The Black Moshannon State Park is smack-dab in the center of Pennsylvania. It shares much of the history of so many other preserved natural areas in the state, in that the region suffered horribly from clearcutting and deforestation before the Civilian Conservation Corps of the Depression era replanted before the park’s founding in 1937.
The park is named after the Black Moshannon creek, which gets its distinct colors from tannins in the soil. Home to a wide variety of birds and plant wildlife, the park’s central lake and bog are at about 1,900 feet elevation, giving it a special ecological niche. The Lenape American Indian tribe word “Moshannon” means “Elk River Place”.
