Friends of Cowans Gap State Park

Some information on first day hikes! See below!

Beautiful photos of the snowy day at Cowans Gap!

Programming Update: Although Harvest Day has been canceled for this year, we will have other programs and activities going on the weekend of October 16 and 17 h...ere at the park. Here is a list of what is going on: Friday, October 16, 2020 Campfire Tales: Tales of the Harvest Campground Fire Ring 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Attendance Limit: 24 Come hear some ghostly tales of harvest time from the area of the park. Nothing too scary, but be careful, you may just learn something new. Can you tell which ones are true and which ones are made up. Bring a chair or blanket and a snack if you wish. All participants must wear masks when picking up their hike list and should have masks with them while hiking. They will need to maintain social distancing. Families that live under the same roof, may be closer, but should maintain social distance from others not in their group. While on the trails, please let those in front of you finish a station before starting that station to maintain social distancing. Saturday, October 17, 2020 Nature Center Dress-up Day 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm Come visit the Brightbill Interpretive Center (Nature Center) and see what we have. Any children that come in dressed in a costume will get a special treat bag. This will take the place of campground Trick or Treating this year. All Nature Center guidelines must be observed. Protective face masks must be worn in the nature center and you should maintain social distancing. Follow direction arrows on the floor. There is a limit of 25 people in the Nature Center at one time. Fun Trails Day 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm Come to the Nature Center to get directions for some fun educational trails with a Halloween theme. Creepy Critters Trail learn about some of those critters that we think of as creepy, Trick or Treat Animals Trail can you guess the costume of each animal pictured at each stop, Nature’s Tricky Trail Answer the nature related questions at each station, and Sassy’s Trail follow the footprints to find the clues to our mystery creature. All participants must wear masks when picking up their hike list and should have masks with them while hiking. They will need to maintain social distancing. Families that live under the same roof, may be closer, but should maintain social distance from others not in their group. While on the trails, please let those in front of you finish a station before starting that station to maintain social distancing. Creepy Critters Campground Fire Ring 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm Attendance Limit: 24 Come join the park naturalist as he teaches you about some of the creepy critters and why they are not really creepy. Bring a chair or blanket and a snack if you wish. Programs are limited to 24 participants unless otherwise noted. Participants must pre-register by contacting the park office at 717-485-3948. All participants must wear masks during the program and they will need to maintain social distancing. Families that live under the same roof, may be closer, but should maintain social distance from others not in their group Halloween Site Decorating Contest Campgrounds Judging begins at 6:30 pm Once again the Friends of Cowans Gap are sponsoring a site decorating contest for Halloween. Although Harvest Day was canceled, this tradition continues on. Awards will be given for the following categories: Scariest Cutest Most Original Best Cabin

This weekend September 26&27th will be the last weekend that boat rentals and food concession stand will be available for the season. Also the beach will be closing for the season on Wednesday September 30th. We want to thank everyone for a great Season in the park.

Unfortunately due to the state restrictions we have made the difficult decision to cancel our Harvest Day event this year. We will be refunding any vendors who have already paid.