Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
An Official Pennsylvania Government Website
Translate
Begin Main Content Area

Hiking at Varden Conservation Area

Varden Conservation Area offers a variety of short hiking trails through farm fields, forests, and wetlands. Please stay on the trails and respect private property.

Varden Conservation Area Trail Map (PDF)

Trail Definitions

Difficulty Ratings

Easiest -- For beginner trail users. Grade is gentle with few obstacles.
More Difficult -- For the majority of trail users. Grade is steeper and trails narrower with embedded rocks or roots on the trail surface.
Most Difficult -- For trail users with advanced skills. Grade is steep and provides a definite physical challenge. Routes may not be well marked. Elevation gain or loss is severe.

Trail Route Type

Loop -- Start and end at the same location and follow a single trail to form a loop.
Out-and-back -- Start and end at a trailhead and follow a single trail to an endpoint or specific point of interest, then return along the same route.
Point-to-point -- Trails are generally longer in distance and parks may often contain only a portion of the trail within their boundary. Hiker starts and ends in different locations, often requiring a shuttle.
Connector -- Begin and end in connection with another trail or trails but do not terminate at a trailhead.

Tannery Tract Trails: 4.4 Miles of Trails

Bluebird Trail

0.71 mile | Easiest hiking | Loop trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail winds around the edges of meadows and is a good trail for observing plants and animals. Numerous bluebird boxes along the trail are monitored by volunteers.

Middle Creek Trail

0.45 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail follows the course of Middle Creek at the edge of a large, flat meadow and ends at the conservation area boundary.

Pond Loop Trail

0.73 mile | Easiest hiking | Loop trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: non-flush restrooms, picnic tables

This activity or structure is ADA accessible. This ADA-accessible trail begins at the teaching pavilion in the Tannery Tract, loops around to Middle Creek, passes through a forested area around a pond, and then wraps back to the pavilion.

Shortcut Trail

0.1 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This wooded road is between Steel Tower Trail and the barn on Tannery Trail.

Steel Tower Trail

0.27mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail traverses the road beneath a portion of a power line.

Tall Timber Trail

0.35 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This rugged trail winds through forest connecting Wood Tower Trail to Tannery Trail.

Tannery Trail

0.63 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail begins on Pond Trail at the footbridge that crosses Middle Creek. Tannery Trail crosses an old meadow, winds through a hemlock forest, and then merges with Bluebird Trail. Most of the trail follows an abandoned township road.

Whitetail Trail

0.19 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

Winding through the woods, this trail connects Tannery Trail and Wood Tower Trail.

Wildcat Trail

0.37 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail starts off of Hemlock Road, across from the Western Wayne Middle School entrance, and winds through the forest and connects with Bluebird Trail in a meadow.

Wood Tower Trail

0.79 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail begins on Bluebird Trail, intersects Tall Timber Trail, and ends near Middle Creek. Wood Tower Trail follows the original power line built in the 1920s to carry electricity from Lake Wallenpaupack to the Lackawanna Valley.

Mid Valley Tract Trails: 3.32 Miles of Trails

Bear Paw Trail

0.62 mile | Easiest hiking | Loop trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: non-flush restrooms

This trail begins at the Mid Valley Tract access area then splits into a loop that follows the western edge of the park and travels through a conifer plantation planted by Dr. Shaffer.

Beechwood Trail

0.15 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

A branch off of Overlook Ridge Trail, Beechwood Trail travels through northern hardwood forests and a utility right of way.

Critters Run

0.08 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

The shortest trail in the conservation area, Critters Run connects the northern and southern portions of Overlook Ridge Trail. Hemlock, white pine, and many northern hardwoods border this trail.

Deer Run

0.12 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail bisects Overlook Ridge Trail, going east to west and through a utility right-of-way.

Holster Creek Trail

0.55 mile | Easiest hiking | Out-and-back trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail follows Middle Creek, then crosses Mid Valley Road to meet Shaffers Way Trail. Diverse vegetation can be seen along Holster Creek Trail.

Overlook Ridge Trail

1.14 miles | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

Beginning and ending on Bear Paw Trail, Overlook Ridge Trail travels the heart of the Mid Valley Tract. This is an excellent trail to see many tree species, including hemlock, white pine, red maple, and ash.

Pond View Trail

0.43 mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

This trail intersects with Shaffers Way Trail twice, and then loops partway around the spring-fed pond. Amphibians and other wildlife can be seen during the spring and summer months.

Shaffers Way

0.23mile | Easiest hiking | Connector trail | Blue blazes
Recreations permitted: hiking
Trailhead amenities: none

Connecting Overlook Ridge and Pond View trails, and intersecting Holster Creek Trail, Shaffers Way travels through hundreds of conifers planted by the man who donated the property to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.