Great Trails In A Mature Oak Forest In Rocky Ridge County Park In York.

Before last Saturday afternoon,  I  never heard of Rocky Ridge  Park in York County, Pennsylvania.  On Friday I drove to York County to visit the Susquehanna Riverlands State Park. It was my first visit to one of Pennsylvania’s newest state parks.   I hiked in the park Friday afternoon and took another 6 1/2 mile hike    in the park Saturday  morning.  My plan was  to return on Sunday morning before I headed back home to Northeastern Pennsylvania. I didn’t intend on doing anymore hiking  Saturday afternoon. However it was a beautiful sunny Summer afternoon, so, after editing some photos,  I decided to drive back to the park for another hike. However, when I looked at my AllTrail app I saw some trails a few miles from the Hampton Hotel where I was staying in the Rocky Ridge County Park. I decided to  check it out. It was a good  decision.

It was only  a ten  minute drive from my hotel. I drove   up a  winding road  to Rocky Ridge Park. I came  to a large parking area under a  utility tower line right of way. Considering what a beautiful afternoon it was I was surprised there were not more cars or  people in the park.

Looking north from the parking lot you could see the Codorus Creek Valley below the ridge and mountains in the distance. I believe that the furthest mountain was the famous Blue Mountain, also known as the Kittatinny Ridge. This 150 long mountain ridge crosses Pennsylvania from the Delaware Water Gap to the state  of Maryland.

I followed a gravel path at the end of the parking lot south on the utility tower right of way,

passing a wetland with,  large patches of milkweed. There was not much bird activity in the late afternoon heat.

I walked to an overlook  above the York  Valley. ,

I left the spectacular view and  followed Sue’s Trail into an oak forest. I immediately loved the many ancient oak trees along the trail.  I learned 90% of the 740 acres Rocky Ridge Park is a mature oak forest.

Although I was tired from my morning hike, and getting hungry again, I enjoyed my late afternoon hike under the old oak trees as the sun filtered through the canopy of leaves. 

The entire ridge in the park was crisscrossed with trails.   I followed one trail  back through the mature forest and came back to the looping Sue’s trail.

 I only walked about 1 1/4 miles but it was late afternoon . I was hungry so I  ended  my  hike and was going to  find something to eat.    I  already decided I would be back to explore some more of the park   in the morning.

It was now early evening and I decided  to eat at the Samurai Fusion restaurant near my hotel. I had a delicious meal starting with ginger salad and cup of vegetable  tom yum goong soup,

and very large and filling serving of kung pao shrimp. I was full and tired when I got back to the hotel. I edited some photos and retired early. I set the alarm for 4:45 a.m. hoping to watch the sunrise from Rocky Ridge Park.  The Summer solstice would   began right about when I awoke and the sun rises early on the Summer solstice.   Unfortunately,  I didn’t get a lot of sleep.  There was a large wedding  party staying at the hotel, and the festivities went on into the wee hours of the morning. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos from my 1 1/2 mile hike and afternoon  visit to the park. Rocky Ridge Park York County June 20 2026.

Despite not getting much sleep, I was still up at 4:45 a.m.  After  a few cups of coffee I drove back up to Rocky Ridge Park in the pre-dawn twilight. I was the only  car in  the large parking lot on the ridge top.

I enjoyed the solitude, peace and quite of the morning twilight.  This time I  walked  toward the  North Overlook under the utility tower lines. There are two utility power  lines near my home. I  spent many days hiking  under them with my childhood friends.   We spent hours, sometimes from dawn to dusk,  picking huckleberries and exploring the surrounding woods. Sadly, industrial and residential development destroyed most of the surrounding woodlands.   I enjoyed walking under  these tower lines again. Many wonderful memorize they evoked.

As I approached the overlook,  the sun soon rose over the ridge.  It would be at it’s furthest point north.  The days began getting shorter about an hour earlier.

I had the overlook alto myself.  After watching the sunrise I I walked back up to the parking lot. This time I took another path under the utility  tower lines.

Here I saw Japanese honeysuckles blooming, which is unusual this late in June.

The Morrow’s honeysuckles had already produced their bright red,

or orange berries. 

It was a cool morning, with temperatures in the 50’s. I saw this bumblebee, lethargic from the cold, on  a musk thistle.  These were all invasive flowers and plants.

Some native blackberries were already ripening . Spring and Summer pass by to quickly for me anymore.

There were some birds active in the  honeysuckle thickets along the trail, including indigo bluebirds,

and a lot of  common yellow throats, this is a female,

and this a  masked male. I also saw a  few yellow-breasted chats but didn’t get  any good photos.

There was also a cottontail rabbit feeding on some grass on the trail.

I walked back up to the parking lot and there I still the only one in the park

 I continued on the trail to the  South Overlook.

Where I walked through  the dried up pond/wetland,where I found a lot of milkweed,

yarrow and,

invasive oxeye daisies. It was a cool night and there was no insect activity yet, but I am sure there will be a lot of butterflies, bees and wasps  visiting these flowers when it warmed up.

I came to the South Overlook and again took in the view the York Valley.

Here I saw a pair of eastern kingbirds flying from the utility tower line to the trees along the trail.  These birds always remind me of my visit to Puerto Rico where first saw them on a January visit.

I left the tower line right of way and followed Sue’s Trail into the  mature oak forest. It was a magical place to walk under the ancient black and chestnut oak as the rising sun shone tree the canopy of leaves.

I followed the trail  through the mostly oak  forest but there were some tall tulip, sugar maple and sweet birch trees.

There was also a lot of mountain laurel, but it had bloomed a few weeks ago. This trail would be beautiful when it is in full bloom.

I saw many eastern gray squirrels on my 5 mile hike.

Hay-scented ferns grew along the trail adding a different, lighter shade,to the lush  green woodland.

Sadly, I also found invasive Japanese stilt grass along the trail that will destroy the hay-scented ferns and other native plants in the understory of the forest.

There wasn’t much bird activity until a  heard the beautiful morning song of this male scarlet tanager.

I also saw my first humans,  a couple of folk running on the trail. I followed the Sue’s Trail to the edge of the ridge and the park.

I now followed the Easy Peasy Trail back to the parking lot. I loved  this trail.

It took me through more ancient oak trees but there were a lot more hay-scented ferns,

and mountain laurel here.

And I came to an area of large boulders which reminded  me of the trails near my home and on some property I own.

Here I saw a eastern wood pee wee, a small  flycatcher, closely related to an eastern phoebe.

And I saw one of my favorite birds, a large and colorful pileated woodpecker.

I could have hiked for many hours on these trails.  However, I had to check out of my hotel and drive home. I had a lot of unfinished chores to do later in the day,

 so I walked back to the tower line trail, where, I now saw many cars in the parking lot and folks walking out on to the trails in the mature forest.

Along the trail I saw a few  more indigo buntings, there were dozens of them in the honeysuckle bushes,

as well as a few yellow-breasted chats.  I rarely see this colorful bird on my hikes near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

I saw a lot of robins, most feeding on the honeysuckle berries, while a few perched on the tall trees along the trail.    Here is a link to a gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos of the birds I saw on my 5  mile hike the park. Rocky Ridge Park York County birds June 21 2026.

I walked past the blackberries, and also found some  native raspberries,

and their ivasive cousins the wineberries along the trail. It was around 9 a.m. when I finished my 5 mile hike.  I wanted to get on the road early so returned to my hotel and quickly packed and checke out by 9:30 a.m. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog webpage with some more photos from my 5 mile hike in  the park. Rocky Ridge Park York County June 21 2026.

I was on the road  and my Googles Map app estimated my arrival back home in Hazle Township in Luzerne County for around 11:30. I wanted to get home  and go grocery  shopping,  do my weekly laundry, finally put my lawn furniture out to get pressure washed,  pay some bills,  edit my photos and do a lot of other chores I didn’t do during the week. And, I was looking forward to my favorite Sunday meal of hot peppers, pasta and seafood.  It was a nice  drive and I was ahead of my estimated arrival time when I was reminded of the  famous words of the poet  Robert Burns. “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”  The temperature warning light on my 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee went on.  Soon my Jeep was making funny noises and I had to pull over  on the Interstate 81 at mile marker 113.2 northbound.

I called AAA and waited for 2 hours to have my Jeep towed to the nearest Jeep dealership in Tamaqua. I sat on a rock under some trees along the busy highway.

Not one car or  the State police stopped to help. I was able to at least edit some photos while I waited.

where my brother John picked me up and dropped me off at my home around 2:30 p.m.

I was well  behind schedule now, and very hungry. I almost  made a quick cheese sandwich but, instead, took the time to cook my favorite meal, five varieties of hot peppers, sauteed in olive oil with a bulb of garlic. served with shrimps and scallops over pasta. I love this stuff.  After eating I got a few of my chores done,  I wasn’t able to put out my lawn furniture. The Jeep dealership was great,  I have a new Jeep Grand Cherokee loaner  while they try and figure out the mechanical problem that disrupted  my day. All’s well that ends well  they say. It ended well for me. I enjoyed exploring two new parks and I am glad I can share some thoughts and photos here on my blog.

 

Show me a healthy community with a healthy economy and I will show you a community that has its green infrastructure in order and understands the relationship between the built and the unbuilt environment.  
~Will Rogers

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.~John Muir