"Commuters Guide Volume 3"
<<SARCASM DISCLOSURE...However, all the paddling information is true.>>
Summers in Pennsylvania signal heavy traffic, accidents on
our major highways, as well as lane closures and detours while PennDOT repairs the
roads. A beautiful and refreshing alternative to I-81, PA-39 and US-22 is the Swatara
Creek. You can hop on as north as Pine Grove, Pennsylvania and float past
Jonestown, Hershey, Hummelstown, Middletown and even further south to Goldsboro
via the Susquehanna River. Summer also indicates vacation time, and this creek
offers many sights to see while you use this waterway as the throughway to your
vacation spot—whether a campground, amusement park or to fly to another
destination.
Thinking about the name of this creek might make you hungry. Swatara is derived from a Susquehannock word which means “where we feed on eels.” So pick up your kayak, life vest, paddle and eel trap today! Well, unfortunately today this creek doesn’t have has many eels so bring snacks instead of the trap.
In fact, in August 1, 2016 DEP declared Swatara Creek (along
with the Susquehanna River and the Conodoguinet Creek) impaired for recreation
and aquatic life. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying the waterways. It’s
mostly a warning for fish (or eel) consumption. Let’s hope DEP, the businesses
and community surrounding these waterways support taking measures to return
these waterways to being healthy so we and generations after us can enjoy them
and their bounty.
The Swattie originates in the Appalachian Mountains in central Schuylkill County, approximately five miles west of Minersville. A railroad branch of the now Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad follows the creek into Tremont. This creek was clearly convenient for transporting anthracite to cities in the 19th century.
In addition to seeing farms, forested riparian buffers and
some civilization, especially around towns like Hummelstown, sights to
soak in on this creek include the Swatara State Park, the abandoned Lebanon to
Tremont railroad bridge, Harper's Tavern, limestone outcrops, the only
lava deposits in the state, Middle to Hummelstown railroad bridge, TMI in the distance and Union Canal locks. I have a little more on the canal at the end of the blog.
The Route
There are two dams that are hindrances with terrible portages so I broke the
creek into three sections.
Sections, Gauges & Water Levels
- Section A (Pine Grove to Rt. 22) To start at Pine Grove, Harper
Tavern should be over 2.5’; To get through Swatara State Park, Inwood should be
3.25’.
- Section B (Jonestown to Boat House Road Park in Hershey) For the stretch between Jonestown to Water Works, Inwood should be 2.85’ and Harper Tavern should be 0.85’; For Water Works to Boat House Road Park, Harper Tavern should be at 2.1’.
- Section C (South Hanover Park in Hershey to Goldsboro) For the stretch from Hershey to Middletown, Hershey should be 2.0 (For Fulling Mill to Middletown, you can get away with Hershey at 1.90’ as long as the Susquehanna is over 4’).
Commute Times (and vacation ideas)
These times are based on proper water conditions, great
weather, no headwind and you are paddling the whole time.
- Coming from Pine Grove to stay at the campground in Lickdale will take you almost 4.5 hours.
- If you live in Jonestown and work/visit The Hotel Hershey, you will paddle a beautiful section of 22.5 miles in seven hours.
- Maybe you live in Ono (put-in at Water Works) and work at Fort Indiantown Gap (take -out at Harper Tavern). The paddle would only take you to 1.5 hours.
- If you live in Hummelstown and work at TE Connectivity in Middletown, you are looking at a commute of less than two hours—not bad unless you have to wear a suit because you are bound to get splashed at Fiddler’s Elbow.
- Jonestown dwellers can visit Hollywood Casino in about 4.5 hours and then continue to Hershey Park in less than two hours.
Wildlife You Might See
- Bald Eagle
- Great Blue Herons
- Green Herons
- Mallard Ducks
- Wood Ducks
- Snapping Turtles
- Box Turtles
About the Swatara and the Union Canal
The historical significance of the Swattie is quite interesting.
In 1690, William Penn proposed to build a canal to connect the Susquehanna and
Delaware valleys in southeastern Pennsylvania. The notion stood idle for nearly
a century until the discovery of anthracite in the northern Susquehanna valley
motivated Philadelphia businessmen to push for feeding commercial traffic away
from Baltimore, a rival shipping port and to their city. The Pennsylvania
General Assembly chartered two companies, and construction began in 1792 with
President George Washington breaking ground and shoveling the initial load. By
1828, 36 years later, the canal was open for business.
The Union Canal turned its focus to connecting the Susquehanna
to the Schuylkill because another canal had already taken over the Schuylkill
passage into Philadelphia. Middletown was the western terminus, allowing
products to avoid follow the Susquehanna down to the Chesapeake Bay, and
Reading was the eastern terminus at the Schuylkill River. Four years later in
1832, in an area called Union Water Works, south of Ono, a 22-mile branch was
built along the Swattie heading north to Pine Grove and serving as a feeder for
the summit level. The businessmen of Philadelphia reaped financial benefits of
this canal with the transport of anthracite from the mountains down to
Philadelphia. We benefit by seeing remnants of this canal all along the creek.
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