Swatara State Park

The 3,520-acre Swatara State Park consists of rolling fields and woodlands situated in the Swatara Valley, between Second and Blue mountains. The scenic Swatara Creek meanders the length of the park and is surrounded by forests and wetlands that support a diversity of wildlife.   The bedrock of Swatara State Park is predominately sedimentary rocks formed during the Middle Devonian Period, about 375 million years ago. The area was a shallow, sunlit seafloor where mostly filter-feeding organisms thrived in gentle sea currents. Today, we find these concentrations of shell and skeletal matter exposed as rock. After the area was settled by Europeans in the 1750s, anthracite coal was discovered in the Tremont area. During the 1820s, as the demand for coal rose, a need for better transportation led to the construction of the Union Canal that connected the Schuylkill and Susquehanna rivers.   The Union Canal Company’s Branch Canal to Pine Grove had its beginnings as a 6.4 mile navigable feeder canal completed in November 1827. The Swatara Feeder, as it was called, ran from the Water Works Dam north along the Swatara Creek to Finnegans Dam about 2.4 miles north of Jonestown. During 1828, work began to extend the canal to Pine Grove. When completed, the canal ran approximately 21.6 miles along the Swatara Creek from Water Works to its terminus at the head of the Pine Grove Basin. From the basin, the Union Canal Railroad forged north for approximately 3.6 miles to the southern end of the anthracite coal region at Lorberry Junction. Major features of the Branch Canal included fourteen lift locks, one guard lock, six aqueducts, and four large dams. There were also basins, culverts, farm bridges, road bridges, and several towpath bridges built and maintained by the Union Canal Company of Pennsylvania, local governmental bodies, and private owners. Numerous small feeder dams dotted the landscape along the canal. The canal was a complex water management system that required constant vigilance, maintenance, and competent, reliable personnel to operate it. The canal operated until it was destroyed by a flood in June of 1862. The remains of seven locks, a towpath bridge, major sections of the towpath, and three dams are still visible in Swatara State Park.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) protects and enhances the state’s natural, recreational, and cultural resources for current and future generations. We manage state parks and forests, support community recreation and conservation initiatives, provide science-based expertise on Pennsylvania’s ecological health, and promote outdoor experiences that enrich the lives of all residents and visitors.