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Nearby Attractions to French Creek State Park

Information about French Creek State Park’s nearby attractions is available from the Reading and Berks County Visitors Bureau and the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

Explore the Area

There are numerous charming communities surrounding the park, including Birdsboro and Warwick, and larger towns like Morgantown and Pottstown. In each you will find unique eateries and shops to explore.

Learn about some of the area businesses and things to do from the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Nearby State Parks and Forests

French Creek State Park is close to several state parks and one state forest, where visitors can enjoy recreation, education, and other activities.

William Penn State Forest

Named for the founder of “Penn’s Woods,” William Penn State Forest contains 1,683 acres in 10 separate tracts across south eastern Pa. The forest protects and conserves unique Pennsylvania ecosystems, including Goat Hill Serpentine Barrens and Little Tinicum Island on the Delaware River.
The forest is popular for fishing, hunting, and sightseeing.

Marsh Creek State Park

The 1,727-acre Marsh Creek State Park is in the rolling hills of north central Chester County. The park contains the 535-acre Marsh Creek Lake, which is a wonderful resource for fishing, sailing, and migrating waterfowl. Other recreational activities include hiking, mountain biking, picnicking, and hunting.

Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center

The Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center encompasses more than 665 acres of deciduous woodlands and coniferous plantations. A network of trails makes the center’s streams, ponds, and diverse habitats accessible to both students and visitors.

Teaching stations offer places for students to work and benches for those who wish to sit and enjoy the sights and sounds associated with the natural world.

Evansburg State Park

Evansburg State Park is in southcentral Montgomery County between Norristown and Collegeville. Evansburg offers a significant area of green space and relative solitude in an urbanized area.

Its main natural feature, the Skippack Creek, has dissected the land into ridges and valleys that create feelings of enclosures and provide scenic views. Popular recreational activities include hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking, fishing, hunting, golfing, softball, and camping. 

Norristown Farm Park

One of the most unique parks in the Pennsylvania state park system, the 690-acre Norristown Farm Park is a working farm in continuous use since colonial times. Here you will find hiking trails, a trout nursery, picnic areas, separate forest areas of mixed oak and other deciduous trees, flood plain, old farm fields, working fields, wetlands, and two streams. There are 15 historic buildings on the property, the earliest dating from 1764.

Other Nearby Outdoor Spaces and Natural Places

There are several other nearby outdoor spaces and natural places near French Creek State Park:

  • The Schuylkill River is not far from the park, as is the Birdsboro Preserve with trails and great wildlife habitat. The Monocacy Hill Recreation Area and Crow’s Nest Preserve are also within minutes of the park, providing ample room to explore outdoors.
  • State Game Lands 43 is located about three miles southeast of the park, the 1,800 acres of public land is open for hunting. A public firing range is at the end of Laurel Road.
  • The Daniel Boone Homestead is a historical site in nearby Birdsboro. It tells the story of Daniel Boone’s youth in Pennsylvania’s Oley Valley. The site illuminates the daily lives of the regions 18th-century settlers through the eyes of the Boone, Maugridge, and DeTurk families that lived there.

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

Located adjacent to the park is a cold-blast furnace restored to its 1830s appearance. Hopewell Furnace serves as an example of an early American ironmaking community. Ore for the furnace was obtained from the local area.

The iron produced was used to make many items including arms used by American patriots during the Revolutionary War period. The air needed to keep the furnace burning was provided by bellows powered by a huge water wheel that gathered its strength from the waters of French Creek.

During summer months, costumed historical interpreters demonstrate, describe and tell the story of Hopewell’s iron-making years (1771-1883). Hopewell Furnace is open to the public daily, from 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., throughout the year, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

For more information, contact:

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
2 Mark Bird Lane
Elverson, PA 19520
610-582-8773

Pennsylvania Heritage Areas

Heritage Areas protect, enhance, and promote Pennsylvania’s historic, natural, cultural, and scenic resources.

The Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area is Pennsylvania’s first designated Scenic River. It has been instrumental in shaping the nation’s heritage for more than 300 years, playing an important role in three revolutions: the American, Industrial, and Environmental.