Fossil Trail Loop
Trail names: Fossil Trail
Location: Pocono Environmental Education Center, 538 Emery Road, Dingmans Ferry, PA
Permitted uses: Hiking, Nature Study
Prohibited uses: Motor vehicles and bicycles are prohibited. No collection of fossils.
Hours: Trails are open every day from Dawn to Dusk. The Education Center is open from 8:30am to 4:30pm every day with the exception of major holidays.
Fees and Parking: There is no fee to park or use the trails at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC). There is ample parking at the Center and spaces reserved for Handicap access.
Pets: Dogs are allowed on the trails as long as they are leashed and their owners clean up after them.
Accessibility: The Pocono Environmental Education Center is wheelchair accessible, but this trail was not.
Hiker amenities: There is a large map and information kiosk installed near the Center’s sign in a small grassy section next to the parking area. There is another map at the side of the entrance to the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) with Trail guides available. Inside the Center there is another map and Bilingual Trail Guides ( English and Spanish) are available. If you take a trail guide, a donation of 50 cents per guide is suggested or you may return them at the end of your hiking adventure. There are restrooms, trash receptacles and water inside the Center. Trash bins and recycling bins are stationed at the start of the Fossil Trail off of Campus Drive. The trail guide is not just a map, it's also an educational interpretive guide.
Length and Trail information: The trail was hiked as a loop, is approximately 1.8 miles long and was an easy hike with some moderate sections where there were changes in elevation. The Trail is marked by Blue trail blazes.
We would recommend that all hikers take one of the PEEC’s Interpretive Trail Guides with them to enjoy the 15 designated stops that are explained in the guide. The trail guide is also useful because this trail has an odd termination point at the Camp’s Amphitheatre that is not clearly marked how to get back to the parking area.Hikers will either need to turn around and do the hike as an “out and back” hike, or finish the hike by walking on the roads through the PEEC campground like we did.
The hike begins by taking Campus Drive and following it behind the PEEC a short distance where they will find the trailhead. Be on the lookout for a bench and the recycling and trash bins that are near the entrance. The trailhead is shared by the Fossil Trail and the Tumbling Waters trail, so hikers will see both Blue and Orange blazes for a while until the trails split.
The trail is well marked, traveled often and easy to follow. The 15 educational markers also help to mark the trail. If you take a trail guide, you will enjoy the different stops and learn about the geology and information about the history and biology of the area. The trail substrate is not difficult, and the areas where there is a change in elevation are not long or steep. The trail has some switchbacks that help with the ascent/descent. There was plenty of shade provided by the thick canopy of trees in this lovely mixed forest.
Because of the trail name, I was expecting to see a lot of interesting fossils here. There was only one area where they were pointed out. It was still a nice hike and it was great to be out in nature, but the lack of fossils left me a bit disappointed. So definitely take a trail guide along with you because it will add a lot more to this short little hike.
