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The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States includes 58 natural areas in its State Forest system.[1] They are managed by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, a division of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The Commonwealth describes a natural area as a location with "scenic, historic, geologic or ecological significance, which will remain in an undisturbed state, with development and maintenance being limited to that required for health and safety. Natural areas are set aside to provide locations for scientific observation of natural systems, to protect examples of typical and unique plant and animal communities, and to protect outstanding examples of natural interest and beauty."[2] Many such areas are only accessible on foot, and several do not have any maintained hiking trails.[1]
This list does not include additional natural areas that are protected within the Pennsylvania State Park system.
| Natural area name | State forest | County | Area | Date founded |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Seeger Natural Area | Rothrock | Huntingdon | 390 acres (158 ha) | 1921 | Named after the poet who died during World War I. Includes old growth forest remnants.[3][4] |
| Algerine Swamp Natural Area | Tiadaghton | Lycoming, Tioga | 84 acres (34 ha) | Includes a glacial bog.[5][6] | |
| Anders Run Natural Area | Cornplanter | Warren | 96 acres (39 ha) | 1987 | Includes a stone house built in 1841.[7][8] |
| Bark Cabin Natural Area | Tiadaghton | Lycoming | 7 acres (3 ha) | Traversed by the Mid State Trail; features old growth hemlocks.[6][9] | |
| Bear Meadows Natural Area | Rothrock | Centre | 890 acres (360 ha) | 1965 | Also a National Natural Landmark.[3][10] |
| Bear Run Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Centre | 32 acres (13 ha) | [11][12] | |
| Beartown Woods Natural Area | Michaux | Franklin | 27 acres (11 ha) | Accessible via the Appalachian Trail.[13][14] | |
| Big Flat Laurel Natural Area | Rothrock | Centre, Huntingdon | 184 acres (74 ha) | [3][15] | |
| Black Ash Swamp Natural Area | Tioga | Tioga | 308 acres (125 ha) | [16][17] | |
| Bruce Lake Natural Area | Delaware | Pike | 2,845 acres (1,151 ha) | Includes both a natural glacial lake and a man-made lake.[18][19] | |
| Buckhorn Natural Area | Delaware | Pike | 535 acres (217 ha) | Also a designated Reptile and Amphibian Protection Area.[18][20] | |
| Carbaugh Run Natural Area | Michaux | Adams | 780 acres (316 ha) | Also a designated Reptile and Amphibian Protection Area, and founded to protect Native American archeological sites.[13][21] | |
| Charles F. Lewis Natural Area | Gallitzin | Indiana | 384 acres (155 ha) | Named after an area journalist and conservationist.[22][23] | |
| Cranberry Swamp Natural Area | Sproul | Clinton | 144 acres (58 ha) | Encompasses a boreal swamp.[24][25] | |
| David R. Johnson Natural Area | William Penn | Bucks | 56 acres (23 ha) | Named for its former landowner.[26][27] | |
| Detweiler Run Natural Area | Rothrock | Huntingdon | 463 acres (187 ha) | Also a designated Important Bird Area.[3][28] | |
| Devil's Elbow Natural Area | Loyalsock | Lycoming | 404 acres (163 ha) | Protects a population of pitcher plants.[29][30] | |
| East Branch Swamp Natural Area | Sproul | Clinton | 186 acres (75 ha) | [24][31] | |
| Forrest H. Dutlinger Natural Area | Susquehannock | Clinton | 1,521 acres (616 ha) | Named after an early Commonwealth forester; includes old growth forest remnants.[32][33] | |
| Frank E. Masland Natural Area | Tuscarora | Perry | 1,270 acres (514 ha) | Also a designated Reptile and Amphibian Protection Area.[34][35] | |
| Halfway Run Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Union | 407 acres (165 ha) | [11][36] | |
| Hemlocks Natural Area | Tuscarora | Perry | 120 acres (49 ha) | [34][37] | |
| The Hook Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Union | 5,119 acres (2,072 ha) | Encompasses an entire regional watershed.[11][38] | |
| Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area | Tuscarora | Perry | 10 acres (4 ha) | 1967 | Features a rare box huckleberry colony believed to be more than 1,300 years old.[34][39] |
| Jakey Hollow Natural Area | Weiser | Columbia | 59 acres (24 ha) | 1990 | [40][41] |
| Johnson Run Natural Area | Elk | Cameron | 216 acres (87 ha) | [42][43] | |
| Joyce Kilmer Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Union | 77 acres (31 ha) | 1921 | Named after the poet and naturalist.[11][44] |
| Kettle Creek Gorge Natural Area | Loyalsock | Sullivan | 774 acres (313 ha) | 1970 | Traversed by the Loyalsock Trail.[29][45] |
| Lebo Red Pine Natural Area | Tiadaghton | Lycoming | 124 acres (50 ha) | Encompasses an uncommon (for Pennsylvania) unplanted grove of red pines.[6][46] | |
| Little Juniata Natural Area | Rothrock | Huntingdon | 624 acres (253 ha) | [3][47] | |
| Little Mud Pond Swamp Natural Area | Delaware | Pike | 182 acres (74 ha) | Encompasses a boreal swamp.[18][48] | |
| Little Tinicum Island Natural Area | William Penn | Delaware | 80 acres (32 ha) | An island in the Delaware River.[26][49] | |
| Lower Jerry Run Natural Area | Elk | Cameron | 892 acres (361 ha) | [42][50] | |
| Marion Brooks Natural Area | Moshannon | Elk | 975 acres (395 ha) | Named after an area conservationist. Includes one of the largest known stands of white birch trees in the eastern United States.[51][52] | |
| Meeting of the Pines Natural Area | Michaux | Franklin | 611 acres (247 ha) | 1974 | Adjacent to the Penn State Mont Alto campus.[13][53] |
| Miller Run Natural Area | Tiadaghton | Lycoming | 4,992 acres (2,020 ha) | [6][54] | |
| M.K. Goddard/Wykoff Run Natural Area | Elk | Cameron | 1,215 acres (492 ha) | 1965 | Features industrial ruins from nuclear research in the 1950s-60s. Partially renamed in the 2010s as a tribute to Maurice K. Goddard.[42][55] |
| Mount Cydonia Ponds Natural Area | Michaux | Franklin | 183 acres (74 ha) | Encompasses about 60 vernal ponds.[13][56] | |
| Mount Davis Natural Area | Forbes | Somerset | 581 acres (235 ha) | Includes the highest point in Pennsylvania.[57][58] | |
| Mount Logan Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Clinton | 512 acres (207 ha) | Also a designated Reptile and Amphibian Protection Area.[11][59] | |
| Pennel Run Natural Area | Delaware | Pike | 936 acres (379 ha) | [18][60] | |
| Pine Creek Gorge Natural Area | Tioga | Tioga | 12,163 acres (4,922 ha) | 1968 | Also a National Natural Landmark; largest of the State Forest Natural Areas. Traversed by the West Rim Trail and Pine Creek Rail Trail.[16][61] |
| Pine Lake Natural Area | Delaware | Pike | 67 acres (27 ha) | [18][62] | |
| Pine Ridge Natural Area | Buchanan | Bedford | 568 acres (230 ha) | 1970 | Features reclaimed farms and resettlement lands.[63][64] |
| Pine Tree Trail Natural Area | Elk | Elk | 276 acres (112 ha) | Named after an interpretative trail featuring educational exhibits.[42][65] | |
| Reynolds Spring Natural Area | Tioga | Lycoming, Tioga | 1,302 acres (527 ha) | [16][66] | |
| Roaring Run Natural Area | Forbes | Westmoreland | 3,582 acres (1,450 ha) | 1975 | [57][67] |
| Rocky Ridge Natural Area | Rothrock | Huntingdon | 150 acres (61 ha) | [3][68] | |
| Rosencrans Bog Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Clinton | 152 acres (62 ha) | [11][69] | |
| Ruth Zimmerman Natural Area | William Penn | Berks | 33 acres (13 ha) | Named after its former landowner; consists of two tracts.[26][70] | |
| Sheets Island Archipelago Natural Area | Weiser | Dauphin | 70 acres (28 ha) | A series of islands in the Susquehanna River.[40][71] | |
| Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Snyder | 500 acres (202 ha) | 1921 | Includes old growth forest that was scheduled to be logged in 1902.[11][72] |
| Spruce Swamp Natural Area | Pinchot | Lackawanna | 87 acres (35 ha) | Includes a glacial bog.[73][74] | |
| Stillwater Natural Area | Delaware | Pike | 1,931 acres (781 ha) | Traversed by the Thunder Swamp Trail. Originated as a sanctuary for Civil War deserters.[18][75] | |
| Sweet Root Natural Area | Buchanan | Bedford | 1,400 acres (567 ha) | 1921 | Includes old-growth hemlocks demonstrating woolly adelgid damage.[63][76] |
| Tall Timbers Natural Area | Bald Eagle | Snyder | 660 acres (267 ha) | [11][77] | |
| Tamarack Run Natural Area | Loyalsock | Sullivan | 234 acres (95 ha) | [29][78] | |
| Tamarack Swamp Natural Area | Sproul | Clinton | 267 acres (108 ha) | 1998 | Includes a boreal bog.[24][79] |
| Torbert Island Natural Area | Tiadaghton | Lycoming | 18 acres (7 ha) | A large island and smaller nearby islands in Pine Creek.[6][80] |
