1885.

Explorers to Swatara State Park today can still see portions of dam abutments, a towpath, and seven lock structures along Swatara Creek within the park's historic district.

Traveling on Swatara's Old Railway

Take a ride on the Lebanon and Tremont spur line - a bike ride, that is. Strap on your helmet or hiking boots and enjoy a trip on Swatara State Park's Rail Trail, an easy multi-use path that runs the length of the park.

In the late 19th century, Union Canal sold the feeder branch right-of-way to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, who operated the Lebanon and Tremont spur line through what is now Swatara State Park. The track, built along the Swatara Creek, connected the mining towns of Schuylkill County with distribution points to the south. The railroad became obsolete after the completion of I-81 in the 1960s.

The state of Pennsylvania acquired the portion of the railroad within Swatara State Park, as well as a two-mile segment connecting to Lickdale. The former rail grade is now part of the Pennsylvania Rails-to-Trails program.

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