This idyllic spot was only ever meant as a temporary fix for us, but taught us many invaluable lessons.
Originally, we were waiting on a cute campground on the eastern shore where I envisioned eating crabs on my birthday at their private beach. The campground asked us to provide state approval to rent us a site. Any current long term renters were still there, short term vacationers were not permitted, but we were in the gray zone. As we waited patiently for a response from the governor’s office (which apparently really does happen), Governor Hogan announces what became a huge bomb for us, blowing up all our plans. Camping would open the following day, even before Phase 1. As recreational camping re-opened, campgrounds were honoring their previously made summer plans and it left us scrambling.
I‘m not sure how many campgrounds we researched and called, they all became a blur on my scribbled paper. We were particular and wanted to ensure we could remain at a distance from others and have room for the girls to run.
At first, visions of “boondocking” in a Walmart parking lot or highway rest stop for Memorial Day swirled through my head. I’m not completely opposed to this, but it seemed like “a lot” for our first weekend camping away from our driveway. We ordered a generator and there was a bit of nail biting in between the exhausting toll of packing and hauling our stuff to storage. When John found a campground with electricity in northern PA, I was pretty relieved. We didn’t need water or sewer for just a weekend. I could “rough” it for a few days. I am sure God was just chuckling listening to our plans.
Our first glimmer of Lyman Run State Park was late at night as we were towed, all eyes on us, into our campsite. We quickly realized that “roughing” it included no cellular or WiFi.
When we woke in the morning, we were greeted by a truly exquisite view. Nestled at the top of a hill, we could see a woodland tapestry of deciduous and non-deciduous trees, “fluffy” moss (Riley’s words), rolling hills and a beautiful clear sky. We were situated in the “lower” campground which was pet friendly. It was also the “ATV campground.” The grass between our campsite and our neighbor had an abundance of four leaf clovers and Kaeli literally picked over a hundred during our time there. Riley was also elated to find some. Kaeli called this campground the “lucky site” for this reason. We learned that state parks are an affordable way to camp and offer some of the most beautiful natural sites. If you don’t need all the frills of camping (i.e. KOA or Jellystone), which we are avoiding, this is definitely the way to go. One negative is that they often only have electrical hook-ups. I’ve resigned myself that sewage hook-up is not really that big of a deal; however, running water for washing hands, toilet flushing, cooking, and showers is a pretty significant issue. Our tank can fill up to provide us access to everything except bathing for approximately three days. Personal hygiene is important to me which makes this challenging. We had a nice neighbor, ”Randy” who connected his water hoses to ours so we had a shower while we were there. Unfortunately, a fill up only lasts 1.5-2 showers for us and there are 4 of us. Lyman Run State Park does have shower facilities and they were, surprisingly, open, but we are avoiding public use facilities due to our high risk with the virus. Some state parks do not offer shower facilities or restrooms.
Over the weekend, we took two short hikes in the woods (I still was pretty limited in distance by my foot). Ginny, still technically a foster named Lily at this point, took to camping life right away. She loves all the smells of the forest and cuddling on a lap in front of the fire. Her first hike was no exception. The kids and the dog ran ahead, exploring every stream, creature (lots of frogs or toads, insects ... we even saw a chimpmunk hanging out in a log on our second hike), and fallen tree.
After moving on, we returned to discover the best of Lyman Run Park.
History of the park
The park itself spans an area that is just shy of 600 luscious acres. Major Lyman was awarded the original area as payment for his service during the Revolutionary War. He was believed to be one of the first settlers in Potter County. The land has an interesting history, used to move lumber throughout the county under various ownership over the years with migrant workers and German Prisoners of War living in cabins on the parkland. In the 1920s, the state of Pennsylvania purchased the parkland from private owners. The dam was built in 1951 and replaced in 2009.
On our first trip to the lake, we set out on a beautiful trip hiking in the forest around the lake. The path was bumpy and rough, but the woodland views were beautiful. We hiked with the water visible through a thin line of trees for awhile until stopping for a snack (to allow a large group to pass) and turning back. The kids found a large stick for John to carry which I ended up using as a walking stick to steady my balance (there is something funny about balance when your big toe is off). Riley found a special walking stick who she named “Wendy” (more on the stick later). There is something so peaceful about the sounds of the woods, birds, rustling noises, the happy voices of the kids coupled with the cool breeze and the steady pumping of a puppy’s tail.
When we made it back to the beginning of the trail, the kids climbed down the side of the dam to some fo the fishing areas, “fishing” by scooping up water and minnows in an empty cheez-it bag and a small lunch plastic bag. John and I laid down at the top of the dam in the soft grass. I relaxed for about 3 minutes before announcing that I had relaxed and wasn’t sure what to do next. This whole “teaching myself to be calm“ thing is a tall order. John suggested that I look at the clouds which turned into a fun game of naming the images we saw in the clouds. I haven’t done anything like that since I was a child. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Riley fell in the water before we left; I’m sensing a theme here. She was also very excited to find a fishing line as she has fishing aspirations.
As we were leaving, the kids saw a family fishing on the other side of the dam by the little creek. They begged to go explore, so I promised to bring them back the next day. I felt super prepared, packing something for me to sit on, a bowl and dog treats for Ginny, plenty of water and snacks, my keyboard, and ear phones. We had an amazing time. Kids are meant to enjoy the fresh air, get a little dirty (in my kids’ case, this always equates to getting very wet), and explore nature.
I finished writing, listened to some music, read a little bit, and started writing in my journal, basking in the feel of the sun on my skin when I heard a scream. Riley had decided that she was going “up” the “mini-waterfall” (pictured above — in reality, it was just a stronger current going over a few rocks several feet high). The water, of course, was stronger than she was, catching her off guard and sweeping her up. She went under and I hesitated. This is one of those parent moments where you have to make fast, important decisions. I had the dog leash in one hand and no way of securing Ginny if I jumped in the water. Riley has taken survival swimming lessons and is pretty confident in the water. I gave her a minute. She quickly resurfaced, screaming, and I told her to “swim,” It was interesting watching the light turn on in her mind as she realized she could handle the situation herself. She treaded water for a minute, now being carried forward slowly this time, then smiled, announcing, “I can stand here.” Later recall of the story (by Riley) included a grand waterfall and a near drowning. :)
The kids came up with a back story that the dam was really an old parking lot that had been overcome by water. They seemed to have difficulty accepting that it was just a dam on our way out. Ginny enjoyed herself, chewing on sticks, walking along some high grass, and finding her prize, a frog skeleton which she munched for a minute before I retrieved it and threw it far away, much to her dismay. Riley fell on the rocks on our way up. The dog knocked Kaeli over when going up the hill, so Kaeli had to help Riley limp up the steep incline of the rocks, then the grass. Despite Riley’s debacles, the kids and I had an amazing time and we finally retreated, soaked and happy.
While I don’t think I would want to go back to this region of PA again because of my experience being stranded there, Lyman Run State Park was definitely a true gem among the Pennsylvania Wilds that we truly enjoyed.