Looking back a month later, one regret I have about my visit to Worlds End State Park is that I didn’t go into the water. Not on my backpacking trip, and not during my other days along the Loyalsock. I don’t know why. The park has a small swimming and wading beach near the Visitor Center, complete with a bathhouse and snack stand. I could have changed and waded into the stream. Carefully of course, as Pennsylvania State Parks no longer employ lifeguards, and all water use is at your own risk. That said, the beach is at a pool formed by a bend in the creek, and the wading area is fenced off from the rest of the creek.
After getting wet, I could have had lunch along the creek. Between the snack stand and the Visitor Center are a series of creekside benches and pavilions. As I walked along the creek on Friday afternoon people were arriving for the weekend, and families were playing with frisbees and setting out meals. Â Meanwhile the Loyalsock flowed on, as its done for thousands of years, carving out the canyon I’d spent the past four night in.
I said goodbye to the creek, and headed back to my car. I headed west, finally stopping before dark at a motel in downtown Mansfield. I could have spent another week at Worlds End, but I had places I had to go. I do know I will be back.