by Bart Beck.
It’s that time of year again. The time when you break out your shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops, and sandals. It’s time for barbeque and baseball, picnics, swimming and fishing. Luckily, here in the Centre region, we have a park that can provide all of that. Pack some food, grab your friends, and load the games; it’s time to head on down to Spring Creek Park.
Spring Creek Park is a large community park run by Centre Region Parks and Rec. It’s located in the town of Houserville and is just a short drive or bicycle ride from downtown State College. Just head down College Avenue towards Bellefonte and Pleasant Gap and take a left on Puddingtown Road or Houserville Road. After the left turn, just keep an eye out for Spring Creek Park signs. Once there, you’ll have a multitude of activities to take part in.
Let’s start our look of Spring Creek Park with the namesake of the park, Spring Creek. A clean, beautiful, spring fed stream. You can pack some fishing gear or water shoes and swimming trunks and you’ll have hours of cool relaxing fun ahead of you. The stream is full of natural brown trout that would make any fisherman happy to land.
If water activities aren’t your thing, there are plenty of other features to take advantage of. You’ll find space or dedicate fields for a variety of activities, including: tennis, sand volleyball, baseball, softball, Frisbee, soccer, football, and even a playground! No matter what your favorite activity is, Spring Creek has a spot for it. There’s also a pavilion with plenty of picnic tables and charcoal grills to get your grub on.
One of the greatest aspects of this park is a walking and biking trail that connects Spring Creek Park to other parks and natural areas such as Millbrook Marsh and Slab Cabin Park. Bring your friendly pooch and spend the day strolling the scenery.
So the next time you have a day or just a few hours to kill, go check Spring Creek Park out. Grab some friends, gear, or just some running shoes and have some fun at one of the greatest assets the State College area has to offer. You’ll be saying so long to those bored blues in no time.
Copyright for images:
Bridge: © Covered Bridges of The Eastern United Sites
Fish: © MNArtists.org
Bridge-Water: © Flyfishspringcreek.com