Long Branch Trail

The Long Branch Trail loops through one of Babcock State Park's most ecologically distinctive landscapes, protecting old-growth eastern hemlock groves and expansive fern glades that represent a forest community type increasingly rare in the central Appalachians due to the devastating hemlock woolly adelgid infestation advancing northward through the region. The trail follows Long Branch creek upstream through corridors where ancient hemlocks—some exceeding three feet in diameter and approaching 200 years of age—create a cathedral-like interior of deep shade and layered bark texture. Babcock's hemlock groves have been subject to active woolly adelgid treatment programs that have saved significant numbers of trees, and the park's conservation efforts are visible in the biocontrol release tags on treated specimens. Beneath the hemlock canopy, Christmas fern, rock cap moss, and a suite of moisture-loving wildflowers including wild sarsaparilla and trillium species create a lush understory layer. The fern glades—open areas where cinnamon fern and interrupted fern grow in chest-high masses—occur where small seepage areas keep soils perpetually moist between the hemlock stands. Salamander diversity in this hemlock-fern ecosystem is extraordinary, with red-backed, two-lined, and dusky salamanders all abundant under flat rocks along the stream margins. The loop's upper section traverses second-growth hardwood forest before descending back to Long Branch, providing a comparative perspective on the ecological difference between the old-growth hemlock groves and recovering logged forest.