Pennsylvania’s Tick Map Highlights The Counties Around These 12 Wooded Getaways
A trailhead can look completely peaceful while the useful warning is sitting quietly on a county map.
Pennsylvania’s tick map adds another layer to planning wooded getaways, especially when warmer conditions keep ticks active around brush, grass, and shaded paths. It does not make the outdoors less inviting.
It simply gives you one more reason to dress smart, use repellent, and check yourself after the walk.
A little awareness goes a long way when the scenery is calling and the woods look irresistible. My own attitude changed after a hike when I spotted a tick clinging to my sock back at the car.
I remember staring at it longer than necessary, suddenly very interested in every seam of my clothes.
Since then, checking local tick activity has become part of my pre-hike routine, right alongside water and comfortable shoes.
I would much rather spend a moment preparing before a Pennsylvania trail than spend the ride home wondering what might have hitched a ride.
1. Ohiopyle State Park, Fayette County
Whitewater roars through the middle of town here, and the mist alone is worth the drive into the Laurel Highlands.
Ohiopyle State Park spreads across more than twenty thousand acres of Fayette County, with the Youghiogheny River cutting a loud, rocky path right through the center.
Rafters line up at the launch all summer, but the quieter joy is Ferncliff Peninsula, where a loop trail passes plants usually found much farther south.
Ticks favor the brushy edges along the Great Allegheny Passage, so stick to the crushed limestone surface and tuck your pants into your socks if you plan to poke around the grassy shoulders.
Fayette County shows up on state tick maps regularly, which is a good reason to do a careful check before loading up the bikes.
Cucumber Falls sits a short walk from its own parking area, and the sandstone overhang behind the water makes a cool, shady stop on hot afternoons.
Spring brings blooming rhododendron, autumn brings color along the gorge rim, and both seasons keep the trails busy.
Find Ohiopyle State Park at 124 Main Street in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania.
2. Ricketts Glen State Park, Luzerne, Sullivan And Columbia Counties
Twenty-two named waterfalls stack up along one hiking loop, which sounds exaggerated until you count them.
Ricketts Glen State Park straddles Luzerne, Sullivan, and Columbia Counties, and the Falls Trail System drops through a glen of old growth hemlock and pine that never got logged.
Ganoga Falls stands ninety-four feet tall, the biggest of the bunch, and the stone steps near it stay slick even in dry weather.
Footing matters here, so real hiking shoes beat sneakers every time.
All three counties appear on Pennsylvania tick maps, and the leaf litter along the glen is exactly the damp habitat ticks prefer.
Keeping to the center of the trail helps, and a change of clothes waiting in the car helps even more.
Lake Jean anchors the upper part of Ricketts Glen State Park with a swimming beach and boat rentals, giving your legs a break after the descent and climb.
Winter turns the glen into a destination for ice climbers with permits, a strange and beautiful sight.
The park office sits at 695 State Route 487 in Benton, Pennsylvania.
3. Cook Forest State Park, Clarion, Forest And Jefferson Counties
Some of the tallest white pines in the northeast grow here, and looking up makes your neck ache.
Cook Forest State Park covers ground in Clarion, Forest, and Jefferson Counties, and its Forest Cathedral holds trees that were already old when the first sawmills arrived.
The area earned National Natural Landmark status, which explains why the trails through it feel hushed.
Climb the Seneca Point fire tower for a long view over the Clarion River valley, then walk down to the water where paddlers drift past on lazy afternoons.
Ferns crowd the trail edges through summer, and that ground cover is prime tick territory in these three counties.
Permethrin-treated socks and a quick scan behind the knees go a long way.
Cook Forest State Park also maintains an environmental learning classroom and year-round programs for visitors of all ages, useful on days when the weather turns.
Autumn along the Clarion River draws photographers, while quiet weekdays in May belong to birders listening for warblers.
The park entrance is off Route 36 at 100 Route 36 in Cooksburg, Pennsylvania.
4. Worlds End State Park, Sullivan County
The name alone sells the place, and the S-shaped gorge below lives up to it.
Worlds End State Park sits in Sullivan County inside the Loyalsock State Forest, wrapped around a tight bend of Loyalsock Creek where the walls climb steeply on both sides.
Canyon Vista delivers the postcard view, reachable by car on Mineral Spring Road or on foot if you want to earn it.
Rock ledges called the Rock Garden sit near the overlook, and scrambling among them is half the fun.
Sullivan County lands on Pennsylvania tick maps, so the narrow, overgrown sections of the Loyalsock Trail deserve extra attention.
Swimming in the creek at Worlds End State Park happens in a designated natural area, with no lifeguards, and stays bracingly cold.
Rustic cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps still take reservations, which makes a weekend here feel pleasantly old-fashioned.
The park office is at 82 Cabin Bridge Road in Forksville, Pennsylvania.
5. Hickory Run State Park, Carbon County
A field of bare boulders stretches for acres here, left behind by ice age cold.
Hickory Run State Park occupies more than fifteen thousand acres of Carbon County at the southern edge of the Poconos, and its Boulder Field is a National Natural Landmark that looks like nothing else in the state.
Walking across it is slow work, and ankle support is not optional.
Beyond the rocks, forty miles of trails wander past Hawk Falls and through thick stands of hemlock and rhododendron.
Carbon County is included in statewide tick surveillance, and shaded understory near the creeks can provide suitable habitat for ticks locally.
A repellent with picaridin or DEET on exposed skin makes the difference.
Hickory Run State Park keeps a swimming beach at Sand Spring Lake and a large campground that fills fast on summer weekends, so booking early pays off.
Fall colors peak in early October, and the Boulder Field under a clear autumn sky is worth the bumpy drive out.
Look for the park office at 3 Family Camp Road in White Haven, Pennsylvania.
6. Promised Land State Park, Pike County
Historic records identify the land as Promised Land Lots by 1854, decades before the park opened.
Promised Land State Park now protects roughly three thousand acres of Pike County on the Pocono Plateau, sitting about eighteen hundred feet above sea level with two lakes and a whole lot of hemlock.
The official park history does not trace the name to disappointed farmers, despite that popular story.
Paddling Promised Land Lake at sunrise is the main event, and boat rentals sit right at the shoreline.
Pike County is included in statewide tick surveillance, and mixed forest here provides the kind of habitat where blacklegged ticks may occur naturally.
Checking your scalp and waistline after a hike is the smart habit.
Fifty miles of trails thread through Promised Land State Park and the surrounding Delaware State Forest, including the easy Conservation Island loop reached by a small bridge.
Cabins and campsites stay busy, while October empties things out and hands you the lake reflections.
The park sits at 100 Lower Lake Road in Greentown, Pennsylvania.
7. Caledonia State Park, Adams And Franklin Counties
The Appalachian Trail walks straight through this park, and thru-hikers treat it as a welcome pause.
Caledonia State Park sits on the border of Adams and Franklin Counties in the Michaux State Forest, named for the ironmaster’s furnace that once ran here before it was destroyed during the Civil War.
A reconstructed stack still stands near the road.
Chambersburg lies to the west and Gettysburg to the east, making this a natural stop on a history-heavy road trip.
Both counties appear on Pennsylvania tick maps, and the dry oak woods of Michaux are classic habitat for them.
Treating boots and gaiters ahead of time is the move most hikers swear by.
A large swimming pool cools things off in summer at Caledonia State Park, and the golf course next door has been in play for over a century.
Campsites book up on holiday weekends, while quiet October mornings along Conococheague Creek belong to whoever shows up first.
You will find it at 101 Pine Grove Road in Fayetteville, Pennsylvania.
8. French Creek State Park, Berks And Chester Counties
Between Philadelphia and the farmland sits the largest block of unbroken forest in southeast Pennsylvania.
French Creek State Park spans Berks and Chester Counties with almost eight thousand acres, and it borders Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, where an iron-making village from the 1700s still stands.
History and hemlocks in one trip is a fair deal. Mountain bikers know this place well, since the trail network here is some of the best riding within an hour of the city.
Both counties appear on tick maps, and the grassy meadow edges around Hopewell Lake are where trouble hides.
Light-colored pants make spotting a crawler much easier before it finds skin.
Hopewell and Scotts Run Lakes anchor French Creek State Park with fishing, boat rentals, and a swimming pool nearby during summer.
Orienteering courses, disc golf, and a busy campground round out the options, and the park stays open year-round for cross-country skiing when snow cooperates.
Head to 843 Park Road in Elverson, Pennsylvania, to start your visit.
9. Nockamixon State Park, Bucks County
Sailboats lean across a long lake here, with wooded hills rolling off in every direction.
Nockamixon State Park anchors upper Bucks County around Lake Nockamixon, a fourteen-hundred-acre reservoir built for flood control that turned into one of the region’s favorite boating spots.
Motors are limited to small engines, which keeps the water calm and the sailors happy.
A paved bike path crosses the day-use area, and rental boats include kayaks, motorboats, and paddleboards during warm months.
Bucks County is included in tick surveillance, and the brushy trail edges above the lake are typical habitat. Staying mid-trail and doing a tick check in the parking lot handles most of the risk.
Anglers chase muskie and bass across Nockamixon State Park, while equestrians get their own trail miles on the southern side.
Modern cabins sit near the water for overnight stays, and the disc golf course and swimming pool give families something different on a slow Saturday.
The park office is located at 1542 Mountain View Drive in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
10. Ridley Creek State Park, Delaware County
Fifteen miles from Philadelphia, the city noise drops away inside twenty-six hundred wooded acres.
Ridley Creek State Park fills a corner of Delaware County with a paved multi-use trail, stone bridges, and a mansion that once headed a private estate before the state took over in the 1960s.
Runners and stroller-pushers share the loop happily.
The Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation operates inside the park, showing farm life as it looked in the 1760s, complete with heritage animals and hearth cooking.
Delaware County registers on tick maps, and the deer population wandering these woods keeps the cycle going. Walking on pavement lowers your exposure, though the dirt side trails call for socks pulled high.
Trout fishing along the creek draws early spring crowds to Ridley Creek State Park, and the picnic pavilions get reserved for family gatherings all summer long.
Springtime wildflowers along the lower trails put on a quiet show that most visitors walk right past. The park office sits at 1023 Sycamore Mills Road in Media, Pennsylvania.
11. Black Moshannon State Park, Centre County
Tea-colored water gives this lake its name, stained dark by sphagnum bog surrounding it.
Black Moshannon State Park perches on the Allegheny Front in Centre County, about thirty-four hundred acres of park wrapped by more than forty-three thousand acres of Moshannon State Forest.
The bog here is a State Park Natural Area, home to plants that belong much farther north.
A boardwalk crosses part of the wetland, letting you spot pitcher plants and sundews without soaking your shoes.
Centre County makes the tick map, and the shrubby bog margins are the last place you want to bushwhack in shorts. Sticking to the boardwalk is both safer and easier on the plants.
Black Moshannon State Park rents boats in summer and keeps a swimming beach on the lake, while winter brings cross-country skiers to snow-covered forest roads.
Rustic cabins built in the 1930s still stand near the water, and the dark skies overhead make stargazing here surprisingly good. The park office is at 4216 Beaver Road in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
12. Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Cumberland County
Thru-hikers stop here to eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting, on purpose.
Pine Grove Furnace State Park sits in Cumberland County within the Michaux State Forest, and it marks roughly the halfway point of the Appalachian Trail, which is why that odd tradition took hold at the general store.
The Appalachian Trail Museum occupies a restored grist mill nearby. Fuller Lake fills an old iron ore quarry, and its deep green water makes for a memorable swim.
Cumberland County appears on state tick maps, and the ridge trails climbing toward Pole Steeple run through dense understory.
Pulling socks over pant cuffs looks goofy and works beautifully.
The stone furnace stack at Pine Grove Furnace State Park dates to the 1700s, when this valley turned out iron for the young country.
Camping, biking the rail trail, and the short but steep climb to Pole Steeple overlook fill a weekend easily.
The address is 1100 Pine Grove Road in Gardners, Pennsylvania.