Which roads do you take from Coburn to Poe paddy camping area?

[HeavyWater]

I’ll be staying at the feathered hook but used to always drive to to fish the area around the campground. It’s been a while and I haven’t been there in 5 or six years. From google maps it looks like I used to talk rider hollow road to PoE paddy drive? Maybe. There was a dirt road that was not well maintained. But that’s how I went. If this makes any sense to anyone, is that road still good? I bet Jonas or someone there will help. But thought I would ask here. Thanks.

 

[larkmark]

Follow road along Penns upstream. First cement bridge you get to turn left. You go up mountain past Hemlock Acres campground. Then you come down into valley below and keep going to Poe Paddy. That is how I go anyway.

 

[tabasco_joe]

Go west out of Coburn and turn left on Siglerville-MilheimRoad. Cross the bridge and, yes, past Hemlock Acres, and over the mountain.
At the bottom of the mountain you need to turn left on Poe Valley road.

 

[JackM]

What they said. No shortcut will be worth it.

 

[jdh2550]

Sorry, don't mean to hijack... I stayed at Hemlock Acres earlier this month. Is Poe Paddy campground nicer?

 

[dryflyguy]

The last time I made that drive, I tried a way that looked a little shorter on the maps. (Prolly the "short cut" Jack alluded to)

I made the first left off of Millhein Pike road onto Pine Swamp road.
And followed that to Poe Paddy road, which goes past Penns View, and on down the mountain to Poe Paddy.

The road was fine until I started the descent down the mountain, where it got very rocky and rutted.
And became quite rough, even for a 4WD.
I ended up crawling and winding around many road hazards and it took me forever to get down there.

A lot better off going around and down past Poe Valley lake

 

[troutbert]

dryflyguy wrote:
The last time I made that drive, I tried a way that looked a little shorter on the maps. (Prolly the "short cut" Jack alluded to)

I made the first left off of Millhein Pike road onto Pine Swamp road.
And followed that to Poe Paddy road, which goes past Penns View, and on down the mountain to Poe Paddy.

The road was fine until I started the descent down the mountain, where it got very rocky and rutted.
And became quite rough, even for a 4WD.
I ended up crawling and winding around many road hazards and it took me forever to get down there.

A lot better off going around and down past Poe Valley lake

Yes that road is very rough. I drove it, once, in a Honda Civic. Never again.

They should probably just close that stretch.

 

[Troy]

I always drive that road. I did 2 weeks ago and it was the same as always. Not sure how long it's been since you tried it, but I have a SUV and have no issues at all. I'm a little confused. A car might be a little difficult, but a 4 x 4 will do just fine.

 

[dryflyguy]

Has been quite a while since I drove it - at least 5-6 years or more.
So maybe it's better now.

My 4WD pickup handled it OK.
It just took a long time to get down there trying to avoid the rough spots.
I always try to baby my wheels as much as possible

 

[Troy]

Yeah, it's not too bad. No ruts really to speak of. A car would be a different story I suppose.

 

[HeavyWater]

So I’m here. And Pine swamp road is what I was referring to. It’s not that bad with 4wd. It’s improved since the last time I was here maybe 5 years ago. The last 500 yards is a little sketchy and all dirt. It rained tonight so I took the long way around on my way back. I didn’t want to deal with mud there at like 945 pm and no cell service. For a post. Jonas recommends the long way and has directions printed out. I like pine swamp road. Maybe nostalgic reasons for me. Fishing has been good. But Penns is low and needs more rain. Thanks for your replies.

 

[ROVERT]

It's Poe Paddy Dr that is a bit rough. It drops right into the campground. Pine Swamp descends to Poe Valley Road between the two state parks and is much more groomed. Poe Paddy Dr isn't bad driving with just a bit of ground clearance. It does seem to be too much for a lot of people, though. I'm not sure I'd do it in a Civic.

I've driven it a bunch of times in a couple different SUV's. Passengers who have never left the pavement seem to think they're in Moab. Many people don't understand what vehicles are capable of. I've only used it to get to the overlook. It's not the fastest way up there but it is more interesting. There are lots of similar dirt roads in BESF.

How are the water temps? The rain is coming tomorrow. I know it is needed. Penns was 66 last Saturday evening. I'm sure it has gotten worse this week. The next three days should help.

 

[tabasco_joe]

Troy wrote:
Yeah, it's not too bad. No ruts really to speak of. A car would be a different story I suppose.

Were you on Poe Paddy Drive or Pine Swamp Road?

Both are "short cuts."
Pine Swanp road being ok for most cars.

When you consider the faster speed you can drive on Poe Valley Road they aren't worth the trouble.

The downhill section of Poe Paddy Drive does get ruts from washouts.
Can be hard on sidewalls.

 

[tabasco_joe]

jdh2550 wrote:
Sorry, don't mean to hijack... I stayed at Hemlock Acres earlier this month. Is Poe Paddy campground nicer?

I never stayed at Hemlock but with the state park you have two options. Poe Valley with better facilities including showers, is a couple miles from Penns. Poe Paddy is rustic camping right by Penns. easy enough to drive through both to check them out.

There are also some primative sites in the SF on Pine Swamp Road and Poe Paddy Drive. These have no facilities although I've camped at them and then used the showers at Poe Valley.

 

[jdh2550]

Thanks for the info. Will check them out. Hemlock was nice and the owner was a good guy. Just a lot of permanent sites. Limited tent sites may fill up fast and I wanted other options