Evergreen Trail

The Evergreen Trail offers a short but immersive walk through one of Pennsylvania's finest surviving old-growth eastern hemlock groves. These towering conifers, some exceeding 500 years in age, create a dense cathedral canopy that blocks direct sunlight and suppresses understory growth, producing the signature shadowed, mossy floor of a mature hemlock forest. The trail loops gently through the grove, remaining accessible for hikers of most fitness levels and suitable for families with younger children. Interpretive signage explains the ecology of the hemlock and the ongoing threat posed by the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that has devastated stands across the Appalachians. Park staff have implemented biological control programs here, making the grove a living laboratory for conservation. The forest floor is carpeted in ferns and wood sorrel, and the creek running alongside the trail supports populations of brook trout. Red squirrels and hermit thrushes are common year-round residents of the grove. The trail is especially atmospheric in fog or light rain, when the ancient trunks darken and the mosses gleam. Winter visitors find the hemlock boughs heavily laden with snow, creating a hushed and otherworldly landscape. Despite its modest length, the Evergreen Trail delivers an encounter with genuinely primeval forest that few short hikes in Pennsylvania can match.