Rail Gap Nature Preserve

Rail Gap Nature Preserve includes Pocono Creek in 61.5-acres of a section of the Pocono Creek with Class A wild trout waters. It’s clean and cold enough to support naturally reproducing trout populations. Its forests boast thickets of old-growth rhododendron, colonies of spring wildflowers, and wetland habitats for wood frogs and salamanders. It holds groves of Pennsylvania’s state tree, the Eastern Hemlock.

Rail Gap Nature Preserve rests on the Hamilton-Stroud township line just south of Bartonsville. It’s in an area called Arlington Heights. The property features many interesting landmarks, including a path of the old Wilkes-Barre & Eastern (WB&E) Railroad, which transported coal, ice, and passengers between Wilkes-Barre and Stroudsburg from 1893 to the 1930s.

You’ll find an abundance of small marine fossils, dating back approximately 400 million years. Boots and a hiking stick suggested. Catch-and-release fishing is permitted with a Pa Fishing License.