After our initial visit to the Bear Creek Seven Tubs Recreational Area saw me turned away, I…read moredecided to explore the Bear Creek Preserve. I was already all set with sunscreen and bug spray, and I wasn't about to let my drive go to waste. The preserve offers several trails that are open to everyone. I chose the red trail, which was about 4 miles long. It wasn't too challenging, but the rocky terrain means wear sturdy shoes. As you walk, you'll find plenty of sights and photo spots, along with a few benches for a quick rest. This Preserve is great whether you're going solo or with a group. Just make sure you're prepared for the walk. It can be quite tiring, but it's definitely worth it!

Great place to get out and visit nature. Falls, views and creeks. It's a moderate to easy hike…read morethrough the mountains. The trails are well marked.

Moon Lake is so beautiful and peaceful. I spent the summer going up here when I needed to be alone…read morewith my thoughts. It's usually really quiet. The geese, however, are nosy as hell, and will try to steal your food and get into your business.

Favorite mountain biking in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Extensive, singletrack trail system…read more Dedicated volunteers quickly remove fallen trees, blow leaves off the trails. Super popular place to ride.

Was a bit disappointed the bog wasn't accessible without advance registration with a guide and in…read moreseason. A field trip was coincidentally at the bog parking when we pulled up and he kindly explained. There was a port a potty there. The two trails on the property are open to the public but were easy to miss on the road. There is a picture of the trails at the bog parking, but not one online, so you should either snap a pic or download a trail guide app, both of which weren't ideal. So we picked the north woods trail, where there is a small pull off area for only a couple of cars max. There are allegedly 2 loops according to the map, but we only saw markers for one so not sure where they could have diverged. At one point the trail takes a hard turn, and after that there were no more markers. We used the app to make sure we hadn't gone off trail, but we were good, just not enough blazes. Wasn't too much to see in early spring, but it was quiet and flat-levelled, so it was pretty easy to do. Nothing too noteworthy on the path and it was only like a mile or so. It was fine. Would like to plan ahead and see when the bog is available if there is anything to see in there.

Do your research before you come here! You can only trek onto the boardwalk over the bog on…read moreWednesdays and certain Sundays, I think. Sadly, I was here on a Saturday. There are 2 trails off of Bog Road though. The lower one that walks by the bog was too damp/waterlogged to continue into but the one to the north was dry and very serene. The trails were a bit hard to find and the markers seemed to have disappeared halfway into the hike, so my friend and I had to turn back.

NATURE CENTER I read…read moreonline about this nature center and decided to have a hike here for AMC DV chapter. This place is a great place to see some of the old relics like mining industry, railroad routes, etc. The nature center itself has a bathroom and trail guides before going on your hike. As the volunteer about any trail closures, I was told that the Delaware-Lehigh trail was closed due to construction. Hours for the nature center are 9-3 daily. Great place to fill up on water before hiking out. TRAILS We took the Lehigh-New England trail to the end and then returned back by the Chestnut Oak and Prairie Grass trails. The more scenic and challenging route is the way back. Alot of rock scrambling and great views of the old relics mentioned before. You get a great view of the Winter trail which looks challenging with its zig-zag path up the Blue Mountain. I guess we'll try that next time...

Beautiful trails and views of mystical half-dead mountains. Could imagine tumbleweed and cacti but…read moredidn't have to imagine for long for there was much beauty to behold - a river, little streams trickling down the mountain side, a vulture circling the sky above. I like this place. I feel like I'm somewhere very far away, like Arizona or Utah, even though I can still see the top of the church in Palmerton.

I submitted a form to book for a river tubing experience a month or so before the date. I didn't…read moreget any response back and called few weeks before to try to get confirmation. Chris picked up and said he would give me a call later in the week to get payment info and book for the date. I didn't hear back once again and called a week before the date. Again he said he was driving and would call me back that night. Nothing--i have not the faintest idea on why I never got a call back to confirm payment and date. The only thing I could think of and didn't want to resort to that reason was racism. I'm so glad that I didn't book with this place and found another who was more accommodating and actually booking for the event was not as archaic as a phone call to get payment. Instead, I was able to book online with another and got the river tubing experience that we wanted. I highly recommend Extreme Adventure Travel Outfitters instead of this place. Stay clear away from Luna Tubing.

Family of 12 visiting the Poconos looking for fun things to do, and friends recommended tubing down…read morethe river at Luna Rafting. With some smaller kids and some grandparents it's not always easy finding something that everyone enjoys, but we all had a blast. We picked a dam release date so the river was a bit quicker. Parking was easy, and they shuttle you back at the end, so pretty convenient. The process getting tubes and jumping in the river was organized well, and everyone was friendly. We had some with us worried the river might be too cold, but once you got into the water it really wasn't bad at all (temp was high 70s-80 on a date in late August). We chose a bunch of single tubes and some of us got doubles, which all worked well. Can't wait to do this again next summer!

Very fortunate to have this escape in the township. I come here several times per week. Easy flat…read moretrail from 512 to jacobsburg park. During peak times it gets a lot of use. Otherwise you'll feel like you have it to yourself. Pet friendly. Please pick up! :-)

Visited this shop when I was looking for a fishing rod. The employee was very helpful and…read moreknowledgeable.Highly recommended. Even caught my first ever fish!

I find this place really helpful when I need to grab a quick somthing but I think the stuff is a…read morelittle overpriced and the care for the minnows is horrible and my last experience was the only bad one I've had I'm putting some minnows in my bait bucket to buy like it said and then the owner came over and yelled at me saying to not bet the fish in a rude voice and loud and then I said I was going to buy some very nicely then she said no. Extra stress kills the fish when u net them when everyone can see the 25 dead ones floating on the surface with the absolute horrible conditions they were living in she said you'll pay 1st and then you'll BUY a A bucket and I'll net them for u even tho I already bought a bait bucket there earlier and brought it back most rude and offle customer service I've ever encountered

Tuscarora State Park has all the classic elements which make the PA state park system arguably the…read morebest in the United States. * Over 250 picnic tables and two pavilions which can be reserved up to 11 months in advance. (Although for the sake of full disclosure, a fair number of the picnic tables not in or around the pavilion areas are buried in the trees/bushes and are in various stages of disrepair.) * A sand beach and lake swimming available from May-September. * A boat launch and seasonal boat rentals for fishing on Tuscarora Lake. * 1,100 of the park's 1,600 acres are open for deer, pheasant, rabbit, squirrel, turkey, grouse and dove hunting. * Six camping cottages and four yurts which can be reserved up to 11 months in advance. * About eight miles of hiking trails of which most are pancake flat but parts of the Spirit of Tuscarora Trail and Locust Mountain Trail can get steep but the diversity of the terrain, trees, flowers and water here is amazing. The Sunday that we visited found the beach and picnic areas to be very busy as well as the boat rentals but in the four hours we were on various hiking trails we only saw two other people so my take is that like at most PA state parks the hiking end of things is more or less ignored. As a brief bit of FYI trivia, the park got it's name as a tribute to the Tuscarora Indians who by legend supposedly inhabited the Locust Valley area including the land that the park is on for a brief time during the 18th century. Most of trees in and around the park are not original to the area as the area was almost fully deforested during the early 20th century by logging operations. The dam which created Tuscarora Lake was built in the 1960's and the park opened in 1971. While not my favorite state park, Tuscarora provided a great visit and hopefully we'll be back for a visit or two in the not too distant future.

Yurt camping to remember, Tuscarora State Park, Pa.,…read more Reservations were made in late February, 2014, for $114 for the 2 day weekend. Our camping dates were for May 30th and 31st, and this was the last day of spring that they allowed the weekend only bookings. Check their website for booking Yurts, and Cabins during the summer, or off season. We had Yurt #1, and it appears that we picked the right one for us. It has good tree shade much of the day, with the sun on the yurt for about 3.5 hours. The yurts sleep 5, a very nice kitchen with a 4 burner stove, a 5' refrigerator, but no water or sink. A sturdy table with 4 great chairs, a skylight that opens 6 inches, a fire extinguisher, smoke alarm, 2 windows and a solid lockable front door. Also cleaning gear in case it gets dirty, and a hardwood floor. To beat the heat, bring along a 10' by 10' canopy/gazebo (light tan, silver or white color) to give you an outdoor shelter, away from the heat. In talking to barb, she agreed that maybe 2 - 10' x 10' shelters would be best. Keep in mind that the Yurt is about 20 feet across, and that the deck is about 34' x 34'. Bring along a box fan that can be tilted, and has 3 speeds. With everyone under the shelter, it will help you cool off. Look for our attached photos. #1 Yurt - sun from about 11 a.m. to about 3 p.m. Trees on 3 sides, with yurt #2 up on the right side. #2 Yurt - mostly sun all day, and it get a bit hot. Trees on back side, and other yurts down to the left and up to the right. #3 Yurt - some shade during the day, morning to the early afternoon. Trees to the rear, and a yurt to the left and to the right. #4 Yurt - gets mostly all day shade. There is a water pumping station nearby, that makes a slight humming noise. Basically a forest on 3 sides, and a Yurt to the left. For us, the hum would not be a problem. We would take along a tilting box fan for inside the yurt at night, or outside as we sit in our chairs. (a smaller wall fan is already mounted in the Yurts.) For all of our camping trips, one of these fans are essential for better sleep, cooling hot afternoons, filtering out evening noise, or let the kids use it as a super bubble machine. Just have them hold the wand in front of the outgoing fan air, and watch their eyes get big. For all 4 yurts, the bathrooms are just 30 to 50 feet away. The outside bathroom doors are very quiet. There are no changing bench in the showers. In the bathroom, it is hard to press the wall button, to flush the toilets. I can barely do it, my wife can't do it, and neither can kids. As for getting potable water? On the outside of the bathroom you will find a double wash station, for cleaning your dishes. That cold water faucet provided us with some of the finest, purest, clear cold water that we've ever seen. Walking past Yurt #4, you can make a right turn, and follow the wide dirt path that takes you to the swimming area, the concession stand, and boat rentals for the lake. Along that dirt road, you will see smaller paths leading down to the lake's edge. Over several years, I caught and released many fish in those early morning hours. As for the Yurts, you are allowed to drive up to its entrance location, drop off the items and people that you brought, and turn around and park your vehicle in the first parking lot that you come to. Note - at the end of that first parking lot is a large children's playground. As for Latino families? Living in Allentown, PA, we have put up with some of the worst that they have to offer. They were the reason we left center city, and moved to the outskirts. But, I must say this........there was a group of Latino's staying in Yurts 2 and 3 for Friday night. 7 kids total, and 5 adults, and they were the most respectful group that we have ever encountered. Music was played softly, no yelling back and forth, nothing destructive, no car alarms, and the children behaved like children. The only issue we had was on Friday evening, and that was because the smells from their grilled ribs, chicken, burgers and hot dogs were driving us crazy. And because of this, we gave that family group a 5 star rating. Store and Food places in town and nearby. Walmart, the Beacon Restaurant, Rita's, and McDonalds are all near the same location just north of Tamaqua, on Rt. 309. I was also told that in Tamaqua, PA, near the 5 points intersection, is a really good Italian restaurant. Read the rules about going out at night, and coming back late. The gates are closed at night, and you might have to park a little further away. Also, a golf course is less than a half mile away. And for the final tip? If you are interested in a cabin? Numbers 1, 2, and 3, (which are just on the other side of the bathrooms) have their front porches facing the lake. Take the time to go to Tuscarora State Park, and look at the locations of the Yurts/Cabins that meets your needs. We hope that we have been of some help. Cosmo