Today I woke up before sunrise and headed out for a walk around Jacobsburg State Park* in Nazareth. Jacobsburg State Park offers a 19 mile network of trails ranging from deciduous forest to open fields and streams. Its diverse habitats host many species of butterflies, birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians.

Today I was interested in photographing the early morning light in Henry’s Woods, an old growth forest consisting of tall stands of hemlock and white oak.

I arrived at the main parking lot off Belfast Road around 6:30 am. There was only one other car in the lot as I began my walk along the wide dirt path leading into Henry’s Woods. The forest was dark but rays of morning sunlight pierced through the trees making for some interesting light. The great Hemlock and White Oak trees towered above my head. The air was humid but cool as I meandered alongside Bushkill Creek taking photos of the lush greenery and the wildflowers. At the end of the Henry’s Woods Trail I reached a fork and followed it northeast to the Jacobsburg Trail which crosses over Belfast Road and onto a wide, grassy path. I followed along the Jacobsburg Trail which runs parallel to highway 33 until it turns southwest and crosses over a bridge above Engler’s Run Creek. I went a little too far and ended up at the parking area on State Park Road. There are a lot of interconnecting trails within the park, and it can get confusing. But if you have a general sense of direction and a map (which you can find at the main parking lot kiosk), you’ll figure out where you are. From here I backtracked and veered off the wide path to explore one of the overgrown use trails that lead down to Engler’s Run Creek. There wasn’t a good spot to ford the creek (unless you were on horseback), so I went back up the path and did a lollipop loop back onto the Jacobsburg Trail and eventually back through Henry’s Woods. By this time it was around 8 am and joggers and dog walkers were making their way onto the trails. It was a lovely morning to spend a few hours enjoying the quiet hours of the park.

*A quick little history about Jacobsburg: In 1792 William Henry II purchased land at Jacobsburg and built a gun manufactory. Henry II acquired the land from the heirs of Jacob Hubler who founded the community which is now called Jacobsburg. The famous Henry rifle was once crafted here, and the Henry family’s small arms industry played an important role in the American Industrial Revolution.